Logan's Book on "Liberating Language" Now Available

Professor of English Shirley Logan has published Liberating Language: Sites of Rhetorical Education in Nineteenth-Century Black America through Southern Illinois University Press.

Logan's new book identifies experiences of nineteenth-century African Americans -- categorized as sites of rhetorical education -- that provided opportunities to develop effective communication and critical text-interpretation skills. Logan considers how nontraditional sites, which seldom involved formal training in rhetorical instruction, proved to be effective resources for African American advancement.

Liberating Language addresses free-floating literacy, a term coined by Ralph Ellison, which captures the many settings where literacy and rhetorical skills were acquired and developed, including slave missions, religious gatherings, war camps, and even cigar factories.

Jacqueline Bacon, author of The Humblest May Stand Forth: Rhetoric, Power, and Abolition, says that "Liberating Language is an outstanding work that will make a significant contribution in the fields of rhetoric and composition. Logan's archival work is truly impressive."

You can read more about Liberating Language and order it on the SIU Press website.