Writing on the Land of Freedom: The Pastoral in African American Literature
AFAM 252
Spring 2014
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
ENGL 255, AMST 257 |
| Course Cluster: Urban Studies |
Landscape figures prominently and powerfully in the African American literary imagination. Writers such as Phillis Wheatley, Charles Chesnutt, Zora Neale Hurston, David Bradley, and Marilyn Nelson have crafted evocative meditations on the natural world as they grapple with sobering realities of life, dramatic assertions of self, and transformative historical moments. This course will think about African American literary invocations of idealized, mythological, sacred, and knowable land and move toward a delineation of the African American pastoral aesthetic and tradition. We will read novels, poems, short stories, essays, letters, and journal entries by writers such as David Bradley, Charles Chesnutt, Lucille Clifton, Rita Dove, Charlotte Forten Grimké, Zora Neale Hurston, Randall Kenan, Victoria Earle Matthews, Gloria Naylor, and Marilyn Nelson. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA AFAM |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (AMST) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
David Bradley, THE CHANEYSVILLE INCIDENT
Charles Chestnutt, HOUSE BEHIND THE CEDARS AND SELECTED SHORT FICTION
Lucille Clifton, BLESSING THE BOATS
Rita Dove, MOTHER LOVE
Charlotte Forten Grimké, THE JOURNAL OF CHARLOTTE FORTEN
Zora Neale Hurston, SELECTED LETTERS
Randall Kenan, LET THE DEAD BURY THEIR DEAD and WALKING ON WATER
Victoria Earle Matthews, "Aunt Lindy" and selected writings
Gloria Naylor, MAMA DAY
Marilyn Nelson, CARVER: A LIFE IN POEMS
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Examinations and Assignments:
Writing assignments for the course include weekly reading, three 5-7 page essays and one 12-15 page final essay. |
| Instructor(s): Brown,Lois Times: ..T.... 01:10PM-04:00PM; Location: WYL115; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 24 | | SR major: 6 | JR major: 6 | | |
| Seats Available: 14 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 4 | JR non-major: 4 | SO: 4 | 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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