This course is
intended to introduce students to the literature of the black diaspora in an
effort to provide a comprehensive, though not exhaustive, overview of black
literature. We will focus on African
American, Caribbean, and African literature to examine differences and
similarities within their respective narratives in regards to issues of race
and racism. We will concentrate on representations of black migration
throughout a host of time periods and spaces. For example, we will interrogate
the literary representations of African American migration from the South to
the North during the Great Migration while also reading narratives from the
Caribbean concerned with representing migration to former colonial
countries. Additionally, we will examine
contemporary African migration narratives to examine how identity shifts in
accordance to a particular social space.
In addition to literature, we will examine representations of migration
in film and other mediums such as painting and photography.
Course Requirements:
·
4 Close Readings
·
Midterm Paper
·
Protocol
·
4 scene
interpretations
·
Final Paper
·
Attendance and
Participation
Required Texts
Adiche,
Chimamanda. Americanah: A Novel
Attaway,
William. Blood on the Forge
Smith, Zadie. White
Teeth: A Novel
Bulawayo,
NoViolet. We Need New Names: A Novel
McKay,
Claude. Banjo: A Novel
Lamming,
George. The Emigrants
Selvon, Samuel. The Lonely Londoners.
Johnson, James
Weldon. The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man
Kincaid, Jamaica. Lucy: A
Novel