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Furman professors publish book about James Baldwin


Last updated April 29, 2014

By News administrator

Furman University education professors Scott Henderson and Paul Thomas have published a new book about James Baldwin, one of America’s most celebrated writers.

James Baldwin: Challenging Authors (Sense Publishers) is the fifth volume in the “Critical Literacy Teaching Series: Challenging Authors and Genres,” which Thomas also edits.

The book gathers a collection of essays from a wide range of perspectives that confront Baldwin’s impressive and challenging canon as well as his role as a public intellectual. Contributors also explore Baldwin as a confrontational voice during his life and as an enduring call for justice.

Henderson has been a member of Furman’s Education Department since 1998. He is also Director of Program Development and Evaluation at Furman, as well as Director of National/International Scholarships. Prior to joining the university, he taught in the Chesapeake City, Va., schools and at Yamagata Women’s Junior College in Japan. His published scholarship includes books and articles on the history of American social policy and education.

Thomas joined the Furman faculty in 2002.  Before that, he taught high school English in rural South Carolina for 18 years. He earned undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees in education from the University of South Carolina.

Thomas is a column editor for the English Journal, a publication of the National Council of Teachers of English and has written 16 books, including the first volume of his Critical Literacy Teaching Series, Challenging Genres: Comics and Graphic Novels. He has written commentaries for the Washington Post, The New York Times, The Guardian, Education Week, The State, and The Greenville News.

Read Thomas’ blog here, and visit the publisher’s book site at www.sensepublishers.com. The book is also available through Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

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