A NOVEL WAY TO LEARN: BLACK EDUCATIONAL FICTION FROM RECONSTRUCTION TO THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE BY ARJA KAROLIINA ENGSTROM DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2014 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Professor Dale M. Bauer, Chair Associate Professor Stephanie Foote Assistant Professor Nancy Castro Associate Professor Peter Mortensen ii Abstract A Novel Way to Learn examines the development of black fiction in tandem with black educational advancement from Reconstruction to the Harlem Renaissance. By reading education in the novels of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Sutton Griggs, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Jessie Redmon Fauset, I reveal an underexplored genealogy of black educational thought from initial calls for educational access to more independent, ideological, and pragmatic modes embodied in the texts of black fiction writers. Ultimately, I argue that black educational fiction constitutes a key strand of African American writing before the Harlem Renaissance. iii Acknowledgements It is only thanks to the wisdom, generosity, and guidance of many people in academia that I can write these pages of appreciation. I want to thank my doctoral committee: my director Dale Bauer, Stephanie Foote, Nancy Castro, and Peter Mortensen. I will always be grateful for Dale’s guidance, intellect, and vision as well as her kindness and patience. She is truly phenomenal, and I could not have completed this project had she not been my advisor. Stephanie Foote is second to none when it comes to seeing the potential for greatness in a draft, and I am very lucky to have had her read my work. Nancy Castro has been with me from the beginning and has always inspired and guided my learning. Peter Mortensen’s insight into matters of literature and education in unparalleled, and I am thankful for all his guidance and careful notes on my work. I also want to acknowledge Bill Maxwell, who served on my committee during my comprehensive exam and helped me understand our field and profession through his generous comments as well as his own work. The archival research for this project was made possible through the generosity of many institutions and individuals. The English Department at the University of Illinois funded my trip to Wilberforce University’s Stokes Library, where Associate Librarian Jacqueline Y. Brown helped me and my partner on that trip, Kerstin Rudolph, navigate the archives. I could not have spent a wonderful week and a half at Howard University in Washington, D.C, without my gracious host Kirsi Keskitalo, who welcomed me in her home and cooked the most delicious meals, both Finnish and American. I am particularly grateful for the help of the Assistant Curator Dr. Ida E. Jones at the Manuscript Division and the many student workers at the Library Division of the Moorland Spingarn Research Center at Howard. The Dissertation Travel Grant from the Graduate College at Illinois allowed me to find the thread for Chapter 3 at the University of iv Massachusetts-Amherst. I am indebted to the staff at the Du Bois library’s Special Collections and University Archives for their expertise as I explored the Du Bois papers. In addition to several fellowships that allowed me to focus on my project, the Department of English supported my progress through various teaching opportunities over the years. It has been a joy to have a chance to teach classes from first-year writing to introduction to fiction, from American literary surveys to specialized novel courses. Rebecca Starr helped me immensely as my peer mentor as I began my teaching career at Illinois. I am also appreciative of the opportunities to work with Alice Deck in her African American literature survey courses and for having the chance to grade for Zohreh Sullivan and Stephanie Foote in their respective lecture courses. Helping me discover my talents beyond the classroom, Elizabeth Morley provided me with challenges and opportunities at the Writers Workshop. Alaina Pincus, Rashid Robinson, Charles Terry, and Michael Shetina make the Workshop an even better place to work. For the past four years, I have been blessed to work for Ruth Hoffman at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Working on the administrative team for the College Success first-year seminar has been an adventure, and I have been lucky to work alongside Daniel Larson and Jamil Johnson. The staff at English are truly the backbone of the program and the most important support for grad students. I am grateful for the help of Sharon Decker, Deb Stauffer, Christine Clark, and Stephanie Shockey in particular. I know that everything I have achieved at Illinois rests on what many people at the University of Helsinki helped me accomplish. I appreciate the advice and mentorship of Mark Shackleton and Mari Peepre at the English department. The North American Studies Program was a home for me in a large, old institution, and I am particularly indebted to Bicentennial Professors Harvey Green from Northeastern University and Michael Saffle from Virginia Tech. v Their courses in American Studies prepared me for graduate school. Sue Saffle was always a model of support, kindness, and good humor for me. Of my peers at Helsinki, Katariina Kaartinen Alongi deserves a medal for encouraging me to pursue my interests. April (Anton) Ching helped me more than she likely realized with my thesis writing and with grad school applications. Tiina Wikström has always been a role model, and continues to be one. I cannot wait to see her again. My friends have sustained me throughout graduate school. Lorna Breshears and Mary Margrave have provided good humor and perspectives outside of academia. I have learned that urban planners are often charming, extraordinary people through the friendship of Matt Wempe and Mishauno Waggon. Brandon Boys, Carrie Welter, Kate Ferrer, and Steve Conaton have made game and trivia nights not only a success for the Taylor Swift Boat Veterans but also great fun, always. The team in our office, room 248, has taught me how generous, kind, and supportive an academic community can be. I am proud and lucky to know Lesley Sieger-Walls, Frank Ridgway, Beth Savage, Lisa Oliverio, Sarah Dennis, Melissa Girard, Arley McNeney, and of course Team Europe: Isabel Quintana Wulf, Cristina Stanciu, and Kerstin Rudolph. Tara Lyons, Lisa Dunick, Amy Herb, Rebecca Weber, Jill Hamilton Clements, Sarah Alexander Tsai, and Lisa Beskin have made my life better through their friendship. I am especially grateful for the love and loyalty of the Shmenkmans: Shannon Godlove and Adam Doskey are, and deserve, the very best in life. Isabel Quintana Wulf is my Spanish sister and my biggest cheerleader. She is an outstanding scholar and a teacher, and an exceptional friend. Leena Korander has been my friend since the first day of school, ever, and continues to be my partner in talking loudly and laughing too much. My families on two continents have been some of my greatest supporters. The Strucks and the Murray-Smiths will vi always be near to my heart. The extended Nilsson and Salo families in Finland have made me who I am. I particularly remember my aunt Arja whose life reflected the joy of language, books, and teaching. I cannot imagine my life and the holidays in America without the Engstroms and the Glynns, both massive family teams who have welcomed me into their lineups. My immediate family deserves my greatest thanks. Jeffrey Senior, Diana, and Erin are the best, and tallest, in-laws I could have ever asked for. I treasure the good humor and advice of my grandmother Kyllikki, who has made me so many baked goods and gorgeous knits over the years. My parents Pirjo and Aarne as well as my brother Ari are my strongest supporters, and I am grateful for their interminable curiosity about everyday life and their ability to see the humor in all its aspects. Finally, Jeff. You are my best friend and the love of my life. I couldn’t have done any of this without you, nor would I have wanted to. Words on the page fail to express how important you are to me, but I will continue to try and tell you in person, every day. vii Contents Introduction……………………………………………………………………………... 1 Chapter One: Harper, Blake, and Arguments for Educational Ability & Access during Reconstruction………………………………………………………………………….. 30 Chapter Two: “In Preparation for High Positions and Large Responsibilities”: Imperium in Imperio and the Curricula for Racial Advancement…………………………………. 67 Chapter Three: Finding the Way: W.E.B. Du Bois’s Educational Fiction……………………………. 111 Chapter Four: Jessie Redmon Fauset’s Modernist Black Education………………………………… 150 Coda……………………………………………………………………………………... 188 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………….. 193 1 Introduction De greatest t'ing in de wul is edification. Ef our race ken git dat we ken git ebery t'ing else. Dat is de key. Git de key an' yer ken go in de house to go where you please. As fur his beatin' de brat, yer musn't kick agin dat. He'll beat de brat to make him larn, and won't dat be a blessed t'ing? See dis scar on side my head? Old marse Sampson knocked me down wid a single-tree tryin' to make me stop larning, and God is so fixed it dat white folks is knocking es down ef we don't larn. Ef yer take Belton out of school yer'll be fighting 'genst de providence of God. --Sutton Griggs, Imperium in Imperio (23) At the beginning of his 1899 novel Imperium in Imperio, Sutton Griggs uses the words of a country preacher to express the sentiment of the “old Negro,” an imaginary voice of the formerly enslaved black American.