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CS92PROD
Word Up! African American Literature, Theory, and Action

ENGL 328
Spring 2013 not offered
Crosslisting: AFAM 328, AMST 329
Certificates: Social, Cultural, and Critical Theory

Focusing upon the intersection between the written and spoken word, Word Up! invites students to think critically about the ways in which narratives of the African American experience reflect and provoke social, cultural, and political activism and transformation. We will delve deeply into a variety of 19th- and 20th-century primary texts through the multifaceted lenses of cultural and literary theory. We will also explore the respective power of oral, written, and performed texts and the ways in which these forms "speak" to one another. This interdisciplinary research seminar is designed to introduce students to certain methodologies, themes, critical perspectives, and questions of African American, literary, historical, and cultural studies to produce an original research paper. We will consider not only the ways in which these theoretical frameworks enhance our understanding of African American narratives and their articulation, but also the ways in which black words and stories expand applications of those frameworks. Themes will include race, gender, sexuality, identity formation and representation, resistance to oppression, agency, memory, narrative authority, orality, performativity, objectivity, and subjectivity.
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA ENGL
Course Format: SeminarGrading Mode: Graded
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Major Requirement for: (AMST)

Last Updated on MAR-28-2024
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