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| Semester | fall semester 2017 |
| Course frequency | Irregular |
| Lecturers | Philipp Schweighauser (ph.schweighauser@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | This seminar explores a variety of African-American writings, both fictional and non-fictional, published since 2010, in the decade that saw the first black President of the United States. Claudia Rankine's "Citizen: An American Lyric" (2014) is a genre-bending, award-winning text that mixes poetry, the essay, and images to explore the reality of race in the United States, from microaggressions to racial incidents in the career of Serena Williams, to the killing by a neighborhood watchman of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin. Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote "Between the World and Me" (2015) following a meeting with sitting U.S. President Barack Obama. Penned as an angry letter to his teenage son, Coates, a prolific journalist for "The Atlantic", explores the ongoing history of violence against African-Americans, drawing on his own experience to inquire into what it means to inhabit a black male body in the United States. Published near the beginning of the decade, Teju Cole's second novel "Open City" (2011) is a much less angry text that for the most part follows its protagonist Julius's dreamlike walks through New York City, a city that the half-Nigerian, half-German immigrant encounters as a multiracial space. Major writer Colson Whitehead's novel "The Underground Railroad" (2016) takes us back into the nation's past to reimagine the underground railroad, the network safe houses and secret routes that 19th c. African-American slaves used to escape into free states, as an actual subway. Our seminar will explore the diverse ways in which these texts by African-Americans comment both on the U.S. past and on the state of the nation presided over by 'one of their own', Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States. |
| Learning objectives | Students learn about the wide variety of African-American fictional and non-fictional responses to a decade in American history that is marked by the first black presidency. |
| Bibliography | Claudia Rankine's "Citizen: An American Lyric" (2014), Ta-Nehisi Coates's "Between the World and Me" (2015), Teju Cole's "Open City" (2011), and Colson Whitehead's "The Underground Railroad" (2016) must be purchased and read before the semester begins. We will start with "Citizen: An American Lyric". Copies of all books have been ordered at Labyrinth bookstore. You might want to consider supporting your local bookstore. |
| Comments | Note that this seminar relates to my lecture course "American Literature Survey IV/IV: Postmodernism and Contemporary". However, attendance of the lecture is not a prerequisite for this seminar. |
| Weblink | ADAM |
| Admission requirements | THIS COURSE IS FULL. NO REGISTRATIONS AFTER AUGUST 13 ARE ACCEPTED. |
| Course application | Register on MOnA. THIS COURSE IS FULL. NO REGISTRATIONS AFTER AUGUST 13 ARE ACCEPTED. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | Online, mandatory |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|
No dates available. Please contact the lecturer.
| Modules |
Modul Advanced Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Bachelor's degree subject: English) Modul Culture and Society (Master's degree program: African Studies (Start of studies before 01.08.2013)) Modul Extending the View (Literary and Cultural Studies) (Bachelor's degree subject: English (Start of studies before 01.08.2013)) Modul Fields: Knowledge Production and Transfer (Master's degree program: African Studies) Modul Fields: Media and Imagination (Master's degree program: African Studies) Modul Focusing on the Discipline (Literary and Cultural Studies) (Bachelor's degree subject: English (Start of studies before 01.08.2013)) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | course readings, regular attendance, active participation |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | as often as necessary |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Englische Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft |