African American literature since 1773, particularly 1830 to the present: Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, Dorothy West, Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin, Alice Childress, Lorraine Hansberry, Amiri Baraka, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, and August Wilson, including diverse voices rooted in the folk origins for literary forms.
Athena Title
Develop African American Lit
Prerequisite
ENGL 1102 or ENGL 1102E or ENGL 1103 or ENGL 1050H or ENGL 1060H
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
Students will learn to read and think about African American literature as a living, growing, endeavor with origins on both sides of the Atlantic.
Students will contextualize and analyze examples from multiple literary genres including prose fiction, poetry, and essays. They will practice analyzing literary form and thinking critically about literature and culture.
Students will learn to discuss African American literature, histories and cultures with comfort, elegance, and sophistication with their peers and with their instructor. They will practice engaging in collaborative discussion with their peers, in small groups and/or full-class discussion. Students will improve their ability to express their ideas cogently and effectively.
Students will gain an understanding of the historical forces that have shaped the cultural productions of African Americans.
Students will improve their abilities to argue persuasively, use textual evidence, and write vigorous prose that adheres to conventional standards of grammar and usage.
Topical Outline
A sample course might consider the following themes:
Historical Advance of the Folks and the Spirit
Historical Source to Aesthetic Beauty: Lyricism of the African American Imagination
Dilemma of the Thinker: Integration or Revolution
Ritual of Death, Ritual of Love
Using the following texts:
Hill, Patricia, Trudier Harris, R. Baxter Miller et. al. The Riverside Anthology of the African American Literary Tradition Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon
Jones, LeRoi. Dutchman and The Slave
Wright, Richard. Native Son
Institutional Competencies Learning Outcomes
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
Social Awareness & Responsibility
The capacity to understand the interdependence of people, communities, and self in a global society.
