The Eugene O’Neill Society has organized Session 559 at the MLA 2023 convention next weekend: “The Duality of Eugene O’Neill on Race.” This roundtable explores why O’Neill’s plays from the 1920s and 1930s were viewed as progressive when they were written and seem racist today. The discussion also considers O’Neill’s role in the development of African American theatre, so we expect the conversation to range widely over modern American drama and racism in American culture, although the initial focus will be on O’Neill.

Here is a link to the description of the session in the convention program.

Here is a link to the Eugene O’Neill Society website.

The attached document provides additional details about the session and its participants.