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

Instructors

Justin Mann

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 2-415: Mon, Wed 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 "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

Lecture and Discussion.

Evaluation Method

Exams and Paper.

Class Materials (Required)

Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (Norton Critical Edition) 0393614565
Lorriane Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun 9780679755319

Class Attributes

Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
U.S. Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Pre-registration -- Reserved for English and Creative Writing students.

Associated Classes

DIS - University Library 4670: Fri 11:00AM - 11:50AM

DIS - Harris Hall L05: Fri 11:00AM - 11:50AM

DIS - University Library 4670: Fri 12:00PM - 12:50PM

DIS - University Library 4722: Fri 12:00PM - 12:50PM