This June eight college juniors from across the nation will participate in the African American Literatures and Cultures Institute at the University of Texas at San Antonio. The institute was established in 2009 by Joycelyn Moody, who holds the Sue E. Denman Distinguished Chair in American Literature at the university. The purpose of the institute is to encourage young scholars to consider careers as professors in the field of African American literature.
“The study of African-American literature will die if there are no scholars. Thanks to funding through my UTSA endowment, I am hoping to create a pipeline across the nation’s universities, so that the subfield of African-American studies within English departments remains vibrant,” said Dr. Moody.
Dr. Moody is the author of Sentimental Confessions: Spiritual Narratives of Nineteenth-Century African American Women (University of Georgia Press, 2001). Professor Moody is a graduate of Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Kansas. She joined the faculty at the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2007. She previously served on the faculty at Saint Louis University and the University of Washington.
Students accepted as fellows of the African American Literatures and Cultures Institute will spend several weeks in San Antonio meeting with leading national scholars in the field of African American literature. They will also travel to New York City to conduct academic research. Participants receive housing and course materials, as well as a 
$2,000 stipend. More information on the institute is available here.
One of this year’s participants will be Kevin P. Morris II, a junior at the University of Arkansas, who hopes to earn a Ph.D. in African American studies. “Being awarded this fellowship is a great opportunity to develop more as a researcher, writer, and overall scholar,” Morris said.
IT WOULD HELP TO READ AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE, FIRST, AS A PRELIMINARY MATTER!
I have no doubt Morris II will represent himself and the African American Literatures and Cultures Institute in a professional and intellectually sound manner. You are the future in the field of African American literature – I believe in you.
Daddy…..