Derik Smith, Ph.D.

Derik Smith is a professor in the Department of Literature at Claremont McKenna College. His work is focused on the analysis of American culture and, particularly, African American literary culture. He is the author of many articles, and the books, Robert Hayden In Verse: New Histories of African American Poetry and the Black Arts Era and, with co-author Michael Karlberg, Rethinking Social Justice: Theory and Action in an Age of Transition.  His current scholarship addresses African American poetry and intellectual history, as well as the connection between social movement theory and the Baha’i Faith. Smith also teaches courses in and about American prisons.