Time Schedule:
Mona Lisa Saloy
ENGL 258
Seattle Campus
A chronological survey of Afro-American literature in all genres from its beginnings to the present day. Emphasizes Afro-American writing as a literary art; the cultural and historical context of Afro-American literary expression and the aesthetic criteria of Afro-American literature. Offered: jointly with AFRAM 214.
Class description
This survey of African American Studies will attempt to cover a broad sweep of the intellectual thought and literature, with attention to folk traditions, from its beginnings in Africa, the oral tradition there and in America, as documented in the slave narratives, through the major historical periods, including the Harlem Renaissance, the Beat era, the Black Arts Movement to the end of the twentieth century, with some consideration of the study as it is evolving today. Guided by significant historical and cultural events and the intellectual tradition in non-fiction prose, the goal is to gain an overview of the rich semantic tradition of Blacks in America in various literary genres, folk traditions, cultural and political movements, with attention to the aesthetic and ideological concerns throughout Black American literature and its origins in experience.
Student learning goals
Know an overview of the major literary texts in Black literature
Understand the historical events and movements influencing the literature and how the early literature acts as a respone to those forces
Understand the cultural aesthetics and forces aiding the survival of Blacks in America and informing the literature
Understand the thematic and aesthetic threads recurring in the literature over time
General method of instruction
Reading the intellectual tradition and creative literature, viewing films, listening to music, viewing visual art, with lectures, class discussion, critical reviews
Recommended preparation
Any as listed in the University of Washington catalogue; otherwise, all one needs is a willingness to learn and an openness to the truth of the Black American experience in literature
Class assignments and grading
Some traditional quizes, non-traditional quizes, one individual research paper, and one group research presentation with non-traditional mid-term and final exam
Grades are basedon the average performance on all assignments, quizes, exams, and research, though each value varies
