African American Literary Theory by Winston Napier

His essays have been important interventions into what typically had been unquestioned straightness in African American studies and an assumed whiteness in gay scholarship. Nero was honored to write the introduction for the Cleis Press edition of Hemphill’s anthology Ceremonies. That essay is considered to be the first scholarly treatment of black gay literature. The late poet Essex Hemphill contacted him personally to include the essay “Toward a Black Gay Aesthetic: Signifying in Contemporary Black Gay Literature” in the landmark 1991 anthology Brother to Brother: New Writings by Black Gay Men. While working toward his PhD he became acutely aware of the need for this area of study. Nero is a pioneer in the area of black queer studies. Nero received his undergraduate degree in Theater Education from Xavier University of Louisiana (1978), his MA in Speech Communication from Wake Forest University (1980) and his PhD in Speech Communication with concentrations in African American Studies and African Studies from Indiana University (1990). Notably, Nero’s work deeply engages the place of sexuality in African American studies and African American culture. His work sits at the intersection of communication studies, film and literary criticism, African American studies, and cultural studies. Nero is an American interdisciplinary scholar, cultural critic, and professor of rhetoric, film and screen studies at Bates College.

Mays '20 Distinguished Prof of Rhetoric, Film, and Screen Studies AssociationsĬharles I.

African American Literary Theory by Winston Napier