About
Sondra Bickham Washington is a fourth year doctoral student in African American literature at the University of Alabama. Her doctoral research investigates depictions of black girlhood and the development of female children and adolescents in African American literature. She expects to graduate May 2020. Education
Expected May 2020 – Ph.D. in African American Literature, University of Alabama
Dissertation Title: “‘(Re)Consider Me’: Black Girl-Women in African American Literature”
2014 – M.A. in Literature, University of Alabama at Birmingham
1998 – M.S. in Public Relations, University of Southern Mississippi
1997 – B.A. in English, Louisiana State University, Minor in Asian Studies (Japanese) Publications
“Sister Saviors: Adultified and Exploited Black Girl-Women in The Darkest Child.” Black Girls, Black Girlhood, and the Stories We Tell: Black Girls’ andBlack Women’s Coming-of-Age Narratives, University Press of Mississippi. (Forthcoming)
“‘Who Will Deliver Me?’: Black Girlhood in a Man’s World in Salvage the Bones,” Xavier Review, 38.2, Fall 2018: 85-93. Projects
The Black Girlhood Project,
http://www.blackgirlhoodproject.com
This digital humanities project is my website, which is designed to encourage further academic and artistic consideration of black girls in literature, as well as to offer black girlhood scholars and researchers a centralized location for networking and project discussions. Currently, the site comprises a blog on black female children and adolescents in literature, an increasing list of creative and scholarly texts portraying or analyzing black girls, and a forum for interested parties.Upcoming Talks and Conferences
“Expanded Existences: Envisioning Black Girl Potential in Afrofuturistic Literature,” College Language Association, Memphis, Tennessee. To be presented April 2020. Memberships
College Language Association (CLA)
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Collegium for African American Research (CAAR)
Society for the Study of the American Short Story
South Atlantic Modern Language Association (SAMLA)
Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association (PAMLA)
English Graduate Association (EGO), The University of Alabama Sigma Tau Delta International English Honor Society (Vice-President, 2012-2013)
