Course Description
Important African American stories and novels from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including works by such authors as Frances Harper, Jean Toomer, Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin, Alice Walker, and Toni Morrison.
Athena Title
African American Fiction
Prerequisite
Two 2000-level ENGL courses or (one 2000-level ENGL course and one 3000-level ENGL course) or (one 2000-level ENGL course and one 2000-level CMLT course)
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
1. Read historical texts closely. 2. Think about the assumptions of belief and value behind the varying acceptance of African American short fiction in particular and literary works in general. 3. Place the cultural issues of 1763-1990 (particularly 1960-1990) in historical and critical perspective and formulate a suggestive meaning of "American". 4. Become aware of the significant critical challenges in the study of African American short fiction and formulate intellectually sound solutions as well as personal theories. 5. Practice a few of the modern trends in critical theory. 6 Deepen the critical reading of primary texts for narrative technique or viewpoint, moral as well as social significance, psychological insight, and mythic implications. 7. Encourage lively discussions that are provocative as well as respectful. 8. Attend most classes. 9. Employ at least fifteen secondary sources in the support or contradiction of one's OWN VIEWS as argued effectively in papers and reports. Course papers and reports will total approximately 20-25 pages of writing. 10. Produce papers that are fluently well argued, organized, and insightful. 11. Appreciate the techniques for creating and reading the deeper meanings of texts. 12. Achieve greater techniques of insight for reading and revealing the forms and values of American civilization.
Topical Outline
Topical outlines will vary according to the instructor teaching the class and in the context of the department's other offerings that semester. Here are some examples of texts to be considered in one class: Baldwin, James. _Going to Meet the Man_. Chesnutt, Charles. _Wife of His Youth and Other Stories_. Gaines, Ernest. _Bloodline_. Hughes, Langston. _Ways of White Folks_. McMillan, Terry. _Breaking Ice_. Toomer, Jean. _Cane_. Walker, Alice. _In Love and Trouble_. Students should expect to write at least twenty to twenty-five pages over the course of the semester, both as low-stakes writing (postings, responses, in-class writing) and high-stakes assignments (papers, examinations, and other graded work).
Syllabus