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ENGL324
Contemporary African American Narratives of Slavery
ENGL324 FA
Crosslistings: AFAM324, AMST334
Not Currently Offered
In this course, we will primarily be concerned with
examining in some detail the recent proliferation of African
American fiction about slavery. After a preliminary study
of some notable antebellum slave narratives, we will discuss
the three major forms of representing slavery in
contemporary narratives of slavery: historical novels set in
the antebellum South; novels set in late 20th-century
America but tracing modern social relations within an
explicit representation of the slave experience; and
contemporary rewritings of antebellum slave narrative forms
and conventions. The three major topics students should be
engaged in to prepare them for this seminar are: the
historiography of American chattel slavery, the slave
narrative as political and literary representation, and
contemporary African American literary history and theory.
MAJOR READINGS
Andrews, William L., Ed., SIX WOMEN'S SLAVE NARRATIVES,
Oxford UP, 1988
Bradley, David, THE CHANEYSVILLE INCIDENT, Harper & Row 1990
Butler, Octavia, KINDRED, Beacon, 1988
Douglass, Frederick, NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF FREDERICK
DOUGLASS, AN AMERICAN SLAVE; Ed. Houston A. Baker, Penguin,
1986
Jacobs, Harriet A., INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL,
WRITTEN BY HERSELF; Ed. Jean Fagan Yellin, Harvard UP, 1987
Johnson, Charles, MIDDLE PASSAGE, NAL, 1991
OXHERDING TALE, NAL, 1991
Jones, Gayl, CORREGIDORA, Beacon, 1986
Morrison, Toni, BELOVED, New American Library, 1989
Reed, Ishmael, FLIGHT TO CANADA, Antheneum, 1976
Williams, Sherley Anne, DESSA ROSE, Berkley, 1987
EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS
Four short papers (3 pages
each) One research paper (15-20 pages) One final exam
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS
Prospective
students in this course are encouraged to do some
preliminary background reading on their own. The student
might best prepare herself or himself by reading any one
of the standard general histories of American chattel
slavery -- e.g. Eugene Genovese's ROLL, JORDAN, ROLL: THE
WORLD THE SLAVES MADE (Vintage, 1976) or John Blassingame's
THE SLAVE COMMUNITY: PLANTATION LIFE IN THE ANTEBELLUM
SOUTH (Oxford UP, 1979)
This course counts toward the English Department's
Historicity requirement.
Unless preregistered students attend the first class
meeting or communicate directly with the instructor prior
to the first class, they will be dropped from the class
list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add
form to the Reegistrar's Office.
COURSE FORMAT: Discussion Seminar
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Level: UG Credit: 1.00
Gen Ed Area & Dept: HA ENGL
Prerequisites:
None
Last Updated on MAR-22-1999
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Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459