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Printer-Friendly ModeEnglish professor receives fellowships
Cardinalis editor honored for study of African American literature, culture
July 19, 2005 —
Saginaw Valley State University professor Eric Gardner received four fellowships this summer for his study of nineteenth century African American literature and culture.
"I was happily surprised," said Gardner, who did not expect to be awarded all four fellowships.
The research is being funded by a Summer Stipend Award from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), one of only three in the state and 114 awarded nationwide.
Gardner has spent his summer in St. Louis concentrating on the rhetoric of slavery and freedom on the St. Louis freedom lawsuits.
"This is the first summer in nine years that I haven't taught any classes," he said.
His research revolves around the almost 300 lawsuits filed by enslaved African Americans in St. Louis who were pursuing their freedom.
Many slaves were granted their freedom if they could prove certain legal technicalities, like if they were residents in a free state or if their mother's ancestry was completely Native American.
Gardner was inspired by these freedom suits while writing the biography of author Lucy Ann Delany, who gained her freedom in 1844 after waiting 17 months in a St. Louis jail for her case to be heard.
He then initiated his work on more of the lawsuits and was entranced with these legal actions that have remained mostly oblivious to public knowledge.
At first, Gardner agreed to write a 300-word entry for a biographical reference, which after some additional research became a 300-page biography.
The NEH designated his project for its "We the People Initiative," a 2002 program aimed "to help Americans continue to make sense of their history and of the world around them."
A second fellowship awarded to Gardner was an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellowship at the Library Company of Philadelphia and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, which will fund one full month of on-site research in Philadelphia, where Gardner plans to concentrate on fortune telling by early African Americans.
This grows from his discovery of The Complete Fortune Teller and Dream Book, Chloe Russel's 1820 chapbook, one of the first texts concerning African American women and divination. Gardner's work during the fellowship will generate an expanded study of African American participation and representation in antebellum texts on magic.
Later this summer, Toby Press will publish Gardner's edited anthology, Major Voices: the Drama of Slavery, which includes rare texts by early black writers. He hopes that this will bring greater public awareness of black authors and give new insight into their lives.
Also on his agenda for his summer, is a visit to Duke University on a travel grant awarded by the John Hope Franklin Collection and Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture to resume his research on Frank J. Webb, an early black novelist.
There are several ways that Gardner's research has impacted him.
"It is a humbling experience when you're doing research, because you're the student," he said.
Gardner also attests that this research has made him a better teacher and has reminded him of how much he can learn from his own students. Gardner plans to increase his students' awareness on the slavery issues he is researching.
"First I would want them to know that slavery is something that touched everyone in the U.S. in some way or another,"Gardner said. "In addition, we need to learn so much more about these stories because they are our heritage as Americans."
In addition to instructing writing and American literature courses at SVSU, Gardner is the founding editor of the faculty and staff literary magazine Cardinalis. He also recently completed his term as the vice-chair of the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library board in the city of Midland, where he resides with his wife and two-year-old twins.
Gardner has also written articles for the New England Quarterly, the African American Review and Nineteenth Century Prose, and has had poetry published in Barnwood and Pikeville Review.