Students read works of African American writers. Cross Listed with American Studies 0134. Slaves, slaveowners, and abolitionists, men and women, perceived slavery in distinctive ways and recorded those perceptions in songs and poems, folk tales, autobiographical narratives and novels, speeches and tracts, travel accounts, journals, diaries, and letters. Through an examination of this rich oral and written literature, such themes as the character of slave culture, the relations between slaves and masters, the oppression of women under slavery, and the connection between abolitionism and feminism are explored. Lectures provide historical background and a context in which to read the selections.
Survey introduces the literature of Africa through epic, drama, poetry, short stories, and novels.
Literary and thematic trends examined in the works of major writers, e.g., Soyinka, Ngugi, Emecheta, Aidoo, La Guma, Abrahams, Achebe, Ba, Ousmane, Kunene, Brutus, and Head. An overview of portrayals in cinema from its inception to the present, including developments from Hollywood, independent filmmakers, and experimental foreign films. Also contemporary trends such as the independent Black film movement in Africa and the U.S. 0151. An examination of the role mass media plays in the African American community. Ownership, access, and image making are a few of the topics discussed.