2023-24 Academic Catalog

Through the lens of former slaves and their descendants in America, this course explores ways in which the slave and neo-slave narratives attend to the larger existential question of what it means to be free. The corollary notions of race, gender, identity, solidarity, among others, will also be considered. In addition, this class will investigate the ways in which the re-inscription of slavery, in contemporary literature, has impacted the development of the Africana literary tradition in terms of content, genre, and form. This course adopts an interdisciplinary approach to slavery that utilizes philosophy, literature, and media studies.