Black Studies 242 - Black Women's Narratives

(Offered as WAGS 202  and BLST 242 [US].)  Love, courtship, and putting a “ring on it” continue to be a central concern in African American women's literature and contemporary black popular culture.  Do these thematic issues around matrimony signal apolitical yearnings or an allegory for political subjectivity?  In this course we will examine what gender, race, class, and sexuality reveal about the politics of marriage and family.  Surveying the growing discourse in media outlets such as CNN and The Washington Post regarding the "crisis" of the single black woman, students will analyze the contentious public debates regarding love and marriage and connect them to black women's literature, culture, and black feminist literary theory. We will explore love and family through literature, music, film, documentary, and popular fiction.  Authors and texts covered will range from Nella Larsen to Ann Petry and Bessie Smith to Aretha Franklin. Writing Attentive. Expectations include diligent reading, active participation, two writing projects, weekly response papers, a group presentation, and various in-class assignments.

Limited to 20 students.  Open to first-year students with consent of the instructor. Spring semester.  Keiter Fellow and Visiting Professor Henderson.