Topics in African-American Studies (380-0-23)

Topic

Black Vernacular as Theory

Instructors

Marquis Bey West

Meeting Info

University Hall 102: Mon, Wed 2:00PM - 3:20PM

Overview of class

Course Description: This course will take as fundamental that black vernacular—the dialects and slang and folk language and indeed robust language found in black communities—is a form of theory and theorizing. This theory, though different from the capital-T Theory of notable philosophers, will be shown to also possess intellectual sophistication, simply in, as Barbara Christian has said, "the form of the hieroglyph." If we assume, rightly, that black people have always theorized, only in different and alternative ways, how might we examine the nuances of that theory? What does it look like? Where, and in what forms, can it be found? The course will examine literature, hip hop, everyday conversations, and more.

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline