Bell hooks
Gloria Jean Watkins (September 25, 1952 – December 15, 2021), better known by her pen name
bell hooks, was an American author, theorist, educator, and social critic who was a Distinguished Professor in Residence at
Berea College. She is best known for her writings on race,
feminism, and class. The focus of hooks' writing was to explore the
intersectionality of race,
capitalism, and gender, and what she described as their ability to produce and perpetuate systems of
oppression and
class domination. She published around 40 books, including works that ranged from essays, poetry, and children's books. She published numerous scholarly articles, appeared in documentary films, and participated in public
lectures. Her work addressed
love,
race,
class,
gender,
art,
history,
sexuality,
mass media, and
feminism.
She began her academic career in 1976 teaching English and
ethnic studies at the
University of Southern California. She later taught at several institutions including
Stanford University,
Yale University, and
The City College of New York, before joining
Berea College in
Berea, Kentucky, in 2004. In 2014, hooks also founded the bell hooks Institute at
Berea College. Her pen name was borrowed from her maternal
great-grandmother, Bell Blair Hooks.
Provided by Wikipedia