Farah Jasmine Griffin (born 1963) is an American academic and professor specializing in

African-American literature African American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. Phillis Wheatley was an enslaved African woman who became the first African American to publish a book of poetry, which was publis ...

. She is William B. Ransford Professor of English and

Comparative Literature Comparative literature studies is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across language, linguistic, national, geographic, and discipline, disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role ...

and

African-American Studies Black studies or Africana studies (with nationally specific terms, such as African American studies and Black Canadian studies), is an interdisciplinary academic field that primarily focuses on the study of the history, culture, and politics of ...

, chair of the African American and African Diaspora Studies Department, and Director Elect of the Columbia University Institute for Research in African American Studies at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. She received her BA degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1985. She completed her PhD from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1992. In 2021, she received a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

Bibliography

* ''In Search of a Beautiful Freedom: New and Selected Essays'' ( W.W. Norton & Company, 2023) * ''Read Until You Understand: The Profound Wisdom of Black Life and Literature''( W. W. Norton & Company, 2021) * ''If You Can't Be Free, Be a Mystery: In Search of Billie Holiday ''( Free Press, 2001) * ''Clawing at the Limits of Cool: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and the Greatest Jazz Collaboration Ever ''with Salim Washington ( St. Martin's, 2008) * ''Harlem Nocturne: Women Artists and Progressive Politics During World War II ''(

Basic Books Basic Books is a book publisher founded in 1950 and located in New York City, now an imprint of Hachette Book Group. It publishes books in the fields of psychology, philosophy, economics, science, politics, sociology, current affairs, and his ...

, 2013) * ''"Who Set You Flowin'?": The African-American Migration Narrative ''(

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1995) * ''Beloved Sisters and Loving Friends: Letters from Rebecca Primus of Royal Oak, Maryland, and Addie Brown of Hartford, Connecticut, 1854-1868'', ed. (

Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Blanche Knopf and Alfred A. Knopf Sr. in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers ...

, 1999) * ''Uptown Conversation: The New Jazz Studies'', ed. with Robert G. O'Meally and

Brent Hayes Edwards Brent Hayes Edwards is a professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University. Early life Edwards attended Yale University as an undergraduate, then completed an MA and PhD at Columbia. Career Teaching Edwards has taught at Ru ...

(

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's la ...

, 2004) * ''Inclusive Scholarship: Developing Black Studies in the United States: A 25th Anniversary Retrospective of Ford Foundation Grant Making, 1982-2007 ''(

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

, 2007)

References

External links

* * 1963 births Living people Columbia University faculty Harvard University alumni Yale University alumni 21st-century African-American academics 21st-century American academics American women academics American academic administrators American women non-fiction writers 20th-century African-American academics 20th-century American academics 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American women writers 21st-century American women writers 21st-century African-American writers {{US-academic-stub