IRVINE : Abolitionist Is Topic of Lecture at UCI

Deborah McDowell, an expert in African-American literature, will discuss the life of abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass on Friday at UC Irvine.

McDowell’s lecture, “In the First Place: Making Frederick Douglass and the African-American Narrative Tradition,” is one in a series of chancellor’s distinguished lectures begun last year to

encourage diversity at UCI.

The talk will be from 3 to 5 p.m. in the campus’s Cross-Cultural Center. Admission is free.

McDowell, editor of the Black Women Writers Series published by Beacon Press, is an associate professor of English at the University of Virginia. In the lecture, McDowell will discuss

Douglass’ 1845 autobiography and critique the work.