Mar 28, 2024  
2019 - 2020 Academic Catalog 
    
2019 - 2020 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

ENG 210-01 - Studies in Genre

4 credits (Spring)
#BlackGirlMagic:”There’s nothing new under the sun, but there are new suns.”-Octavia Butler. The hashtag #BlackGirlMagic is a twenty-first century movement that was popularized on twitter by CaShawn Thompson in 2013. However, the spirit of the movement has deep-reaching roots among Black women. Therefore, the quote above by Octavia Butler provides us with the structure for this course; an inter-generational rumination of Black women’s influence on popular culture. The first half of the course: “There’s Nothing New Under the Sun” will explore both popular and oft-overlooked Black women from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who have made significant contributions to American culture from writers Elizabeth Keckley and Frances E.W. Harper to musicians Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Aretha Franklin. The second part of the course: “New Suns,” will bring us to through to the twenty-first century in which we’ll examine several Black Feminist movements (Kimberly Springer’s Living for the Revolution: Black Feminist Organizations, 1968–1980) alongside Black lesbian vampires (The Gilda Stories), A Black woman who is also a weapon (The Book of Phoenix), Janet Mock’s debut memoir (Redefining Realness) and more. In conjunction with the novels, there is a class playlist that we will analyze, alongside music videos, episodes of TV shows, and additional visual materials. There will be several guest speakers throughout the semester. As we embark on this journey together, it is important to keep in mind the words of actor/activist Jesse Williams at the Black Entertainment Television Awards (2016): “Just because we’re magic, doesn’t mean we’re not real.”

Prerequisite: ENG 120  or ENG 121  for majors; for non-majors, ENG 120  or ENG 121  or third-year standing.
Instructor: Lavan