Black Grammars
ENGL 347
Fall 2026
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
AFAM 347 |
Literary theorist Christina Sharpe argues that Blackness, due its rearrangement of and resistance to hegemonic structures of meaning making, is best understood as "anagrammatical." The anagrammatical nature of Blackness leads to "the failure of words and concepts to hold in and on Black flesh." Taking this provocation as a point of departure, this course will explore the relationship between Blackness, signification, and the grammatical, with a particular focus on rhetoric and poetics. Throughout the semester, we will look to various rhetorical figures and grammatical concepts (e.g., subject, metaphor, metonymy, apostrophe, tense, irony, catachresis, parataxis, etc.), considering how Blackness expands, disrupts, and challenges dominant understandings of their operations. Readings will include David Marriott, Lee Edelman, Paul de Man, Lindon Barrett, Barbara Johnson, Jacques Derrida, Zakiyyah Iman Jackson, Roland Barthes, and Calvin Warren, among others. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA ENGL |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (African American Studies Minor)(African American Studies)(English)(Social, Cultural and Critical Theory Certificate) |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Potential readings include:
Rebecka Rutledge Fisher, HABITATIONS OF THE VEIL
Cord Whitaker, BLACK METAPHORS
Paul Ricoeur, THE RULE OF METAPHOR
Paul de Man, BLINDNESS AND INSIGHT
Roland Barthes, MYTHOLOGIES
Rizvana Bradley, ANTEAESTHETICS
David Marriott, OF EFFACEMENT
Anahid Neressian, THE CALAMITY FORM
Jacques Derrida, "WHITE MYTHOLOGIES: METAPHOR IN THE TEXT OF PHILOSOPHY"
Barbara Johnson "APOSTROPHE, ANIMATION, ABORTION"
Zakiyyah Iman Jackson, "THEORIZING IN A VOID""
Lee Edelman, "CE N'EST PAS ÇA: BLACKNESS, SEX, AND THE SET OF ILLEGIBLES"
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Examinations and Assignments:
Two essays, notes submissions, and a presentation. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
This course contributes to the fulfillment of ENGL major requirements:
Literary History 3; Theory, elective |
| Instructor(s): Palmer,Tyrone S. Times: .M.W... 02:50PM-04:10PM; Location: BOGH113; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: 4 | JR major: 4 | | |
| | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 1 | JR non-major: 2 | SO: 4 | FR: X |
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