This course considers how the legacy of slavery, including the Middle Passage, is rewritten in 20th and 21st century novels in English. We will consider not only how that history is remembered, but how its legacy lives on. We’ll begin with slave narratives to consider the narrative form and content: exile and natal alienation, social death, education and coming to consciousness, the journey to freedom, and yearning for Jubilee. We will also situate these novels within the broader contexts of racial justice, remembrance, reconciliation, reparations, regeneration, and human rights.
Novels may include Esi Edugyan Washington Black, Colson Whitehead Underground Railroad, Claude McKay Romance in Marseille, Dionne Brand In Another Place, Not Here, Rita Indiana Tentacle, Ana-Maurine Lara Erzulie’s Skirt, Edwidge Danticat Breath, Eyes, Memory, Marlon James The Book of Night Women.
Requirements: Take home mid-term and final exams, class leadership, and practical criticism exercises.
Taught by Dr. Laura Winkiel.
Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 6.00 total credit hours.
Requisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: Critical Studies in English