Ajuan Mance
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Ajuan Mance | |
|---|---|
 In a panel discussion in 2026 | |
| Born | South Carolina, United States |
| Alma mater | Brown University, University of Michigan |
| Known for | 1001 Black Men |
| Website | ajuanmance.com |
Ajuan Maria Mance is an American visual artist, author, editor, and a professor of Ethnic Studies and English at Mills College in Oakland, California.[1] She created the portrait series 1001 Black Men.
Mance was born in Daytona Beach, Florida. Her family moved north to Long Island, New York where she spent most of her formative years. Her parents were both educators.[2][3] She holds a B.A. from Brown University and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.[1]
Academic career
Ajuan Mance was an assistant professor of English at the University of Oregon from 1995 to 1999. She then joined Mills College faculty in 1999 as an assistant professor of English and in 2005 became an associate professor of English and the Wert Chair in American Literature. In 2008, she was appointed the Aurelia Henry Reinhardt Chair in American Literature.[4]
Through her teaching and scholarship, Mance focuses on history and Black literature in the United States.[4] Her scholarly publications include three books: Inventing Black Women: African American Women Poets and Self-Representation, 1877-2000,[5] Proud legacy: The "colored" schools of Malvern, Arkansas and the community that made them,[6] and Before Harlem: An anthology of African-American literature from the long nineteenth century.[7]
