423 - 02: African-American Lit 1845-Present – WR
Spring 2011
Meeting Times: TTH 4:00-5:15
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Class Description:
This introductory survey of African American literature is intended to
1) introduce key themes and concerns in African American literature
(such as literacy, humanity, and civic participation; moral suasion and
social advocacy--often when addressing a skeptical or hostile audience;
the search for cultural roots); and 2) describe key aesthetic features
of this literature (including allusions to oral traditions; the
influence of music; call and response, or other forms of audience
participation; allusions to prior texts).
In addition, we will relate this literature to its historical and
social contexts (for instance, abolitionism and the Civil War;
Reconstruction; the Post-Reconstruction era and the rise of Jim Crow
laws; urban and northern migration; the Civil Rights movement) and
important artistic movements (the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts
Movement).
We will also relate this literature to broader literary modes in
American literature (realism, naturalism; modernism; postmodernism) and
literary studies (the formation of literary canons; the study of
minority literatures within a broader national literary tradition).
Finally, the course will help students become more familiar with
literary traditions and practices, as well as American cultural
history, and help them improve their writing and interpretive skills.
Special Notes:
English 102 or 105; English 310.
Special Notes:
English 102 or 105; English 300 or 310.
See other sections of this course
