123250 AR Literature Course - American/North American Lit./Studies (2011W)

‘I, Too, Sing America’: African American Literature from Revolutionary Poetry to Contemporary Black Fiction

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 12 - Anglistik

Continuous assessment of course work

Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Registration is open from Fr 16.09.2011 00:00 to Su 25.09.2011 23:59
Registration is open from Th 29.09.2011 14:00 to Tu 04.10.2011 23:59
Deregistration possible until Mo 31.10.2011 23:59

Details

max. 24 participants

Language: English

Lecturers

Stefan Brandt

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

Wednesday 12.10. 12:00 - 14:00 Besprechungsraum Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O2-07
Wednesday 19.10. 12:00 - 14:00 Besprechungsraum Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O2-07
Wednesday 09.11. 12:00 - 14:00 Besprechungsraum Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O2-07
Wednesday 16.11. 12:00 - 14:00 Besprechungsraum Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O2-07
Wednesday 23.11. 12:00 - 14:00 Besprechungsraum Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O2-07
Wednesday 30.11. 12:00 - 14:00 Besprechungsraum Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O2-07
Wednesday 07.12. 12:00 - 14:00 Besprechungsraum Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O2-07
Wednesday 14.12. 12:00 - 14:00 Besprechungsraum Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O2-07
Wednesday 11.01. 12:00 - 14:00 Besprechungsraum Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O2-07
Wednesday 18.01. 12:00 - 14:00 Besprechungsraum Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O2-07
Wednesday 25.01. 12:00 - 14:00 Besprechungsraum Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O2-07

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

The course will deal with representative texts by African American authors from the revolutionary years to postmodernity. What contributions have black voices made to the genealogy of U.S. literature and culture in general? Which strategies, patterns, and specific genre elements seem typical of this important discourse within American literature? We will trace the genealogy of African American literature back to revolutionary poetry in the mold of Phillis Wheatley’s verse and the first ‘slave narratives’ (Olaudah Equiano, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs). Special attention will be paid to the following phases: the genre of emancipatory black literature in the Reconstruction Era (Booker T. Washington, Charles Chesnutt, Pauline Hopkins); the Harlem Renaissance (Alain Locke, Langston Hughes, Nella Larsen); and Expatriate Literature (Richard Wright, James Baldwin). The course will end with a look at a few classics of black postmodern literature (Alice Walker, Toni Morrison). While mainly discussing poetry, autobiographies, and fictional texts (in the form of short stories and novels), we will also take a glance at key works of black non-fiction (Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois) and drama (Amiri Baraka).

Assessment and permitted materials

Regular attendance; active in-class participation as part of an expert session with 6-page handout; reading assignments; occasional quizzes; 10 entries in the discussion forum at Moodle; short final paper of 5-6 pages, deadline January 16 (Monday), note: there is no (!) extension of this deadline!

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

This course wants to make students familiar with the key authors, works, and genres within the wide range of African American literature. Students will learn to contextualize these writers, texts, and movements and analyze the literary strategies used by them.

Examination topics

Presentations by students in the form of expert sessions (based on PowerPoint and handouts with five discussion questions and two or three representative excerpts to be selected by the excerpts and discussed in class); forum discussions on Moodle.

Reading list

Association in the course directory

Studium: Diplom 343, UF 344, MA 844;
Code/Modul: Diplom 325, 326/328, 336/338, 721-723, UF 4.2.4-323, MA5, MA7;
Lehrinhalt: 12-3250

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:33