Imagining the African Diaspora: Slavery, Black Radicalism & Globalization: Writing Intensive Seminar

3 units

This course introduces students to the African diaspora as both a practice and a subject of study. From Latin America to the U.S., the Atlantic World, and Asia, students will critically consider the construction of the African diaspora across time and space, and the foundational role of people of African descent in the making of the modern world. While the overarching framework of the course is historical, we will assume an interdisciplinary approach, examining memoirs and historical works as well as film, music, and the performing arts. We will think about how the African diaspora complicates our understandings of home, identity, race, geography, gender, and politics. This course does not aim to establish a single understanding of the African diaspora but to appreciate its flexibility as both a practice and concept.