Poetics of the World: The Making and Unmaking of the African Diaspora

This course critically engages with the meaning and making of African Diaspora literature by examining a range of novels, poetry, and memoirs, as well as theoretical texts. Part of the work of this course will be to examine the genre of Afro-diasporic literature. What does it mean to belong to a diaspora? How do writers from across the diaspora communicate with one another? What unexpected models of sociality and community does this literature produce? How do writers engage with one another across national boundaries? Our discussions will delve into themes of opacity, entanglement, identity, race, gender, and sexuality.