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CS92PROD
Pessimism, Nihilism, and Black Literature

ENGL 267
Fall 2023
Section: 01  
Crosslisting: AFAM 269
Course Cluster and Certificates: Social, Cultural, and Critical Theory Certificate

This course considers Black literature's interventions into philosophical discourses of pessimism and nihilism. In contrast to the pathologization and dismissal with which they are often met, we will take both seriously as schools of thought. How are pessimism and nihilism distinct from each other? What do they offer as interpretative lenses for and approaches to Black art and Black existence? How are they reflected in literary form? We will closely consider these, and related, questions, looking to the work of authors such as Percival Everett, Jesmyn Ward, Dambudzo Marechera, Frank B. Wilderson III, and Gayl Jones.
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA ENGL
Course Format: SeminarGrading Mode: Graded
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Requirement for: (CSCT)(ENGL)
Past Enrollment Probability: 50% - 74%

Last Updated on NOV-05-2024
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