African American Literature After 1965: Nationalism and Dissent

Since the late 1960s, major theoretical and literary currents in African American letters have been profoundly influenced by black nationalism. This seminar examines the persistence of nationalist thought in ongoing debates about racial authenticity, gender inequality, black aesthetics, and diasporic politics. In so doing we will attend to both the complexity of nationalist ideology and the dissent generated by it. Authors include Baraka, Cruse, Giovanni, Morrison, Senna, Whitehead, and Gilroy. Open to graduate students only.