Lawrence Jackson is professor of English and African American Studies. Professor Jackson earned his Ph.D. at Stanford University in 1997, and he began his teaching career at Howard University in Washington, DC. He joined Emory’s faculty in 2002, the year his biography, Ralph Ellison: Emergence of Genius, was published. His most recent book is called The Indignant Generation: A Narrative History of African American Writers and Critics, 1934-1960 (Trailer.) (Princeton 2010). His forthcoming books include My Father's Name (trailer) and a biography of Chester Himes. He has lectured widely in the United States and abroad, and he was featured in a 2002 documentary on Ralph Ellison’s life. Professor Jackson offers courses primarily in 19th and 20th century African American literature and culture, shaped by his interest in urban studies, social class formation, realism and modernism, popular culture, black nationalism, and decolonization theory. Dr. Jackson's website can be found at lawrencepatrickjackson.com

Selected Publications:

• “African American Literature: Foundational Scholarship, Criticism and Theory.” Cambridge Companion to African American Literature Eds. Jerry Ward and Maryemma Graham. New York: Cambridge UP, 2010. 1366-1419.
  

• “The Will.” Southern Quarterly Summer 2009. 57-87.
  

• “The Irredeemable Promise: J. Saunders Redding and Negro New Liberalism.” American Literary History Fall 2007. 712-744.
  

• “Bucklin Moon and Thomas Sancton: Crusaders for the Liberal Left.” Southern Literary Journal Fall 2007. 76-97.
  

• “The Aftermath: The Harlem Renaissance Twenty Years Later.” Cambridge Companion to the Harlem Renaissance Ed. George Hutchinson. New York: Cambridge UP, 2007. 239-253.
  

• “The Birth of a Critic: The Literary Friendship Between Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison.” American Literature June 2000. 321-355.