Post-Integration Blues 2015

Fall 2015

AfAm 331

Professor Weheliye

T/Th 2:00PM-3:20pm

TA: Brittnay Proctor

The African American Novel: Post-Integration Blues

The promise of racial integration since the 1960s for the Black middle-class minority, which has been chronicled in Black literary texts since the 1980s, depends on requiring assimilation into the white mainstream by any means necessary. Yet, as has become evident, even if Black people completely assimilate, they cannot reap the political, economic and cultural benefits of whiteness. Things should be different and better, but they are not, because the racial order that clearly distinguishes between Black folks and the rest still remains firmly in place.

Consequently, this course considers post-1960’s literary texts, music, and films that are concerned with the fate of Black identity in the aftermath of the Civil Rights Era. We will begin the quarter with some secondary readings by Trey Ellis and Mark Anthony Neal, all of who try to account for significant shifts in the culture and life of African Americans over the last thirty years. Using concepts such as post-soul and the new black aesthetic (NBA), we will discuss questions of social mobility, education, postmodern passing, as well as the variable contours of class, sexuality, nationality, and gender as they appear in contemporary African culture. We will also pay close attention to the formal and structural aspects of the cultural artifacts we will be studying.

Requirements

*Regular attendance

*Essay

*Final multimedia group project and presentation

*Weekly blog posts/responses

*In-class participation

*Creating or editing three Wikipedia entries related to the course topic

Grading

Essay, Multimedia Project/Presentation, Blog Posts, and Wikipedia Entries 70%

Participation and Attendance 30%

Rules

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

*Cell phones and other mobile devices should be turned off during class time

*You are required to bring reading materials to class, either in hard copy or electronic form.

*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.

*In-class/online behavior should be based on mutual respect. I encourage and appreciate active, informed, and critical interchanges during our discussions, but these should be conducted in a manner that is considerate of others. This means that we should not use discriminatory and non-inclusive language whenever possible, even if we encounter this language in some of the materials on the syllabus. If you are unsure about using any particular terms, you should ask about them. _

Students with Disabilities

Any student requesting accommodations related to a disability or other condition is required to register with Services for Students with Disabilities (ssd@northwestern.edu; 847-467-5530) and provide professors with an accommodation notification from SSD, preferably within the first two weeks of class. For more information: http://www.northwestern.edu/disability. All information will remain confidential. I can best accommodate students if they let me or the TA know about their specific needs related to learning and fulfilling the requirements of the course.

Required Texts:

Paul Beatty, White Boy Shuffle, Junot Diaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Fran Ross, Oreo, Danzy Senna, Caucasia, Zadie Smith, On Beauty.

Quarter Schedule

Please note: the most up-to-date version of the quarter schedule will always be available online

Tuesday 9/22 Course Introduction

Thursday 9/24 Trey Ellis, “The New Black Aesthetic,” Ron Eglash, “Race, Sex, & Nerds,” and Mark Anthony Neal, Post-Soul Babies (Canvas website)

Tuesday 9/29 Ross, Oreo

Thursday 10/1 Ross, Oreo

Tuesday 10/6 Senna, Caucasia

Thursday 10/8 Film: Medicine for Melancholy

Reading: Jasmine Elizabeth Johnson, Dear Khary (An Autobiography of Gentrification)

Tuesday 10/13 Senna, Caucasia

Thursday 10/15 Diaz, Oscar Wao

Tuesday 10/20 Post-Soul/R&B:

Daphne Brooks, “It s Not Right but It’s Okay” and Treva Lindsey, “If You Look in My Life: Love, Hip-Hop Soul, and Contemporary African American Womanhood” (Canvas)

Essay due at 5pm via Canvas Website

Thursday 10/22 Diaz, Oscar Wao

Tuesday 10/27 Diaz, Oscar Wao

Thursday 10/29 Post-Soul/Hip-Hop:

Judnick Mayard, What Kendrick Lamar, Drake & Kanye West Say About the Black Experience in America & The Kanye West Talk White People Couldn't Handle; David Turner, Vince Staples and the Accessibility of Black Experience; Cord Jefferson, What's 50 Grand to a Revolutionary Like Me?: Watch the Throne and the New Black Power & Michael Hanson, “Thug-Nerds, Rap Geeks and the Risky Black Masculine” (Canvas)

Tuesday 11/3 Smith, On Beauty

Thursday 11/5 Session on Contemporary Black Art

Guest Lecture by Chicago Artist, Krista Franklin

Tuesday 11/10 Smith, On Beauty

Thursday 11/12 Film: Dope (Canvas)

Tuesday 11/17 Smith, On Beauty

Thursday 11/19 Beatty, White Boy Shuffle

Tuesday 11/24 Beatty, White Boy Shuffle

Thursday 11/26 NO CLASS Thanksgiving

Tuesday 12/1 Chappelle’s Show:

http://www.comedycentral.com/video-clips/7nnosh/chappelle-s-show-frontline---clayton-bigsby

http://www.comedycentral.com/video-clips/ga0sc4/chappelle-s-show-frontline---clayton-bigsby--pt-2

http://www.comedycentral.com/video-clips/b224ei/chappelle-s-show-the-racial-draft

Ratchetpiece Theatre:

http://www.issarae.com/services-view/ratchetpiece-theater/

Awkward Black Girl:

http://www.issarae.com/services-view/awkward-black-girl/

Thursday 12/3 Final Presentations