Dr. Peter Caster, chair of the Languages, Literature, and Composition Department at USC Upstate, has been selected as one of the University of South Carolina Featured Scholars this month for his book, Fathers, Preachers, Rebels, Men: Black Masculinity in U.S. History and Literature, 1820-1945.

This original work, co-edited with historian Timothy R. Buckner and co-authored with The Ohio State University Press, is a collection of essays that brings together scholars of history and literature focused on the lives and writing of black men during the 19^th and 20^th centuries in the United States. The interdisciplinary study demonstrates the masculine character of cultural practices developed from slavery through segregation. The book shows how black masculinity embodies a set of contradictions, including an often mistaken threat of violence, the belief in its legitimacy, and the rhetorical union of truth and fiction surrounding slavery, segregation, resistance, and self-determination.

The USC Office of Research seeks to support faculty excellence in research, creative activities and other scholarly pursuits. The Featured Scholars initiative recognizes outstanding scholars from across the University’s diverse schools, colleges and campuses.