Houston Alfred Baker Jr. (born March 22, 1943 in Louisville, Kentucky) is an American scholar specializing in African American literature and currently serving as a Distinguished University Professor at Vanderbilt University in the English department.
Baker served as president of the Modern Language Association, editor of the journal American Literature, and has authored several books.
Baker was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, which he l...
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Houston Alfred Baker Jr. (born March 22, 1943 in Louisville, Kentucky) is an American scholar specializing in African American literature and currently serving as a Distinguished University Professor at Vanderbilt University in the English department.
Baker served as president of the Modern Language Association, editor of the journal American Literature, and has authored several books.
Baker was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, which he later described as "racist" and "stultifying". The racism and violence he says he experienced as a youth would later prompt him to conclude "I had been discriminated against and called 'Nigger' enough to think that what America needed was a good Black Revolution." He recently revised such a summary judgment in his book combining memoir and critique titled "I Don't Hate the South" (Oxford University Press, 2007). His academic career initially progressed along traditional lines. He earned a B.A. in English literature from Howard University and an...
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