African American literature grew out of the oral tradition of storytelling and spirituals. In this course, you will consider these verbal modes and their impact on the literary production of African American authors from the Colonial period to the current day.
African American literature grew out of the oral tradition of storytelling and spirituals. In this course, you will consider these verbal modes and their impact on the literary production of African American authors from the Colonial period to the current day. Along with considering the content of literary works, you will examine the cultural, historical, and political contexts of the literature, as well as how the issues of gender, race, and class affect the production and meaning of these works. In this course, you will examine the development of African American literature in seven units: Oral Traditions; The Literature of Slavery; Reconstruction to the New Negro Renaissance Movement; Harlem Renaissance; Realism, Naturalism, and Modernism; Black Arts; and the Contemporary Period. This course begins with a unit that studies African American literature’s inception through oral tradition. This unit will teach you about the beginnings of narrative and will ground your understanding in the development of the literary tradition. We will also identify the principal authors and characteristics of each of these periods and read representative texts.
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
Identify the cultural influences and the development of African American literature.
Analyze the evolution of African American literature from an oral to a literary tradition.
Define the functions of African American literature from its inception in the period of slavery to the contemporary period.
Identify the major authors and/or literary works in the various literary periods and movements (Reconstruction to the New Negro Renaissance Movement; Harlem Renaissance; Realism, Naturalism, and Modernism; Black Arts; and the Contemporary Period).
