Topics in African-American Studies (380-0-21)

Topic

Black Joy

Instructors

Justin L Mann

Meeting Info

University Hall 118: Mon, Wed 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

In this class, students will analyze Black literature and popular culture to understand the cultural work of joy, especially in the face of antiblackness. Reading across a range of texts, including poetry, short and long fiction, film, music, and food, students will analyze how joy emerges alongside a other social feelings—despair, rage, and hope to name a few. In addition, we will take up questions that have formed the core of Black study in the 20th century including 1) How do Black people "theorize" in their everyday life and cultural production (Christian 1987); 2) What cultural forms emerge to respond to and undermine antiblackness (Carpio 2008; Scott 2022); 3) What role does literature play in the relation of Black feeling and the creation of Black life worlds (Hurston 1928; Lorde 1978; Quashie 2022; Nash 2024). Throughout, we will be especially attentive to how gender and sexuality work in tandem with race to contribute to the emotional lifeworlds of Black people.

Class Attributes

Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area
U.S. Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity