February 24, 2017

SVSU professor to speak on post-Civil War black families and black print

Eric Gardner, professor of English at Saginaw Valley State University, will speak Tuesday, March 7 at noon at the Castle Museum of Saginaw County History as part of its “Lunch and Learn” series. The talk will explore post-Civil War memories of slavery and race and the role of black print culture.

This event, part of a presentation series established by the museum in order to bring community members together over discussion of historical topics relating to the Saginaw County area, is titled “‘Information Wanted’: Black Press, Black Families, and American Memory.”

After receiving a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for the 2012-13 academic year, Gardner began writing his book, “Black Print Unbound: ‘The Christian Recorder,’ African American Literature, and Periodical Culture.” The book closely examines weekly newspapers of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in the Civil War era.

Gardner has also authored a book titled “Unexpected Places: Relocating Nineteenth-Century African American Literature,” which won the 2010 Research Society for American Periodicals Book Prize and was named an “Outstanding Academic Title” by Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries.  His works have also appeared in prominent literary journals such as American Literary History, Legacy, and African American Review.

This Lunch and Learn event will begin at noon and the event is free after paid admission to the museum which is $1 for adults and 50 cents for children. Guests are permitted to bring their own lunch but some refreshments will be provided. For more information, call the Castle Museum at (989)752-2861.