Courtney Walton

Dissertation Summary

My academic research focuses on nineteenth and twentieth-century African American literature. Specifically, my dissertation, Cyclical Matters: Black Labor, Temporality, and the Incomplete Reconstructions within African American Literature, examines black literature focusing on black workers during the first post-reconstruction to the First World War (1877-1914) and the second post-reconstruction to the end of Ronald Regan’s presidential term (1968-1989). I use critical race theory, critical whiteness studies, Black Marxism, and black temporality to aid in my exploration of the economic, social, and emotional effects relating to employment abuses that impact black workers during the first and second post-reconstructions. I find that my research into these two periods supported with my use of literary and sociological study provide significant steps into understanding how history and literary styles repeat themselves with slight modifications.

Education

BA in English and Secondary Education from Eastern Illinois University (2015); MA in English from Eastern Illinois University (2019)

Research Interests

Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century African American Literature, Critical Race Theory, and Critical Whiteness Studies