Skip to main content

Julie Naviaux

Research Interests:
African American Literature
Performance
20th Century American Literature
Education

- Doctorate of Philosophy, English / University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, Defended June 2016

Dissertation: “Distinctly American: Performing Humanity in African American Literature from Proto to Post New Negro Renaissance”  Dr. Vershawn Young (chair)

- University of Kentucky Gender & Women’s Studies Certificate, completed May 2014

- Master of Arts, English / University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, May 2007

- Bachelor of Arts, English / Bellarmine University, Louisville, KY, May 2005

Research

My research examines the importance and influence of performance in black literature during the first half of the twentieth century. Drawing from American studies, African American theater history, and black performance studies, I show how the literature demonstrates significance of black artistic public performances and how these performances demonstrate the problematic nature of being both American and African American. Early twentieth century black literature frequently contains scenes involving stages and public performances, and these scenes mimic historical performances and historical reactions to the performances. Using previous critics’ work to show the significance of public performances ranging from dance, speech, and music, my project connects literary texts from multiple time periods of African American literature and investigates how these texts work within the performative nature of black culture to argue for an ongoing questioning of black America’s cultural situating within—and yet apart from—American culture. I argue the proto- New Negro Renaissance as a starting point for this inclusion of performance commentary in black literature, and the prevalence of performance continues throughout the twentieth and into the twenty-first centuries for black literature.

Graduate Training

Research Assistant to Dr. Vershawn Ashanti Young (Fall 2010 through Spring 2013)

 

Coursework for Teaching:

- GS 630 Instructional Technology, Pedagogies of I.T. in College Teaching (Spring 2015)

- UK ENG 610 Teaching Literature (Spring 2010)

- UK ENG 609 Composition Theory for Teaching Writing Courses (Fall 2009

Selected Publications:

“Book Review: Keith Clarke’s The Radical Fiction of Ann Petry.” Amerikastudien/American Studies Journal 59.4 (2015).

“Snap! The Marlon Riggs Bibliography.” African American Review E-Project (2012). http://aar.slu.edu/riggs.html --with V. Young

“Introduction.” Code-Meshing as World English: Pedagogy, Policy, Performance, Ed. Vershawn Ashanti Young and Aja Y. Martinez. NCTE (2011) –with V. Young and A. Martinez.