My approach to this project is mediated by my own white, Southern and female identities, as well as the academic discourses that surround me, most prominently feminist and post-modern theory. His words began to allay my own fears, as I struggled to honestly and thoughtfully address my own identity as it relates to a field in which black voices are too often silenced by white scholars. After months of reading his works in French and English, listening to his jazz recordings, and laughing out loud at his linguistic play, I began to appreciate the nuanced and ethical perspective a white critic and jazz enthusiast can contr ibute to a complex racial discourse. Boris Vian took me by surprise - I never expected to study and learn to admire a white man of the Parisian avant-garde. This engaging moment in history evolved into a senior thesis project in which I envisioned exploring the complexities of the black expatriate. Several years ago, my interest in African-American intellectual history was sparked by a course on the experience of African-American expatriates in Paris.
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