ASRC 3303 - The Radical Self: Consciousness, Activism, and Autobiography

Fall. 4 credits.

G. Aching.

This course examines the autobiographies of Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Che Guevara, Angela Davis, Nelson Mandela, Piri Thomas, Audre Lorde, and Maajid Nawaz for the ways in which they describe their respective paths to consciousness of oppression and the radical, but not necessarily violent, actions that they subsequently undertook in response. We will pay particular attention to understanding what we mean by “consciousness of oppression” and “radicalism”; to analyzing how these autobiographers narrate and rationalize personal points of no return beyond which they felt compelled to act radically in the public sphere; and to exploring the parameters of an “ethics” of radicalism. These autobiographies will be paired with films and documentaries that students will view outside the classroom.