Died 19 February 2017 | ||
Renate "Rennie" Marie Simson was an American author and professor of African-American literature and writing. Her work has been influential in African American literature and identity studies. She wrote an essay on Black women's sexuality and identity, The Afro-American Female: The Historical Context of the Construction of Sexual Identity.
Contents
Her work posited that victimized black women often avoided intimacy altogether which affected their sexual identity causing them to become self-reliant.
She worked as the English department at SUNY Morrisville for several years. She published more than 30 articles and chapters and presented at over 50 conferences throughout in the United States and Austria. She pioneered a study abroad program focusing on the Austrian African Diaspora in Austria with the University of Graz. She was department chair of the Department of African American Studies at Syracuse University.
Death
Simson died on February 19, 2017.