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Ending Racism, bell hooks speaks pointedly to why African American writers have a stake in reforming, revitalizing the American magination. ” She says it has to do with the topic of “race talk” and issues of racism and gender. hooks asserts: When race and racism are the topic in public discourse the voices that speak are male. There is no large body of social and political critique by women of the topics of race and racism. When women write about race we usually situate our discussion within a framework where the focus is not centrally on race. We write and speak about race and gender, race and representation, etc.
Cultural refusal to listen to and legitimate the power of women speaking about the politics of race and racism n America is a direct reflection of a long tradition of sexist and racist thinking which has always represented race and racism as male turf, as hard politics, a playing field where women do not really belong. Traditionally seen as a discourse between men just as feminism has been seen as the discourse of women, it presumes that there is only one gender when it come to blackness so black women’s voices do not count”how can they if our very existence is not acknowledged. 1) To aid us in our interpretive analyses, we will examine film representations (both documentary and those produced for the commercial market) of black identity. Through the mediums of literature and film, we will weave them together to create a multi-layered analytical framework for our discussion and critique of various representations of African American identity (particularly related to myths and stereotypes of black females and males).
Our aim during the semester will be to foreground and to capture the complexities of black identity and culture beyond the stereotypical images popularized in pop culture and the prevailing myths associated with them. In this manner, our critical analyses and interpretations of the literature we read will bring us closer to the multi- imensionality of black life (“the black experience”) and the cultural foundations of what it means to be “black” in the United States.
We will, in John Edgar Wideman’s words, explore how black creative expression in literature “transport[s] us to… extraordinarily diverse regions where individual lives are enacted. ” From this vantage point, through the eyes of bell hooks (as a black feminist professor, writer, and cultural critic), we will examine themes in African American literature that are universal, appealing to audiences across gender, racial, cultural, class, and ethnic boundaries.
My hope is that these universal themes will challenge each of you as students of African American literature intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. In the introduction to Breaking Ice, well-known black female novelist, Terry McMillan writes about coming to understand her relationship to the life-changing impact of African American literature on her life: As a child, didn’t know that African-American people wrote books. grew up in a small town in northern Michigan, where the only books came across Were the Bible and required reading for school.
I did not read for pleasure, and it wasn’t until I was ixteen when got a job shelving books at the public library that got lost in a day I went to put a book away, and saw James Baldwin’s face starring up at me. ‘Who in the world is this? I wondered. remember feeling embarrassed and did not read his book because was too afraid. I couldn’t imagine that he’d have anything better or different to say than… a horde of other mostly white male writers that I’d been introduced to in Literature 101 in high school.. had never heard of any African-American writers, and no one knew hardly read any books… And then things changed… l went to college. xv”xvi) Collectively, in this course, we will employ African American literature as a pivotal pathway to critical consciousness where these texts represent messages of hope and freedom to be our whole selves in the world”across differences of race, gender, class, sexuality, and nation-state affiliation. IMPORTANT NOTES: African American Literature is part of the IJniversity of South Florida’s Foundation of Knowledge and Learning Core Curriculum.
It is certified as a Writing Intensive Course fulfilling the following dimensions: Critical Thinking, Inquiry-based Learning, and Written Language Competency. This course also meets the writing requirements of a Gordon Rule 6A Communications course; students will write at least 4,500 words. At least one assignment will include a revision. Students enrolled in this course will be asked to participate in the USF General Education Assessment effort. This might involve submitting copies of writing assignments for review, responding to surveys, or participating in other measurements designed to assess the FKL Core Curriculum Learning Outcomes.
Also, note that the required minimum length of papers is indicated in the number of words (roughly 300 words per double- paced page using 12-point, Times New Roman) rather than number of pages. As stated above, the Gordon Rule requires at least one assignment in which students revise their writing in light of feedback from the instructor. See the “Course Requirements” for further details. Remember that the 4500 word rule is all-inclusive, so each draft of a paper counts toward the minimum. Course Objectives 1 .
Our aim during the semester will be to foreground and to capture the complexities of black identity and culture beyond the stereotypical images popularized in pop culture and the prevailing myths associated with them as epresented in African American literature. 2. This course will primarily focus on African American short fiction to provide students with insight into the work of a number of black writers illustrating the varying subject matter, styles, and techniques they employ to represent the complexity of black identity. . Thus, reading works by some of the best African American writers, the course will offer a critical framework to study the interrelation between race, class, gender, and sexuality as represented in their writings. 4. As stated in the course description, our critical analyses and interpretations of the iterature we read will bring us closer to the multi-dimensionality of black life (“the black experience”) and the cultural foundations of what it means to be “black” in the United States. Course Outcomes 1 .