Kenneth Warren, professor of English at the University of Chicago and the R. Stanton Avery Distinguished Fellow for 2010–11, examines how the rise of segregation in the late 19th century created an imperative among black writers to produce a distinctive African American literature.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman came to Pasadena to live in 1888. Here she wrote “The Yellow Wall-Paper,” a harrowing story of a woman’s descent into madness, fueled by her own experience. Helen Horowitz, professor of history, Smith College, and the Los Angeles Times Distinguished Fellow at The Huntington in 2010–11, considers Gilman’s life in Pasadena and the making of the story.

History is usually seen as a grand narrative across nations and across time; for Shakespeare it was individualized, the story of characters inscribed onto lives. Peter Holland, professor of English at the University of Notre Dame, examines how our stories about Shakespeare's own life offer a new perspective on Shakespeare's histories.