423 - 02: African-American Lit 1845-Present – WR Meeting Times:
TTH 4:00-5:15 This introductory survey of African American
literature is intended to 1) introduce key themes and concerns
in African American literature (such as literacy, humanity, and
civic participation; moral suasion and social advocacy--often
when addressing a skeptical or hostile audience; the search for
cultural roots); and 2) describe key aesthetic features of this
literature (including allusions to oral traditions; the
influence of music; call and response, or other forms of
audience participation; allusions to prior texts). In addition,
we will relate this literature to its historical and social
contexts (for instance, abolitionism and the Civil War;
Reconstruction; the Post-Reconstruction era and the rise of Jim
Crow laws; urban and northern migration; the Civil Rights
movement) and important artistic movements (the Harlem
Renaissance and the Black Arts We will also relate this
literature to broader literary modes in American literatur