Literatures of the Black World

This course will take you through the long ignored and yet much debated literary traditions of the Africa and the African Diaspora since the middle of the 20^th century. We will begin the quarter by exploring the concepts of “diaspora” and “post-colonialism” in order to situate the course materials within their historical, political, and cultural contexts. Along the way we will be investigating the historical and political forces from Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, and the United States that have defined this tradition, and tracing the ways in which notions of gender, class and sexuality figure within black collective identity.

Requirements

*Regular attendance

*Essay

*Final test

*Weekly blog posts/responses

*In-class participation

*Creating or editing one Wikipedia entry related to the course topic

Grading

Essay, Final Test, Blog Posts, and Wikipedia Entry 70%

Participation and Attendance 30%

Rules

*Laptops may only be used for class related activities; otherwise they will be taken away.

*Cell phones should be turned off during class time

*You are required to bring reading materials to class

*Please familiarize yourself with the “Avoiding Plagiarism” document posted on the Lore Website site.

*Attendance is mandatory. Missing more than one class will result in a lower grade.

Required Texts

Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart

Ama Ata Aidoo, Our Sister Killjoy

Octavia E. Butler, Wild Seed

Nuruddin Farah, Maps

Jamaica Kincaid, Lucy

Zadie Smith, White Teeth

Selected secondary readings

Blog Posts

The class blog provides a forum for discussion before and after our class sessions: http://lore.com/Literatures-of-the-Black-World.1

Each week you are required to contribute at least two substantive comments to one of the posts on the course blog. Each comment should reflect what you have learned from and think about the assigned class materials. Substantive responses consist of a paragraph that takes into account previous posts and assigned readings (200 words). These responses should focus on your classmates’ posts and the readings.

One time during the quarter, you will be required to write a substantive blog post (500-600 words). You will need to introduce the materials assigned for the session, provide links to secondary sources (blog posts, videos, etc.) that relate to the assigned materials, and post thought provoking discussion questions that show you have completed the reading and thought about the way the particular work fits into the larger themes of the course.

Your substantive blog posts should be posted no later than 36 hours before the class session during which we will discuss the assigned materials. Your responses to your classmates’ posts need to be posted no later than 24 hours before the class session.

If no students are assigned to post for a session, all students are required to post shorter responses to the class materials no later than 24 hours before the class session during which we will discuss the assigned materials.

You are also encouraged to respond in a less formal manner to the posts and comments of your classmates. These responses are in addition to your required comments. Here, you can comment less formally, provide links and/or quotes that illustrate or challenge another post, etc. Check the course blog often to engage with the ongoing discussion.

Guidelines for 500-600 word posts

Your blog posts should be posted no later than 36 hours before the class session during which we will discuss the assigned materials.

**Introduce the materials assigned for the session.

**Provide links to secondary sources (text, video, image, music, etc.) that relate to the assigned materials. Briefly explain how these sources relate to the assigned materials.

Devise discussion questions that show you have completed the reading and have thought about the way the particular work fits into the larger themes of the course.

Here are some questions to consider:

*How do the assigned materials relate to the previous materials & discussions in the course?

*What new dimensions (historical facts, theoretical approaches, examples, etc.) do these materials add to our ongoing discussion?

*What is the author’s methodology, theoretical approach, disciplinary background, etc.? How does this shape his/her argument?

*Do these materials contradict and/or revise previous arguments? If so, how?

*How do these materials speak to current social, political, economic, and cultural conditions?

Quarter Schedule

9/27 Course Introduction

10/02 Shohat, “Notes on the Post-Colonial” (Lore Website)

10/04 Achebe, Things Fall Apart (chapters 1-10)

10/09 Achebe, Things Fall Apart (chapters 11-25)

10/11 Edwards, “The Uses of Diaspora” (Lore Website)

10/16 Butler, Wild Seed Book I (chapters 1-6)

10/18 Butler, Wild Seed Book II (chapters 7-end)

10/23 Farah, Maps Part 1 (pages 1-138)

10/25 Farah, Maps Part 1I (pages 139-259)

10/30 Aidoo, Our Sister Killjoy (pages 1-82)

Paper Due

11/01 No Class

11/06 Aidoo, Our Sister Killjoy (pages 83-134)

11/08 Kincaid, Lucy (pages 1-83)

11/13 Kincaid, Lucy (pages 85-164)

11/20 Smith, White Teeth chapters 1-7 (pages 1-152)

11/27 Smith, White Teeth chapters 8-13 (pages 153-301)

11/29 Smith, White Teeth chapters 14-20 (pages 302-448)

12/06 Final Test