AFST/ETHS/HSTY 263: African-American History in and through Film

Noel Voltz- W 2:15-4:45

This course focuses on the history of black representation in film and television in the United States. In this course, students will be introduced to some of the earliest representations of Black folks on the silver screen as well as learn about emergence of Black cinema (black films made for, by and about Black people) in the 20th century. Through this exploration, students will become acquainted with some of the most significant films, actors, and directors in African American history. This course will also teach students how to critically analyze how African American history has been depicted in modern and popular “historical” films. Students will be encouraged to employ the analysis skills and particularly critical theories of race, gender, and class to examine how filmmakers have presented, and too often distorted, historical events related to the Black experience in the United States. Finally, throughout the course, students will be encouraged to think about the ways in which films and television, both in the past and present, have contributed to the constructions of race and racial stereotypes in the United States. Films and documentaries will serve as some of the major “texts” of this course. Students will be screenings films both at home and in class.

AFST/ETHS/FRCH/WLIT 295: The Francophone World

Patrick Lyons- MW 3:20-4:35

The course offers an introduction to the Francophone World from a historical, cultural, and literary perspective. The Francophone World includes countries and regions around the globe with a substantial French-speaking population (and where French is sometimes, but not always, an official language): North America (Louisiana, Quebec, and Acadia); North Africa (Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt); the Middle-East (Lebanon, Syria); the Caribbean (Martinique, Guadeloupe, Haiti); Southeast Asia (Vietnam); and Europe (France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Luxembourg). This course provides a comprehensive overview of the Francophone World, while focusing on a particular area or areas in any given semester.

AFST/ENGL/ETHS/WLIT 363H: African-American Literature – Harlem Renaissance

Chiyuma Elliot- R 2:30-3:45

A historical approach to African-American literature. Such writers as Wheatley, Equiano, Douglass, Jacobs, DuBois, Hurston, Hughes, Wright, Baldwin, Ellison, Morrison. Topics covered may include slave narratives, African-American autobiography, the Harlem Renaissance, the Black Aesthetic, literature of protest and assimilation. Maximum 6 credits.

AFST 389/POSC 389/489: Special Topics in American Politics and Policy – Race, Immigration and American

Girma Parris- MW 12:45-2:00

Specific topic will vary but will consist of an in-depth investigation of a particular policy area or political phenomenon. Topics will involve policy controversies of some current interest

ENGL 257B: Reading Poetry – African-American Poetry

Chiyuma Elliot- TR 10:00-11:15

This course will help you to read and enjoy poetry by introducing you to the history of poetic forms in English. We’ll pay close attention to the enchanting details of poetic expression, as well as to the cultivation of individual styles and to the place of poetry in a world defined by global movements of many kinds. Our work will require careful reading, critical thinking, and scholarly, argument-based writing (including revision), as we appreciate the diversity of forms and features of poetry in English. We will introduce and develop the key terms, concepts and practice of literary studies by turning to poems for our test-cases; examples may include the sestina, sonnet and villanelle, ghazal, pantoum, haiku, and open forms. The specific focus of the course may vary. Recommended preparation: Academic Inquiry Seminar or SAGES First Seminar. Counts as a Communication Intensive course.

THTR 336: Concepts of Race within African American Plays

Heather Burton- T 4:00-6:00