African American Literature 1900-present
Class Information
Instructor: Solomon, Jeff
CRN: 52754
Time: TR 1:40-3:00
Location: 290 Hickey Gym
GE Areas: American Cultures, Governance, and History Domestic Diversity Writing Experience
Description
The Black Arts Movement and the Black Radical Tradition
This course will begin with an exploration of significant works of Black American literature from the 1960s and 1970s, focusing upon the authors and artists associated with the Black Arts Movement, tracing their legacy into the 21st century.
Through our examination of poetry, music, film, fiction, and autobiography, we will explore a range of artistic engagements with the dominant literary traditions of the late 20th century and the radical social movements that helped give shape to our own contemporary culture. The texts we explore will reveal a field of emerging ideas and voices in dialogue with each other, and in dialogue with the history and politics of the nation. Students will be invited to explore the myriad strategies that Black American artists employed in their struggles to secure full equal treatment, political recognition, and respect during this turbulent period. And though we begin our exploration of the arts at a very specific period in the late 20th century, our study of the cultural transition that led artists and audiences from the Civil Rights movement and the early Feminist Movement to the Black Power/Black Arts Movements is designed to provide a foundation from which we can better understand the subsequent emergence of ethnic studies programs, contemporary Hip-Hop culture, and the (ostensibly) post-racial US culture of the 21st century.
Grading
Weekly reading responses & reading quizzes (50%), one researched essay (25%), comprehensive final exam (25%).