Communities of/for the Departed: African American Ancestral Narratives (Roundtable)
This roundtable will engage with African American literary works (or other works of art) that create spaces for ancestors and other departed characters, frequently portraying such characters as active participants who shape the present of the living. We will consider in what ways such depictions offer and build communities for both the living and those whom they have lost. Special attention will be paid to how such works often serve as acts of historical preservation and memorialization outside official archives. All literary or artistic genres are welcome; interdisciplinary approaches welcome.
