Jesse McCarthy Promotion and Book Review
We are delighted to announce that Jesse McCarthy has been promoted to Associate Professor of English and of African and African American Studies!
Additionally, Jesse's first academic monograph, The Blue Period, which was published in April, was reviewed in The Boston Globe. An excerpt is included below:
"In 'The Blue Period,' Jesse McCarthy zooms in on Black authors who lived and wrote between 1945 and 1965. During these decades, roughly the first half of the Cold War, most of the world sided with either America or the Soviet Union. But many Black Americans felt torn. 'What is so distinctive, compelling, and politically potent about black writing from this era,' McCarthy writes, 'is its dissent from both of the hegemonic Cold War ideological blocks.' Instead of turning toward Washington or Moscow, Black authors turned inward. Alongside Black painters and Black musicians, they produced ambiguous and emotional art that McCarthy calls 'blue.'"
Read more here.
Additionally, Jesse's first academic monograph, The Blue Period, which was published in April, was reviewed in The Boston Globe. An excerpt is included below:
"In 'The Blue Period,' Jesse McCarthy zooms in on Black authors who lived and wrote between 1945 and 1965. During these decades, roughly the first half of the Cold War, most of the world sided with either America or the Soviet Union. But many Black Americans felt torn. 'What is so distinctive, compelling, and politically potent about black writing from this era,' McCarthy writes, 'is its dissent from both of the hegemonic Cold War ideological blocks.' Instead of turning toward Washington or Moscow, Black authors turned inward. Alongside Black painters and Black musicians, they produced ambiguous and emotional art that McCarthy calls 'blue.'"
Read more here.