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Overview

Ann duCille is a scholar of African American literature, culture, and feminist theory who joined the Hamilton College English faculty in fall 1974 as an instructor — one of several women of color hired that semester as Hamilton was transitioning toward coeducation. She held a B.A. in English from Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts and an M.A. in creative writing from Brown University, where she also held a Brown University Fellowship (1971, 1973) and taught English during the 1972 and 1974 summer sessions. Before coming to Hamilton, she directed the South Providence Club and taught writing and Black Literature at the Rhode Island State Adult Correctional Institution (1973–74), and in spring 1973 directed a poetry workshop for Black women at Bannister House in Providence. In spring 1974 she hosted “Not For Black’s Only” on WSBE-TV, Channel 56.

At Hamilton duCille taught a course in Black poetry and was noted as a published poet whose work appeared in campus literary events. She participated in the Afro-Latin Poetry Reading in November 1974, reading her own original poetry alongside students. She was hired on a one-year contract and remained for at least the 1974–75 academic year. She later became a professor at Wesleyan University, where she is known for her scholarship on African American literature, popular culture, and feminist theory.

Relevance to Research

DuCille was one of the first Black women faculty members at Hamilton during the pivotal period of coeducation. Her 1974 hire — along with Germina Lubega and Alfrieta Parks — was the subject of significant Spectator coverage that captured both the promise of diversifying Hamilton’s faculty and the institutional tensions around gender, race, and hiring practices. Her arrival introduced Black literature as a formal subject in the Hamilton curriculum at a time when, as she told the Spectator, “black literature was in no way an integral part of the curriculum.”

Notes

• Instructor in English, Hamilton College, 1974–75 (hired fall 1974 on a one-year contract)
• B.A., Bridgewater State College (Massachusetts); M.A. in creative writing, Brown University
• Brown University Fellowship, 1971 and 1973; taught at Brown summer sessions 1972 and 1974
• Directed writing/Black Literature at Rhode Island State Adult Correctional Institution, Cranston, 1973–74
• Directed poetry workshop for Black women, Bannister House, Providence, spring 1973
• Hosted “Not For Black’s Only,” WSBE-TV, Channel 56, spring 1974
• At Hamilton: taught Black poetry; self-described as a published poet
• Participated in the Afro-Latin Poetry Reading, Nov. 22, 1974, Red Pit, sponsored by the Black and Puerto Rican Union
• 1974 Spectator interview: noted that Black students at Hamilton were “very hungry for black faculty” and that Black literature was absent from the curriculum
• Described Hamilton as “a particularly good place for a beginning teacher”; said colleagues were “extremely helpful”
• 1975 Spectator article confirmed she and Lubega “were not hired under any special recruiting program”
• Later became professor at Wesleyan University; noted for scholarship on African American literature and popular culture

Related Sources

• spec-1974-09-07 — listed among new Hamilton faculty, fall 1974, as instructor in English
• spec-1974-11-01 — profile of duCille, Parks, and Bland as new women of color faculty; extensive interview with duCille
• spec-1974-11-22 — announced participation in Afro-Latin Poetry Reading; biographical background provided
• spec-1975-03-14 — named alongside colleague Rigsbee as published creative writer in the English department
• spec-1975-04-25 — noted alongside Lubega in context of hiring practices and year-to-year renewals

Related Topics

• coeducation-and-kirkland-college — her hire occurred during the coeducation transition period
• race-diversity-and-inclusion — among the first Black women faculty at Hamilton; her perspective on Black literature in the curriculum
• curriculum-and-academic-departments — introduced Black poetry as a course at Hamilton
• faculty-governance-and-academic-affairs — hiring, one-year contracts, and faculty diversity
• student-publications-at-hamilton — extensively covered by the Spectator in 1974–75

Related Entities

• hamilton-spectator — primary source of documentation of her tenure at Hamilton