Africology & African American Studies

Education

• Ph.D. in American Literature, Michigan State University, 1978
• MA in American Literature,Michigan State University, 1972
• BA Double Major in English & Spanish, Marshal University, 1966

Interests and Expertise

Dr. Melvin Peters, Associate Professor, Emeritus

Dr. Melvin Peters served as an Associate Professor of African American Studies at Eastern Michigan University until 2016. He began his long teaching career in Detroit during the time of the 1967 rebellion.

Peters, who began at Eastern in 1992, taught previously at Wayne County Community College, Michigan State University and in the public schools of Detroit and Columbus.

He holds a B.A. degree in English and Spanish from Marshall University in his home town of Huntington, West Virginia. He holds M.A. and PHD degrees in American Literature (specializing in all genres of African American Literature) from Michigan State University.

At EMU, Peters taught a multidisciplinary spectrum of African American Studies courses. He specializes in the cultural history and cultural continuity of the expanse of the African Diaspora, as expressed in literature, music, and film and their relationship to social movements. His courses include “Hip Hop Lyricism in African American Culture” and “Films in the African American Experience.”

He has a long record of service to student organizations, both as a faculty advisor and as a speaker or panel member.

He has published occasional poetry and scholarly essays on subjects such as The Harlem Renaissance, Hip Hop as a Pedagogical Tool, Slave Rebellion Depiction in African American Literature and The Poetry of Curtis Mayfield.

Publications and Presentations

• The Harlem Renaissance
• Hip Hop as a Pedagogical Tool
• Slave Rebellion Depiction in African American Literature
• The Poetry of Curtis Mayfield