ENG 229-01 - The Tradition of African American Literature

4 credits (Fall)

A survey of African American literature from its beginnings to the present, Traditions in African American Literature will trace the literary legacy contemporary black writers have inherited/write to/write against and map the Afro-futurist trajectories of black writers in the twentieth- and twenty-first centuries. In addition to reading black literature for the ways it theorizes around issues of race and racial difference, this class will pay particular attention to how culture informs the craft of black writing. An exciting and dynamic class filled with passionate debate, majors and non-majors alike will benefit from a wide range of assignments geared toward fostering clear writing, persuasive speaking, and critical thinking.

Prerequisite: ENG 120 or ENG 121 for majors; for non-majors, ENG 120 or ENG 121 or any course in the study of literature in another language department.
Instructor: Benjamin