ASRC 6208 - Black Literature and Cultural Theory

4 credits.

C. Boyce Davies.

This course will examine 20th century black critical thought. We will interrogate cultural theories and literary texts from African, Caribbean, African-American, Black British and Afro-Brazilian communities. As such discourses of post-coloniality, cultural criticism, Black literary theories and philosophies, black feminist discourses, theories of decolonization will be some of the major areas of inquiry. While the specific identified texts will form the core of our discussion, analyses will draw on a variety of other works by other authors more relevant. Here, Black literature is being used as an umbrella term to bring together and examine works by men and women who adopt the term “black” as a political descriptor of their subject positions and locations in society. The major emphasis will be on the intellectual and creative contributions of people of African descent.