Jocelyn Chadwick Visits the White House to Speak on Race, Censorship and Teaching Mark Twain

Assistant Professor Jocelyn Chadwick will visit the White House today to participate in the Salute to American Authors Series, which gathers scholars and educators around discussions of the country's great writers. Mark Twain is the subject of this symposium.

Chadwick will join documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, Connecticut governor John G. Rowland, University of Texas at Austin professor Shelly Fisher Fishkin, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Justin Kaplan as they discuss Twain's life, his works, and their historical significance with high school students and teachers. New York Times children's editor Eden Lipson will moderate the discussion.

Chadwick, an expert on the issues of censorship and race in education, will speak on the role of race in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Pudd'nhead Wilson. She has published several books and articles on the way Twain's interpretations of race should be taught to today's schoolchildren, including The Jim Dilemma: Reading Race in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and "Uncle Tom: the Stereotype, the Man-Jim in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." She currently is working on a new book, Chained Voices: Growing Up a Slave in the Nineteenth Century.

Ken Burns has directed and produced award-winning documentaries on such varied topics as Thomas Jefferson, baseball, and the history of jazz. His next documentary, which focuses on the life and works of Mark Twain, will air January 14 and 15 on PBS. Chadwick contributed to the film and wrote a chapter for its related book, Mark Twain: An Illustrated Biography.

First Lady Laura Bush established the Salute to American Authors Series to promote reading and literacy. The symposium on Mark Twain is the first in the series.

C-SPAN will broadcast the symposium at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 1.

For More Information

Contact Margaret R. Haas at 617-496-1884