Women,Gender,Sexuality Studies 297W - ST-Black Feminist and Green

This course will examine Black women's use of natural world imagery, and we will explore the place of the natural world in Black women's writing and Black feminist thought. Some of the writers we will consider include Anne Spencer, Edwidge Danticat, Dionne Brand, Zora Neale Hurston, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Alice Walker. This course will also provide students with a history of Black environmental thought through a Black feminist lens and explore the relationship between Black women's poetics and space, so we will also read selections from the works of Katherine McKittrick, Carolyn Finney, Dianne Glave, Kimberly Smith, and Kimberly Ruffin, and others. Some of the questions we will consider include: Why do Black women writers utilize natural world imagery? What does it communicate about their lived experiences?

This course will require several paperback books, but much of the reading will be available electronically via the course Moodle page. Total list price for required books will be under $100, and I will aim for a lower figure.