Toni Morrison's "Beloved"

A Race and American Culture Discussion

Explore one of the most acclaimed novels ever written by an American author: Beloved by Toni Morrison. We will discuss what makes this book a "neo-slave narrative" and why that genre became popular in the 1980s. Morrison takes the real-life story of Margaret Garner—an escaped slave, who killed her child rather than let them be captured and taken back into slavery—and she turns it into a ghost story.

Our excerpts for this event include a few early pages from the novel: Morrison's "Foreword," where she explains her inspiration; the first few pages, which describe the haunted house; and finally, the moment when "Beloved" appears in human form. We encourage everyone to go out and read the whole novel, but—as usual for this series—you can read as much or as little as you like and still participate in our discussion.

To access the excerpts we will discuss, click here or visit any branch for a physical copy. You may also request a copy of the full novel here.

This program is the twentieth in our ongoing "Race and American Culture" series and is for adults only.

About Dr. Ian Afflerbach

Dr. Ian Afflerbach is an Associate Professor of American Literature at the University of North Georgia, where he teaches courses in African-American literature, modern American fiction, and the history of ideas. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis, and has lived in Montreal, Vermont, North Carolina, and Germany. His first book, Making Liberalism New, was published in 2021, and he's currently working on a second, Sellouts! The Story of an American Insult, which examines the history of "selling out" in American culture.

Event image credit: irontrybex from Getty Images via Canva.com

Headshot and UNG logo provided by University of North Georgia

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