TEI data model for petitionary texts in French or Latin for use as a critical or diplomatic edition with translation. This model specifically uses datasets found in the British National Archives (Special Collections 8) for creating a collection of samples as the basis of a prosopographical study on communication networks.

In its encounter with James Baldwin across form— “Letter to my nephew,” “Sonny’s Blues,” and archival footage of Baldwin being interviewed by the psychologist Kenneth Clark— this article offers an exploration of how Baldwin’s figuration of children and his own acts of care illuminate the political possibilities of both filiation and aff…[Read more]

This essay explores how Pierre Nora’s sites of memory work a specific cultural function through what Melvin Dixon refers to as “a memory that ultimately rewrites history.” I look at two of the most well-known poems of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes’s “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” and Countee Cullen’s “Heritage,” one of which reveals a…[Read more]

This essay recovers, describes, and analyzes the theatrical tradition emerging from New Orleans’s free people of color during the antebellum period. I will start out by tracing the presence of free people of color in the francophone theatres of New Orleans, teasing out their impact on the early formations of a francophone theatrical culture in the…[Read more]

On January 1, 1824, the English-speaking population of New Orleans celebrated the grand opening of the American Theatre, lauding
the advent of “Bards our own” and the rise of “our Drama” in the Crescent City (qtd. in Smither 41). For the city’s francophone residents, this event marked a new stage in the ongoing battle for cultural survival.…[Read more]

Moving from France to the Caribbean to the American continent, Creole Drama follows the people that created, shaped, and sustained French theatre culture in New Orleans from its inception in 1792 until the beginning of the Civil War. In doing so, it draws upon the neglected archive of francophone drama native to Louisiana, as well as a range of…[Read more]

This essay brings together two texts, a letter to the editor written in experimental prose by the Black avant-garde Beat poet, Bob Kaufman, and “The Unlocking,” a spoken-word poem written and performed by Ursula Rucker that appears at the end of The Roots’ critically acclaimed rap album, Do You Want More??!?. By using the aural to disrupt expec…[Read more]

The problem of the “yes,” of affirming an historical identity that is potentially harmful to oneself, troubles some of the imaginative leaps necessary to how readers desire to identify with texts. With that in mind, this article reads Octavia Butler’s 1979 novel Kindred as a story about memory, history, and embodiment as written both on and thr…[Read more]

This essay examines James Baldwin’s conception of what he calls “black English” and its link to historical and cultural identity. I link Baldwin’s defense of black English to his reflections on the sor- row songs and sound, which draws on long-standing accounts of musicality as the foundation of the African-American tradition. In order to demonst…[Read more]

Cyberpoésies d’engagement est une collection de deux poèmes numériques: Ifrikiya lève-toi! et Lettre aux Nations Unies. Bien que le dernier poème ait été publié sur Core, celui-ci reste la version définitive.

Lettre à Union Africaine est un poème numérique qui exprime la philosophie de la supranégritude. Il dénonce le joue de blâmer les Colons au lieu de diriger bien les citoyens.

Letter to the African Union is a digital poem which expresses supranegritude philosophy that denounces the game of pushing blame on colonial masters instead of working for the compatriots.

Cyberpoetry for activism is a collection of two digital poems: Arise Africa! and Letter to the United Nations. The later was published in this Core repository before the official publication date . The poems communicate justice and encouragement.

Homosalus is a digital poem that suscitate the culture of saving humanity. It is written in French and English to foster a philosophy of people first before me.

Homosalus est un poème numérique qui suscite la culture de sauver notre humanité. Il est écrit en anglais et français afin de projecter une philosophie de considérer d’autrui d’abord.

Momenta is a digital poem for Africans. It is written in two languages-French and English. The poem aims at bringing hope in the continent.

Momenta est un poème numérique pour les Africains. Il est rédigé en deux langues-anglais et français. Le poème excite l’esproir.

This guide details each phase of creating Histories of the NationalMall, mallhistory.org, including planning, interpretative approach, user experience and design, testing, and outreach efforts of the project team. Histories of the National Mall is a digital public history project developed by the RoyRosenzweig Center for History and New Media at…[Read more]

Creative non-fiction/semi-academic reflective piece on seeing Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night for the first time in person at the Museum of Modern Arts.