John Claborn

John Claborn is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, part of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. His research focuses on intersections of race, environment, and literature, with a particular emphasis on African American Studies, Ecocriticism, and Film/Visual Culture. He earned his Ph.D. under supervisors Michael Rothberg and William J. Maxwell, with a dissertation exploring 'Race and Nature in American Literature, 1895–1941.'

Claborn's work bridges African American literary traditions with ecological theory, examining themes such as double consciousness, environmental justice, and postmemory. His 2018 monograph Civil Rights and the Environment in African American Literature, 1895–1941 explores how ecological crises intersect with racial politics in early 20th-century texts. He has also published widely on figures like W.E.B. Du Bois, James Baldwin, and Thylias Moss, analyzing their engagement with nature, trauma, and memory.

• Research Highlights: Race and ecology in Harlem Renaissance texts, environmental justice in African American literature, and postmemory in Holocaust poetry.
• Awards: 2018 Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award.

Claborn teaches courses on technical writing, film studies, and African American literature. His recent work includes studies of Thylias Moss's poetic reimagining of Holocaust memory and W.E.B. Du Bois's ecological critiques in Darkwater.