ENGL 362 - Post -Soul Literature and Culture

Institution:

University of Richmond

Subject:

Description:

Survey of works by African-American verbal artists who came of age after the civil-rights movement. Prerequisite(s): English 297 or 298 with a C or better Unit(s): 1 Additional Information: How are African-American artists who were born or came of age after the civil rights movement responding to this contemporary American culture Today, as a result of the civil rights movement, black creativity isn't produced or viewed solely within the context of the pursuit of freedom for black people, a reality that is reflected in the literature, film, art, and music of .the "Post-Soul" aesthetic. One reason you likely haven't heard of the Post-Soul, among several, is that, while the Post-Soul aesthetic (PSA) is a legitimate "school" of African-American literature and art, many of its practitioners don't want to be labeled, even if the label is one that suggests they believe in unfettered artistic freedom. Although she prefers the term "postblack," art curator Thelma Golden spoke directly to the heart of the PSA artistic dilemma when she wrote: "For me, to approach a conversation about 'black art,' ultimately meant embracing and rejecting the notion of such a thing at the very same time. . . . It was a clarifying term that had ideological and chronological dimensions and repercussions. It was characterized by artists who were adamant about not being labeled as 'black' artists, though their work was steeped, in fact deeply interested, in redefining complex notions of blackness." Many Post-Soul writers critique the events or mindset of the civil rights movement in their fictions, and it's important to this sense of African-Americans being "post" that these artists have no lived, adult experience with that movement. Many of the best known younger black artists have a complicated relationship with the PSA, and therefore many of these artists often show up on PSA syllabi: Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Kara Walker, Wynton Marsalis, Spike Lee, Danzy Senna, Mos-D

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.richmond.edu

Phone Number:

(804) 289-8000

Regional Accreditation:

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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