Race and Place in Early American Writing
ENGL 275
Spring 2015
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
AFAM 275 |
As the age of the middle passage took shape and the rendition of Africans to the New World intensified, memory became one of the most invaluable and provocative tools with which enslaved and forcibly relocated people could achieve self-preservation, maintain their humanity, and negotiate the unpredictable and disorienting world of North America. The writings of early America that attend to matters of race and place shed light on the power of genre, the influence of piety and religiosity.
We will think together about the evocative connections between memory and place as we work with primary documents generated by and about people of African descent in 18th-century America. We also will attend to African American literary production from the 18th century through the 1850s that insistently links narratives of race and place to the deployments of literary forms. Finally, we will consider the rich intertextuality in these works that locates African American writing in the larger American, African, and Western literary traditions. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA ENGL |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (ENGL-Literature) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 90% or above |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
James Basker, AMERICAN ANTISLAVERY WRITING
David Shields, AMERICAN POETRY
Adam Potkay and Sandra Burr, BLACK AMERICAN WRITERS OF THE 18TH CENTURY
Giles Gunn, EARLY AMERICAN WRITING
Susan Paul, MEMOIR OF JAMES JACKSON, THE ATTENTIVE AND OBEDIENT SCHOLAR
Anne Farrow, THE LOG BOOKS: CONNECTICUT'S SLAVE SHIPS AND HUMAN MEMORY
Marilyn Nelson, THE FREEDOM BUSINESS: INCLUDING A NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF VENTURE, A NATIVE OF AFRICA
Marilyn Nelson, FORTUNES BONES
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Examinations and Assignments:
Weekly Reading Responses, two 5-7 page essays, and 1 10-15 final paper |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
This course fulfills the Literary History 2 and Literatures of Difference requirement and contributes to the American Literature and Race & Ethnicity concentrations of the English major. |
| Instructor(s): Brown,Lois Times: .M.W... 11:00AM-12:20PM; Location: CFH106; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 25 | | SR major: 8 | JR major: 8 | | |
| Seats Available: -3 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 2 | JR non-major: 2 | SO: 5 | FR: 0 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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