Kimberly Blockett
Home institution
Pennsylvania State University, Brandywine
Research project
Race, Religion and Rebellion: Recovering the Antebellum Writing and Itinerant Ministry of Zilpha Elaw
This project provides the most extensive extant account of African-American female itinerant preaching during the Second Great Awakening. This is the first book-length study of Elaw’s life, ministry, and memoir, which includes an unprecedented chronicle of preaching in the slave states after the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793.
Profile
Kimberly Blockett is an associate professor of English at Pennsylvania State University, Brandywine. She received her PhD in English Literature from the University of Wisconsin/Madison. Her research interests include African trans-Atlantic studies; 19th century African American literary and religious studies; archival studies; American women’s literature; and cultural studies. At Penn State Brandywine, Dr. Blockett enjoys teaching literary theory, African American literature, American studies, and civic and community engagement courses. Her archival research has been funded by fellowships from the Smithsonian Institution, the Ford Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.