AFRICANA STUDIES 339c - Interracial Narratives

Institution:

Bowdoin College

Subject:

Description:

Spring 2007. MARK FOSTER. Violence and interracial sex have long been conjoined in U.S. literary, televisual, and filmic work. The enduring nature of this conjoining suggests there is some symbolic logic at work in these narratives, such that black/white intimacy functions as a figural stand-in for negative (and sometimes positive) commentary on black/white social conflict. When this happens, what becomes of "sex" as a historically changing phenomenon when it is yoked tothe historically unchanging phenomenon of the "interracial" Although counter-narrativeshave recently emerged to compete with such symbolic portrayals, i.e. romance novels, popular films, and television shows, not all of these works have displaced this earlier figural logic; in some cases, this logic has merely been updated. Explores the broader cultural implications of both types of narratives. Possible authors/texts include Richard Wright, Chester Himes, Ann Petry, Lillian Smith, Jack Kerouac, Frantz Fanon, Kara Walker, Amiri Baraka, Alice Walker, Octavia Butler, John R. Gordon, Kim McLarin, Monster's Ball, Far From Heaven, and Sex and the City. (Same as English 339 and Gender and Women's Studies 339.) Prerequisite: One first-year seminar or 100-level course in the English Department. Note: This course fulfills the literature of the Americas requirement for English majors.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

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Instructional Type:

Lecture

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Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.bowdoin.edu/

Phone Number:

(207) 725-3000

Regional Accreditation:

New England Association of Schools and Colleges

Calendar System:

Semester

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