ENG 4934 Spring 2019 Mariano

In this course we will study late nineteenth and twentieth-century literature that attempts to represent and theorize the experience of racial segregation and the mechanisms—legal and extra-legal—used to deter cross-racial contact. We’ll read late-nineteenth-, twentieth-, and twenty-first-century segregation narratives drawn from African-American, Native-American, and Japanese-American perspectives, along with texts representing white nationalists. Authors include Charles Chesnutt, Richard Wright, Toni Morrison, Louise Erdrich, Sherman Alexie, Lawrence Matsuda, Hisaye Yamamoto, Thomas Dixon, and others.

You will be expected to prepare for and participate in every class session. Other work will include research assignments, response papers/creative projects, an annotated bibliography, and a formal research proposal, all culminating in a polished 15-20 page, final research project.