Seminar in Minority Literary Traditions

3 units

Who were the Black intellectuals of the 18th and 19th centuries? What were their prescriptions for freedom and self-governance? How did they reflect on self and community, gender roles, and the African diaspora? A variety of texts-from autobiographies and novels to manifestos and newspaper editorials-will illustrate how Black women and men before Reconstruction thought about the condition of their people, whether in the physical or in the psychic sense. Some of the writers used their personal experiences to change the discourse by fostering empathy and sympathy; some took expressly political stands, sometimes advocating for violent self-defense. The rhetorical styles differed, as African Americans were distinguished then as now by gender, social status, and region, but they shared a common goal: an empowered, educated Black citizen.