ENGL 218African American Literature I

Catalog

Is a course that examines the portion of American literature created by African Americans, beginning with slavery up to the Harlem Renaissance, and including the vernacular tradition. Students read slave narratives and literature by fugitive slaves and free African Americans, as well as essays, and speeches. The literature introduces students to the complex socioeconomic and political history of African Americans as a former enslaved population as well as an oppressed group whose full civil (legal) rights were not recognized until the mid-1960s. Course offered every fall, spring and may be offered during additional sessions.