Toni Morrison (1931-2019) is the first African American woman to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature & was also awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Join OLLI FLL  & author Sika Dagbovi-Mullins for an engaging afternoon lecture & group discussion Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Toni Morrison’s first novel, The Bluest Eye (1970).

About the Instructor

• Sika Dagbovie-Mullins is an associate professor and director of Graduate Studies in the Department of English at FAU. She is author of Crossing B(l)ack: Mixed Race Identity in Modern American Fiction and Culture (University of Tennessee Press, 2013) and is currently co-editing Mixed-Race Superheroes (Rutgers University Press, forthcoming) which examines the intersection of Critical Mixed-Race Studies and superhero studies. She specializes in 20th and 21st century African American Literature. Her articles have appeared in journals such as African American Review, The Journal of Popular Culture, The Lion and the Unicorn, and Palimpsest: A Journal on Women, Gender, and the Black International.

Event Description

• Toni Morrison published eleven novels, a book of literary criticism, several children’s books, various essays, and other non-fiction. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and is the first African American woman to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. 2020 will mark the 50th anniversary of her debut novel, The Bluest Eye. The book description on the Vintage edition reads, “Pecola Breedlove, a young black girl, prays every day for beauty. Mocked by other children for the dark skin, curly hair, and brown eyes, she believes will allow her to fit in finally. Yet as her dream grows more fervent, her life slowly starts to disintegrate in the face of adversity and strife.” Although the novel takes place in the 1940s (and was published in 1970), the novel’s commentary on the effects of Eurocentric beauty standards on black communities continues to resonate today. The 50th anniversary of The Bluest Eye’s publication date offers us the opportunity to return to Morrison’s powerful work. For this event, attendees are asked to read The Bluest Eye in advance. This lecture will begin with an overview of various thematic concerns in the novel and end with a group discussion of the novel.

Tickets and additional information available HERE.