Humanities Arts Cultural Stu 0204 - Black Sexuality & Womanhood

This course will explore representations of desire, sexuality, and womanhood in African American literature. We will trace the landscape of past, present, and futuristic representations of black female sexuality through an exploration of women's writings, ranging from slave narratives to science fiction. Our investigations will focus on the multifaceted ways that Black women choose self definition over culturally dominant narratives that attempt to degrade and place limitations upon Black womanhood. Throughout the course we will remain mindful of the historical and cultural legacies from which such literature emerges. Some of the topics we will investigate include the black female body, sexual exploitation, racial oppression, colorism, and queer desire in the writings of Harriet Jacobs, Gayl Jones, Alice Walker, and Octavia Butler - to name a few.

Culture, Humanities, and Languages Multiple Cultural Perspectives Writing and Research In this course, students are expected spend 6-8 hours weekly on work and preparation outside of class time.