873 research outputs found
Ernest Gaines: Gaines on Gaines
No full textWorking in the tradition of James Weldon Johnson, Ralph Ellison and Zora Neale Hurston, Ernest Gaines is the author of A Lesson Before Dying, winner of the 1993 National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction.
From The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman to A Lesson Before Dying and The Tragedy of Brady Sims, Gaines stories addressed the timeless issues of class, poverty, and race which transcend the American South and which transcend America itself. While his fictional world centers on a small rural place in south Louisiana, his address is to universal challenges, to human dignity of all peoples, no matter where they come from. His concerns are always with the capacity to confront oppression with dignity, to confront dissembling with triumph, and to replace the language of injustice with the transformative language of humane dialogue and social justice.
In presenting the National Medal of the Arts, President Barack Obama cited Ernest J Gaines “for his contributions as an author and teacher. Drawing deeply from his childhood in the rural South, his works have shed new light on the African American experience and given voice to those who have endured injustice.
Ayanna Gaines
No full textAyanna Gaines (she/her/hers) is the Student Success Librarian at Woodbury University. She received her BA in English from Brown University, and her MLIS from Dominican University in River Forest, IL. In addition to her duties as they relate to marketing, outreach, DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion), and student engagement, she is also the liaison to the School of Media : Culture : Design. As a member of the Midwest Popular Culture Association, she acts as the Area Head for Print Media and Popular Culture. Her research interests have in the past spanned many areas pertaining to popular culture, but she is now focusing on the intersections between popular culture, DEI, and library issues. She has presented her work at LOEX, People of Color in Library and Information Science Summit (POCinLIS), SCELCapalooza, and MPCA. She is the author of the book chapter That\u27s Women\u27s Work: Pink-Collar Professions, Gender, and the Librarian Stereotype, which appeared in the book The Librarian Stereotype: Deconstructing Perceptions and Presentations of Information Work (2014). Ayanna has two amazing sons and is owned by two cats.https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/irdlconference-committee/1015/thumbnail.jp
Ribozyme catalysis with a twist: active state of the twister ribozyme in solution predicted from molecular simulation
No full textWe present results from molecular dynamics simulations and free energy calculations of the twister ribozyme at different stages along the reaction path to gain insight into its mechanism. The results, together with recent biochemical experiments, provide support for a mechanism involving general-acid catalysis by a conserved adenine residue in the active site. Although adenine has been previously implicated as a general acid acting through the N1 position in other ribozymes such as the hairpin and VS ribozymes, in the twister ribozyme there may be a twist. Biochemical experiments suggest that general acid catalysis may occur through the N3 position, which has never before been implicated in this role; however, currently, there is a lack of a detailed structural model for the active state of the twister ribozyme in solution that is consistent with these and other experiments. Simulations in a crystalline environment reported here are consistent with X-ray crystallographic data, and suggest that crystal packing contacts trap the RNA in an inactive conformation with U-1 in an extruded state that is incompatible with an in-line attack to the scissile phosphate. Simulations in solution, on the other hand, reveal this region to be dynamic and able to adopt a conformation where U-1 is stacked with G33. In this state, the nucleophile is in line with the scissile phosphate, and the N1 position of G33 and N3 position of A1 are poised to act as a general base and acid, respectively, as supported by mutational experiments. Free energy calculations further predict the electrostatic environment causes a shift of the microscopic pKa at the N3 position of A1 toward neutrality by approximately 5 pKa units. These results offer a unified interpretation of a broad range of currently available experimental data that points to a novel mode of general acid catalysis through the N3 position of an adenine nucleobase, thus expanding the repertoire of known mechanistic strategies employed by small nucleolytic ribozymes.Peer reviewe
Recommended from our members
The Gaines-Oliphint house preservation report
No full texttextThis historic preservation report focuses on the Gaines-Oliphint house in Sabine
County, Texas. The first part of the report establishes the geographic and historic context
of the home. Next, the report concentrates on establishing significance of the Gaines-
Oliphint house based on the National Register’s criteria through both an association with
a significant person in history and architectural characteristics representative of a
particular time and style. Finally, the report outlines a preliminary conditions assessment
of the Gaines-Oliphint house followed by recommendations for stabilization, preservation
and restoration of the home.Architectur
Hidden Poetry of the Five Books of Moses
No full textDr. Jason Gaines, Biblical scholar, associate faculty member, College of the Holy Cross and Fairfield University, and author of The Poetic Priestly Source.https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/bennettcenter-posters/1334/thumbnail.jp
Edwards-Gaines Plantation
No full textIn this overview of the history of Edwards-Gaines Plantation, the author presents information derived from archival research covering geographical location, shifting ownership over time, biographical and genealogical information on owners, the current status of Edwards-Gaines Plantation, and information about enslaved people and other forms of captive labor. The item contains maps, handbook entries, letters, newspaper articles, diary entries, photographs, court records, doctoral dissertations, census data, pension applications, and lists of deed records.Authored primarily by James Smith, in his work with the Brazosport Archaeological Society, this collection reflects the summary of archival and archaeological reconnaissance work conducted by the BAS between 1980 and 2020. The documents in the collection summarize the results of a comprehensive study on the history of Antebellum plantations in Brazoria County, TX, as well as other related historical places and developments
“Pray if you want to:” a reevaluation of religion in the fiction of Ernest J. Gaines
No full textThis study examines religiosity in Ernest J. Gaines’s fiction. Though some critics acknowledge the existence of religion in Gaines’s work, most of them gloss over the topic. Generally, they conclude that the author mistrusts religion, religion fails the characters, and his preacher personas are perfunctory. I argue that such criticism fails to address fully the role of religion in Gaines’s writing. Because of the ubiquitousness of religious circumstance, I argue that Gaines expresses neither rejection of nor ambivalence towards religion. Instead, I offer evidence that his stance is paradoxical. Characters who are atheists or claim to have lost faith are the characters who most epitomize Christian traditions and characteristics. Many use preacherly techniques such as speech and mannerisms, and others exemplify biblical characters through parallel lifestyles. Though several characters claim to reject religion, Christian principles impact and guide their behavior and thought. Additionally, Gaines inserts preacher personas whose words and actions seem to support the notion that the men are perfunctory; however, their roles as motivators and activists suggest otherwise. Gaines also acknowledges African American folk tradition with his insertion of folkloric preachers and conjurers. Though Gaines’s primary themes are manhood issues, I argue that religion plays a role in creating and maintaining a sense of manhood. To analyze Gaines’s treatment of religion, I discuss his use of four elements of narratology: the imagery of falling, rhetorical manipulation, the dismantling of stereotype, and the incorporation of biblical allusion and typological symbolism and archetypes. My primary argument is that Ernest Gaines promotes orthodox Christianity by presenting it in an acceptable modern form. Utilizing a range of characters who exhibit varied attitudes toward religion, from unquestioning acceptance to outright rejection, Gaines “seemingly” advocates negative attitudes toward Christianity, but this exploitation of the negative repeatedly serves as a segue to reveal a positive update. Located in the background of each story is a positive historical or cultural factor related to religion, proving that religion is an escapable, fundamental aspect of African American culture
Ernest Gaines and Grambling Quiz Bowl News, circa 2004
No full textPage 2 of the GSU Update newsletter, highlighting news about Louisiana author Ernest Gaines visiting GSU and the Grambling Quiz Bowl team playing in Orlando, Florida
- …
