Committee on Degrees in History and Literature at Harvard

Tools for Students

• Calendar
• Handbook
• Courses that Count
• Forms

Bio

• NAME: Erin Royston Battat
• FIELD IN HISTORY AND LITERATURE: America
• GRADUATE DEPARTMENT OR Ph.D. AND GRANTING INSTITUTION: History of American Civilization, Harvard University
• AREAS OF INTEREST:
• Late 19th and 20th century cultural history and literature with special interests in:
• migration and immigration
• social movements and social justice
• the literary left
• intersections of race and class
• African-American literature
• labor history and working class culture
• protest literature
• ethnic literature
• urban culture
• social realism and naturalism
• the documentary tradition
• the culture of the Depression era
• myth and memory
• the American West
• gender
• DISSERTATION TOPIC OR TITLE:
• ‘Ain’t Got No Home’: Race and American Migration Narratives in the Depression Era
‘Ain’t Got No Home’ examines the intersections of African American and southern white migration narratives and how they speak to issues of racial equality, economic rights, and national identity. It is my contention that Depression-era writers and artists viewed black and white migration as a shared experience, and that they used the migrant figure as a cultural “outsider” to forge a broad social justice movement.
• E-MAIL ADDRESS: emrbattat@gmail.com
• OFFICE: Barker 045
• OFFICE PHONE: 5-3448

Department Address and Contact Information

• Barker Center 122, Cambridge, MA 02138
• Phone: (617) 495-4029 | Fax: (617) 496-5605 | Email: histlit@fas.harvard.edu

Copyright Information