bell hooks Overview

As a teacher, writer, and cultural critic, bell hooks consistently pinpoints the nastiest dust balls of sexism, racism, and homophobia that lurk in the dark corners of society. She challenges readers of all cultural or political stances with the perspective that... [more]

As a teacher, writer, and cultural critic, bell hooks consistently pinpoints the nastiest dust balls of sexism, racism, and homophobia that lurk in the dark corners of society. She challenges readers of all cultural or political stances with the perspective that no 'ism' is flawless and no one is entirely free of prejudice. Centering her arguments on the black female experience, hooks has thrown down the gauntlet to both the feminist and antiracist movements, which have historically been at odds with each other. Born Gloria Jean Watkins in Kentucky in 1955, she later took her nom de plume, bell hooks, from her grandmother's name. She has written over ten books, the first being the acclaimed "Ain't I A Woman: Black Women" and "Feminism" (1981). In her explorations of black pop culture, the multicultural trend in education, and the development of new critical methods appropriate to African American writing and art, hooks' approach is always unconventional. Her style is designed to appeal to both popular and academic readerships -- and to subvert both. hooks has a disarming and utterly compelling tendency to meld the most stunning autobiographical details of her life into more traditional academic cultural criticism and Postmodern rhetoric. hooks has taught Women's Studies at Oberlin College and English at the City College of New York. In addition to producing book-length scholarly works, she has published poems, memoirs, and articles in "Artforum," "Black American Literature Forum," "Z Magazine," and "Essence." [show less]