Interdisciplinary Arts 0240 - Black Joy: An Ontology

It was in the midst of grieving the loss of her most beloved fish, Telly, that poet Toi Derricotte wrote, "Joy is an act of resistance." Poet Lucille Clifton closes her oft-anthologized "won't you celebrate with me" with "come celebrate / with me that everyday / something has tried to kill me / and has failed." Both poets understand that we only know joy within the context of sorrow, but they choose to center their joy rather than be present only for Black pain or death. Black people's everyday commitment to locating joy in our lives can often pierce through challenging times and help us think differently about struggle. How might Black joy also be embraced as a philosophy, a poetics of being? Our course will explore that very question. Students should expect to explore and document joy through drafting poems, essayettes, and taking and curating photographs or photo essays. Students should expect to engage with work by Kleavor Cruz, Ross Gay, Zadie Smith, and Mahogany L. Browne, among others Keywords:Joy, poetry, Blackness, delights, Joy, poetry, Blackness, delights, The content of this course deals with issues of race and power. This course could be used to fulfill the Division II Project requirement

In/Justice Books: The Black Joy Project By: Kleavor Cruz Releases in December 2023 The book of Delight Author:Ross Gay Students should expect to spend 6-8 hours weekly on work and preparation outside of class time