LIT 3383 Spring 2018 Cresgy

This course will offer an interdisciplinary analysis of literature written by Black women authors. Students will be exposed to key texts from the African-American literary canon, including works from both print and visual culture. This class will pay particular attention to how cultural and individual assumptions are addressed and/or subverted in the works we explore through the semester. We will further focus on issues of identity as well as themes of memory, history, recovery, trauma, representation, and self-determination. Viewing our chosen texts through a combination of literary, sociocultural, historical, and political lenses will allow students to achieve a more nuanced understanding of how Black women writers have depicted their lives and experiences. Selected authors will include Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Octavia Butler, Maya Angelou, Audre Lorde, Ntozake Shange, Jesmyn Ward, and others.