Introduction to African American Literature (266-0-01)

Instructors

Justin Mann

Meeting Info

University Hall 122: Tues, Thurs 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

In this survey of African American literature, students will read across three centuries of literary and cultural production to examine and assess the relationship between Black culture and freedom struggle. Students will engage topics in Black study—including questions of freedom, fugitivity, nationalism, and racial justice—as well as literary and cultural history to analyze and explain the development of Black literature and culture in the U.S. Our course will survey the following periods in Black literature and cultural production to analyze the evolution of Black cultural expression and its relationship to the historical transformations enveloping black people in each specific period: enslavement, Emancipation, and Reconstruction, Jim Crow and segregation, Civil Rights and the Black Arts Movement, and multiculturalism and the "post-blackness." Throughout, will read a range of sources including poetry and prose, and long- and short-form works to characterize the ideas and imaginaries that inhere in Black literature. We will also listen to Black music, including, the Blues, jazz, and Hip Hop and view television and films that have been important entries in the cultural history of Black life.

Teaching Method

Lectures and required discussion section

Class Materials (Required)

The Norton Anthology of African American Literature (ebook).

Class Attributes

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

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Pre-registration -- Reserved for English students.

Associated Classes

DIS - University Hall 418: Fri 11:00AM - 11:50AM

DIS - University Hall 418: Fri 12:00PM - 12:50PM