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CS92PROD
Contemporary African American Poetry and Its Pasts
AFAM 247
Spring 2021 not offered

In this course, students will engage African American poetry after 1960. Alongside gaining a thorough understanding of the currents of literary history from the civil rights movement through the age of Obama, students will gain an appreciation of what traditions contemporary poets engage. Using ANGLES OF ASCENT: A NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN AMERICAN POETRY as the primary text for the course, students will be able to gain a comprehensive overview of the rich literary moment of which they are a part. At the same time, students will explore the meaning of the anthology itself as a mechanism of canon-making. How does being part of a canon affect the possibilities in one's literary production?

By engaging the traditions upon which contemporary African American poets build their own poetics, students will gain a deeper understanding of the poetry itself. In addition, students will read critical works by the poets as part of their course-work gaining insight into the poets' creative processes. In addition to developing their critical voices through analytical papers, students will have a chance to develop their own poetics through a semester-long poetry collection assignment.
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA AFAM
Course Format: SeminarGrading Mode: Graded
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Major Requirement for: (AFAM-MN)(AFAM)

Last Updated on MAR-29-2024
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