The (In)Visible Acquisitions of Ann Allen Shockley

With the “Hear, Here” series, we aim to facilitate conversations around new research in the humanities. Faculty fellows at the Institute for the Humanities will discuss a part of their current project in a short talk followed by a Q & A session.

About this talk:
This talk explores the prolific literary and professional life of archivist, librarian, and multi-genre author Ann Allen Shockley (b. 1927). Despite being a contemporary of Audre Lorde, Alice Walker, and Toni Morrison, she is largely overlooked within Black feminist thought and Black women’s literary production. This talk analyzes correspondence, organizational records, and Shockley’s publications to trace how late-twentieth-century material and epistemological conditions facilitated the memorialization of some Black feminist intellectuals and creatives while obscuring others.

Jennifer Dominique Jones is a 2025-26 Jean Yokes Woodhead Faculty Fellow at the Institute for the Humanities and Associate Professor of History and Women's and Gender Studies.