Linda-Susan Beard
Linda-Susan Beard (Ph.D., Cornell) negotiates between and among the worlds of
African American, South African, and post-colonial literatures. She teaches courses on
post-apartheid literature, literary and historical reimaginings of transatlantic slavery such as
Toni Morrison and the Art of Narrative Conjure, as well as introductory courses in English and
African literatures which examine the dynamics of canon formation. She is editing the first
comprehensive volume of the letters of Bessie head, about whom she has written essays and given
conference papers for 25 years. She is also involved in the new area of contemplative intelligence,
having been in the first group of Contemplative Fellows chosen by the ACLS and funded by the
Cummings and Fetzer Foundations. King's College recently awarded her an honorary doctorate for her
work in integrating contemplative and intellectual ways of knowing. She served for five years as
Faculty Coordinator of the Mellon Scholars Program and chair of the Africana Studies Program.
Courses Taught
246 - Scribbling Sisters: Pan-African Women WritersInstance
250 - Methods of Literary Study
262 - African-American Literature
263 - Toni Morrison: The Art of Literary ConjureInstance
(crosslisted w/Feminist & Gender
Studies)
264 - The Black Bard
362 - The African-American Writer: Speaking in Tongues
379 - The African Griotte: Bessie HeadInstance
388 - Contemporary African Fiction