SVSU professor’s book shines light on prominent African American writer

September 26, 2025

SVSU professor's book shines light on prominent African American writer

Eric Gardner publishes "Frances Ellen Watkins Harper's Civil War and Reconstruction" after 10 years of research

In his new book, Saginaw Valley State University English professor Eric Gardner explores Black activism during and after the Civil War through the lens of an African American writer. "Frances Ellen Watkins Harper's Civil War and Reconstruction," published by Oxford University Press, is the result of extensive archival research, including documents that were previously unrecovered.

Gardner, professor and chair of SVSU's Department of English, spent a decade researching Harper, a prominent 19th-century Black author and activist. His work was supported in part by a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

"It became clear to me that, to really understand American literary and cultural history, we needed to know a lot more about Harper," Gardner said. "She was such an important force in so many aspects of 19-century America - and yet she's been dismissed and ignored for so long."

The book was recently released, coinciding with the 200th anniversary of Harper's birth (Sept. 24). To celebrate the anniversary, Penn State's Center for Black Digital Research hosted a symposium titled "Frances E. W. Harper at 200." Gardner delivered one of the keynote addresses alongside scholars Martha S. Jones of Johns Hopkins University and Sherita Johnson of Penn State University.

Harper (1825-1911) was one of the most widely published African American writers of the 19th century. She was known for her poetry, essays and novels as well as her work as an abolitionist, suffragist and advocate for racial and gender equality.

"Much of the book focuses on Reconstruction, when Harper hoped the nation might finally reach its promise of truth, equity and justice," Gardner said. "She consistently argued that America should celebrate its diversity and that our communities become stronger when we approach each other as neighbors."

Gardner has been a member of SVSU's faculty since 1996 and is now serving his fourth term as chair of the English Department. His scholarship has received two NEH fellowships, SVSU's Roosevelt Ruffin Diversity Award and multiple national book prizes. He is the author of "Unexpected Places: Relocating Nineteenth-Century African American Literature" (2009) and "Black Print Unbound: The Christian Recorder, African American Literature and Periodical Culture" (2015). He has also edited several volumes on African American literature and culture.

In 2024, Gardner was elected to membership in the American Antiquarian Society, which includes U.S. presidents, Pulitzer Prize winners and MacArthur Fellows among its members. The Society recognized his "field-changing scholarship in Black print culture." The Society will host a virtual book talk with Gardner in November.

"I always tell my students that the best teachers are the ones who never stop learning," Gardner said. "Studying Harper reminded me of just how much we don't know and how much we can learn together."