Jena, Abu Ghraib, And Katrina: Using Popular Culture to Teach Wright's Works (Richard Wright) (Critical Essay)

SITUATING Richard Wright's works within the context of the historical events and cultural productions of the time in which they were written is an important pedagogical practice. Yet students can benefit from a particular kind of de-historicizing of his oeuvre as well. This involves correlating his texts with references to popular culture, or more specifically, mass media narratives of current events. According to my students, doing so highlights some of the profound ways in which Wright speaks to issues of our own time. Their response is not surprising, for his work is indeed vital and prophetic. As Julia Wright remarks in the Introduction to A Father's Law, there is an "eeriness" to the premonitions in her father's writing (xi). This essay outlines such an approach to teaching selected works by Wright, including the poem "Between the World and Me," short stories "Big Boy Leaves Home" and "Down by the Riverside" from Uncle Tom's Children, and Native Son. The events to be discussed herein are ones I have found students are usually eager to discuss: the Jena Six case, the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison, and Hurricane Katrina. Of course, the headlines offer a multitude of other possibilities and instructors will want to use topics which suit their own interests, courses, and students.