On the first day of his course on Afro-American literature, associate professor of English Ted Mason provokes his students by saying, "You should not be in this class if you want to learn about black people; you should be here because you want to learn about black writers."

The distinction reflects a dynamic tension in Afro-American literary studies. Should an Afro-American novel or poem be seen primarily as a linguistic creation revealing a particular author's vision? Or is it essentially a social and racial document, one that must be read in terms of the black American experience and black-white relations?

Mason guides his students through such thorny and often politically charged issues with erudition, rigor, and wit--insisting always on the close analysis of language, raising questions about the cultural forces influencing authors.

Admired as a demanding teacher who challenges students' preconceptions, Mason rejects the argument that literary study can be color-blind, but he denies that race is the single defining factor in Afro-American literature. What Mason conveys, above all, is the richness of a neglected tradition, the value of diverse critical approaches, and the fact that with literature, there are no simple answers.