Teaching James Baldwin Today

In this episode, Dr. Rachel Ann Walsh, Associate Teaching Professor and Graduate coordinator in the Department of English at Bowling Green State University and Dr. Thomas Edge, Associate Teaching Professor at the Department of Ethnic Studies, also at BGSU, share their experiences teaching James Baldwin to a wide range of students. Their conversation underscores the novelty of Baldwin's ideas on race, gender and sexuality back in the 60s and how they foreground the call for an intersectional approach. They invite us to see Baldwin's contributions to current debates around the fluidity of gender and the ongoing problematization of whiteness as America's goal. Listen to Dr. Edge and Dr. Walsh as they engage in a lively discussion of Baldwin's works (from The Fire Next Time to Giovanni's Room to Another Country) and the relevance of the issues that they raise to this day. Find out about Baldwin's lasting impact both at the local level (he was a Visiting Professor at BGSU in 1979) and nationally, for instance with regards to the Black Lives Matter movement.

A transcript for this episode can be found here:

https://www.rev.com/transcript-editor/shared/7HS_mmAfLiSQKhldDqWkOMJY1OFgwkKjwrmlgN87VmoytPbb85LBJnZTwExSykqSzbmWFwRJ83pwtIaT3_yL93xqi7w?loadFrom=SharedLink