ENG 2120: African American Literature
- Dr. Michael Docherty
- Tuesday and Thursday; 11:00 - 12:15 (section 101); 2:00 - 3:15 (section 102); in person; Sanford 306
This course is a fast-paced and immersive introduction to key ideas, eras, and movements in the history of African American literature. We will read some of the most important, impactful, moving, and thought-provoking texts in the history of American literature, placing them in the broader context of how race and racism have shaped the nation’s society and community in profound ways across time.
The story of Black writing in the United States is long, deep, rich, and complex. This course can, inevitably, provide only a sampling of elements of this story. While not seeking to erase the major literary contributions made by African American writers prior to the end of slavery, this course will focus on the 160 years since abolition – a period in which African American writers have constantly pushed for greater freedom of expression, and have in doing so expanded the horizons of literature as a whole.
The course will be divided into five units, corresponding to five key moments in the history of post-abolition African American writing.
1. The Reconstruction era
2. The “Harlem Renaissance” or “New Negro Movement”
3. The “Black Arts Movement”
4. The “Post-Soul” era
5. The right now – and the future!
We will read texts from across a wide range of forms, genres, and authors, principally focusing on shorter texts and extracts to enable focused and detailed class discussion, but with some extended pieces too. Most sessions of this course will be discursive and conversational: the classroom will be relaxed and informal, but you are expected to read rigorously and come prepared to talk.
