Two Approaches to Intellectual Tradition

RALPH ELLISON & RIGHARD WRIGHT

a talk by Dr. Dena Fehrenbacher

In their most monumental novels, Invisible Man and The Outsider, Ralph Ellison and Richard Wright both took themselves to be responding to, among other things, the question of Black Americans' relationship to the Western world. But their thematic and stylistic responses to this question were very different, as was the reception of their novels: Ellison’s won the National Book Award, while Wright’s was critically panned, even by his close friends.

This talk will delve into the context of this motivating question, and the significance of their respective responses. We will give specific attention to the metaphor of the “underground” that gives different shapes to both novels and the question it raises: how does one attempt to appraise the traditions that are already shaping one’s thinking?

This event is co-sponsored by the African American Intellectual Traditions Initiative. It is open to the general public.

Date: Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Time: 5:30 - 7pm

Location: Berkeley Institute (2134 Allston Way, 2nd floor)