WEB Dubois veers a little too far to the left, for me, e.g., arguing that a "general strike" by cotton pickers was critical to defeating the South, but his tack can arguably be seen as a necessary course correction in light of all the pro-slavery "history" that emerged post bellum.  We'd have a more sophisticated understanding of our race relations/realities if Black Reconstruction in America had been administered more liberally as an antidote/anecdote to Birth of a Nation and its ilk.

-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Shelley Fisher Fishkin
Sent: Thursday, December 7, 2023 12:42 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Fishkin on Antiracist Pedagogy

Thanks for the suggestion.  I DO have students read  parts  of Du Bois’ Black Reconstruction in America in four of the classes—just didn’t have space to list more of what’s on the syllabi...

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Shelley Fisher Fishkin
Joseph S. Atha Professor of Humanities; Professor of English, and  Director of American Studies, Stanford University
Mail: Department of English, Bldg. 460, 450 Jane  Stanford Way, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-2087 https://english.stanford.edu/people/shelley-fisher-fishkin
2023 Winner, Carl Bode-Norman Holmes Pearson Prize for Lifetime Achievement and Outstanding Contribution to American  Studies







On Dec 7, 2023, at 9:35 AM, John Peter Zavez <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

SFF should consider adding excerpts from Black Reconstruction in America so her students are aware that there are data-based arguments more compelling than just the anecdotal … stuff she's currently using.

-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Matthew Seybold
Sent: Tuesday, December 5, 2023 9:16 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Fishkin on Antiracist Pedagogy

The Center For Mark Twain Studies is please to publish an open-access, digital edition of this essay which originally appeared in the print journal, *Mark Twain Studies*, produced by our friends at The Japan Society of Mark Twain: https://marktwainstudies.com/unlearningracism/

In the essay Shelley Fisher Fiskin reveals which Twain texts she has used in her classes over the last decade, and why!

There are some familiar figures - Huck, for instance - but several shorter, "minor" works which Shelley finds provoke engagement and critical thinking.

For the aid of fellow teachers, we have embedded several of these less familiar texts in the page with Shelley's essay, as well as hyperlinked to many of the complementary texts she alludes to.

Among them, "My First Lie & How I Got Out of It," originally published in the "Mark Twain's Christmas Book" issue of Pulitzer's *New York World.*

So, I guess that makes this a holiday production.

Best to all.

*Matt Seybold, PhD*
Associate Professor of American Literature & Mark Twain Studies Scholar-in-Residence, Center for Mark Twain Studies Editor, MarkTwainStudies.org Host, The American Vandal Podcast <https://marktwainstudies.com/the-american-vandal-podcast/>

Peterson Chapel Vestry, Cowles Hall
[log in to unmask]
MattSeybold.com
<https://www.elmira.edu/>