Introduction to African American Literature

This course surveys African American literature from its early-American beginnings to its present. While different semesters may organize around different motifs, the course endeavors to introduce students to a variety of key periods, players, themes, and conventions in African American literature. In addition to foregrounding a range of literary genres, the course will also highlight other types of relevant historical and cultural texts (ex. music, art, newspaper articles, etc.). The purpose of doing so is to emphasize African American literature as interdisciplinary and inseparable from the history and culture of both a dynamic black diaspora and a diverse and complicated America.