Faculty
Brenda F. Berrian
Professor of Africana Studies, English, and Women’s Studies
Contact
Office: WWPH 4162
Phone: 412-648-7542
E-mail: bberrian@pitt.edu
Web page: www.brendaberrian.com
Qualifications
BS, French, Hampton Institute
MA, French, Hampton Institute
Doctorate de 3e cycle in North American Studies, Universite de Paris III-Nouvelle Sorbonne.
Areas of Specialization
Professor of African and Caribbean women writers
French Caribbean music
Musical soundtracks for French African and Caribbean cinemas.
Selected Honors/Recognitions
Academic and/or Professional
- Recipient of the 2005 Festival International du Zouk award
- Research grants from the University of Pittsburgh, Social Science Research Council, the Rockefeller Foundation
- The Fulbright-Hays Group Study Abroad and Research Project Award
- Southern Fellowship Fund
- Fellow of the National Endowment of the Humanities
Selected Publications/Productions/Research
- Bibliography of African Women Writers and Journalists (Three Continents, 1985)
- Bibliography of Women Writers from the Caribbean (Three Continents, 1989)
- Awakening Spaces: French Caribbean Popular Songs, Music and Culture (University of Chicago Press, 2000),
- Guest editor of a special issue of The Shooting Star Review #25 (1993) about Caribbean literature
- Articles and chapters about African and Caribbean women writers, French Caribbean music and lyrics, and music in French African and Caribbean films.
Public Service (National/International)
- Hosted the 1988 African Literature Association Conference
- Guest lectures at various universities and venues in West Europe, East, West, and South Africa, and the Caribbean
- Keynote speaker at the first African American Studies Interdisciplinary Perspectives Conference, Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey
- Former book review editor of MaComere, journal for the Association of Caribbean Women Writers and Scholars.
Professional Affiliations
- African Literature Association
- Founding member of the Association of Caribbean Women Writers and Scholars.
