Professor Published in Women’s Studies Journal 
January 28, 2010
Herkimer County Community College Assistant Professor of English Lisa Elwood-Farber has had a paper accepted for publication in Women’s Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal. Her submission is entitled “Harriet Wilson’s Our Nig: A Look at the Historical Significance of a Novel that Exposes a Century’s Worth of Hypocritical Ideology.”
Our Nig is claimed to be the first known novel written by an African American in the United States. Harriet Wilson wrote it around the year 1859, yet the book has been buried and forgotten for over a century. Most critics believe that it was unpopular because it critiqued northern racism, instead of unveiling the horrors of slavery in the South. It calls to attention a set of assumptions that support notions of what it means to be black or white. In nineteenth century white America, there were certain ideologies that contributed to notions of race that white people used as an excuse to oppress black Americans.
Elwood-Farber’s paper explores Wilson’s portrayal of northern white racism and the deeply rooted assumptions of race. While using two genres, the famous slave narrative and the sentimental novel, Harriet Wilson challenges the racist ideology of 19th century America.
Elwood-Farber holds a bachelor’s degree from Marymount College and a master’s from New Mexico State University, where she focused on women’s literature and race theory. She was appointed to the HCCC faculty in 2003.