Toni Morrison from Nine Appearances to Thousands -- ep. by Howard Rambsy II

A brief take on Toni Morrison’s rise in graduate research, showing how dissertation data tracks her shift from minimal attention in the 1970s to central prominence in African American literary studies. 

Script by Howard Rambsy II 

Narration by Kassandra Timm 

Transcript

In the 1970s, Toni Morrison appeared in just nine dissertations and master’s theses. By the 2000s, that number would exceed two thousand.

You’re listening to Remarkable Receptions — a podcast about African American artistic production, the circulation of ideas, and more.

Using the ProQuest One Literature dissertation database, we examined how often six Black women writers appeared in dissertations and MA theses between 1970 and 2026. The group included Gwendolyn Brooks, Nikki Giovanni, Zora Neale Hurston, Harriet Jacobs, Toni Morrison, and Alice Walker.

During the 1970s, Morrison appeared in only nine dissertations and theses, making her one of the least cited authors in the group, ahead of only Harriet Jacobs. During the 1980s, however, Morrison’s presence rose steadily to 144 citations. At that point she still trailed Hurston, who appeared in 159 dissertations, and Walker, who led the group with 255.

The major shift occurred during the 1990s. In that decade, Morrison surged to 1,514 citations, becoming the most studied writer among the six. Her prominence continued into the 2000s, when she appeared in 2,434 dissertations and theses. Although the number dipped somewhat during the 2010s, when she registered 1,749 citations, Morrison remained the most frequently studied figure in the group. From 2020 through 2026, she has already appeared in 1,056 dissertations and theses.

One key turning point arrives after 1987 with the publication of Beloved, Morrison’s most critically acclaimed novel. The dissertation data makes it possible to see how dramatically her scholarly presence expanded in the decades following that book’s appearance. From just nine citations in the 1970s to more than 2,400 in the 2000s, Morrison experienced an increase of more than twenty-six thousand percent.

An author who began with a relatively small presence in graduate student research became, over time, the most central figure in African American literary studies.

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This episode was written by Howard Rambsy, edited by Elizabeth Cali, and read by me, Kassandra Timm.
 Research for this episode draws on the ProQuest One Literature dissertation database. ProQuest provided temporary access to the database for research and feedback purposes.

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