(Re)claiming self: Motive forces contributing to migration in African American literature by women

This project is concerned with the theme of migration in African American literature written by women. Rather than examining the ramifications of the migration phenomenon on African American culture in totality, my research delves into how migratory moments in African American literature play out the evolution between Black Womanhood past and present. My works extends the critical discourse on the theme of migration in that I apply a theoretical model that expands the notion of a migration spiral to map out discrete points representing the stages in the protagonist's quest. Novels by Zora Neale Hurston, Ann Petry, Octavia Butler and Pearl Cleage are examined.