Dr. James Coleman ripped apart the first paper I wrote for him. It was a deeply labored effort to write critical theory, a language I neither understood nor particularly appreciated. Such a terrible paper—oh, it still makes me cringe to … Read more
James Coleman seldom said No to grad students. It seemed unusual that so productive a scholar, a teacher who cared so much for his undergraduate students, would willingly accept the responsibility of serving on countless grad students’ MA and PhD … Read more
“Race, Racism, and Gender in the Twentieth-Century African American Novel” with Dr. Coleman was my very first class here at UNC in August of 2015. I loved this seminar and looked forward to it every week! While I felt very … Read more
James Coleman and I shared several classrooms, which we handed off to each other three days a week. I so much enjoyed our warm, friendly exchanges. He was a wonderful colleague for whom I feel great respect, and I will … Read more
James Coleman was one of the kindest people I have ever met. He welcomed me into the UNC family and became a model of hard work and care. I always marveled at his productivity. A pioneering scholar of twentieth-century African … Read more
I did not have the opportunity to take many classes with Dr. Coleman (Dr. C., as some of us called him), but I did have the chance to attend a number of conferences where he was presenting. Dr. C.’s presentations … Read more
Dear James: Thank you for being such an inspiration to me during my time at UNC. You embodied the scholar’s life, and I will be forever grateful to you for being such an exemplary teacher and thinker. When I remember … Read more
James (Jim) Coleman has been my Greenlaw next-door neighbor and admired colleague for many years and I miss him! It was a rare day that we were too busy to exchange pleasantries or share some personal anecdote. My fondest memories … Read more
Dear Dr. Coleman: I met you as a quiet, probably a little odd, twenty-year-old college senior from Florida A&M University, crazy about D. H. Lawrence. I had come as a participant in the MURAP program—the Minority Undergraduate Research Assistant Program—scared … Read more
For James Coleman on His Retirement: Having James Coleman as a colleague during the last phase of my academic career was such a gift. We met almost fifteen years ago on the stairway in Greenlaw Hall, where of course the … Read more
