Dr. Carolyn Denard, the 2025 Toni Morrison Senior Fellow in African Diaspora Literature and Cultural Studies, delivered a lecture on Thursday, December 4, 2025, at The Africa Institute, GSU, titled “Lines of Influence: Africa, Toni Morrison, and the African Diaspora.”
Denard, who is also the founder and board chair of the Toni Morrison Society, framed her talk around three goals: providing a historical overview of Morrison, exploring her sustaining connection to Africa, and highlighting the influence of her work on younger artists across Africa and the Diaspora.
“As a writer of the African Diaspora, what has been Morrison’s sustaining connection to Africa, how has it influenced her life as an artist and the goals of her writing, and what are the ways in which Morrison’s writing have influenced younger writers and other creative artists?” Denard asked.
She illustrated how Morrison incorporated African cultural “survivals” into her novels, drawn from family stories, community values, and works by African writers such as Chinua Achebe and Camara Laye. “Morrison’s knowledge of how these African cultural elements became a part of African American life, and her desire to bear witness to their influence, shaped her artistry and her political goals as a writer,” Denard said.
The lecture examined Morrison’s role as a cultural conduit, drawing on Song of Solomon (1977) and Tar Baby (1981), and considered her influence on a new generation of writers and artists across Africa and the Diaspora. Denard’s presentation also underscored how African Americans, and Morrison in particular, have maintained spiritual, cultural, and artistic connections to Africa despite the historical separation caused by the Atlantic slave trade.
The lecture, moderated by Philathia Bolton, Associate Professor of African and African Diaspora Literature and Cultural Studies and inaugural Toni Morrison Senior Fellow (2023) at The Africa Institute, sparked insightful discussion among attendees.
Denard noted that her time at The Africa Institute encouraged her to explore Morrison’s cultural and artistic connections to Africa in greater depth, and her lecture will serve as a broader introduction to the research she will chronicle in her forthcoming book, Bearing Witness: Culture and Meaning in Morrison’s Fiction.
The lecture was part of The Africa Institute’s Senior and Postdoctoral Fellowship Lectures series.
Learn more about Dr. Carolyn Denard here and our fellowships here.
Dr. Carolyn Denard, the 2025 Toni Morrison Senior Fellow in African Diaspora Literature and Cultural Studies, delivered a lecture on Thursday, December 4, 2025, at The Africa Institute, GSU, titled “Lines of Influence: Africa, Toni Morrison, and the African Diaspora.”
Dr. Carolyn Denard, the 2025 Toni Morrison Senior Fellow in African Diaspora Literature and Cultural Studies, delivered a lecture on Thursday, December 4, 2025, at The Africa Institute, GSU, titled “Lines of Influence: Africa, Toni Morrison, and the African Diaspora.”
Denard, who is also the founder and board chair of the Toni Morrison Society, framed her talk around three goals: providing a historical overview of Morrison, exploring her sustaining connection to Africa, and highlighting the influence of her work on younger artists across Africa and the Diaspora.
“As a writer of the African Diaspora, what has been Morrison’s sustaining connection to Africa, how has it influenced her life as an artist and the goals of her writing, and what are the ways in which Morrison’s writing have influenced younger writers and other creative artists?” Denard asked.
She illustrated how Morrison incorporated African cultural “survivals” into her novels, drawn from family stories, community values, and works by African writers such as Chinua Achebe and Camara Laye. “Morrison’s knowledge of how these African cultural elements became a part of African American life, and her desire to bear witness to their influence, shaped her artistry and her political goals as a writer,” Denard said.
The lecture examined Morrison’s role as a cultural conduit, drawing on Song of Solomon (1977) and Tar Baby (1981), and considered her influence on a new generation of writers and artists across Africa and the Diaspora. Denard’s presentation also underscored how African Americans, and Morrison in particular, have maintained spiritual, cultural, and artistic connections to Africa despite the historical separation caused by the Atlantic slave trade.
The lecture, moderated by Philathia Bolton, Associate Professor of African and African Diaspora Literature and Cultural Studies and inaugural Toni Morrison Senior Fellow (2023) at The Africa Institute, sparked insightful discussion among attendees.
Denard noted that her time at The Africa Institute encouraged her to explore Morrison’s cultural and artistic connections to Africa in greater depth, and her lecture will serve as a broader introduction to the research she will chronicle in her forthcoming book, Bearing Witness: Culture and Meaning in Morrison’s Fiction.
The lecture was part of The Africa Institute’s Senior and Postdoctoral Fellowship Lectures series.
Learn more about Dr. Carolyn Denard here and our fellowships here.
Subscribe to our mailing list and get the latest news from The Africa Institute
