552.285 (24S) Topics in American Cultural Studies: Narratives of Slavery in Contemporary African American Culture
Overview
- Lecturer
- LV Nummer Südostverbund ENM03001UL
- Course title german Topics in American Cultural Studies: Narratives of Slavery in Contemporary African American Culture
- Type Proseminar (continuous assessment course )
- Course model Attendance-based course
- Hours per Week 2.0
- ECTS credits 3.0
- Registrations 25 (25 max.)
- Organisational unit
- Language of instruction Englisch
- Course begins on 05.03.2024
- eLearning Go to Moodle course
Time and place
Course Information
Intended learning outcomes
Students will gain a basic knowledge of contemporary African American literature and culture, especially with respect to narratives about slavery. They will be able to think critically about major U.S. cultural discourses and a variety of literary genres in relation to the history of African American enslavement. Students will improve their research, analytical, and writing skills, and advance their competence in interpreting texts within their specific socio-cultural and historical contexts from a perspective that problematizes race, class, and gender.
Teaching methodology
This course is designed to emphasize in-class student participation. Teaching methods include short input lectures, short oral presentations on selected topics by students, in-class discussion of assigned primary and theoretical texts through close readings, and group discussion.
Course content
Musing about slavery and her reasons for writing Beloved, Toni Morrison once lamented the lack of “suitable memorial sites,” places “you or I can go, to think about or not think about, to summon the presences of, or recollect the absences of slaves.” This class turns to the ways in which contemporary African American culture has been addressing this lack Morrison noted in 1989 in various ways by creating narratives about slavery. We will explore the places, understood as discursive “memorial sites,” that contemporary Black culture creates to speak about the period of American slavery across various media and in contemporary texts ranging from poetry and novels (e.g. Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad (2016)), to films and series (e.g. Donald Glover’s Atlanta (2016-2022)). Our focus will be on the various different modes of signifying on, remembering, or even reenacting slavery, and on questions of (re)memory, (cultural) trauma, reparations, and “new” forms of slavery.
Literature
Required texts (please purchase!)
Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad. (any edition)
Edward P. Jones, The Known World. (any edition)
Examination information
Examination methodology
- one oral presentation
- one research paper of 2,500-3,000 words
Examination topic(s)
- oral presentation (15 minutes) on selected topics. A list of presentation topics and guidelines will be provided.
- research paper on a text treated in the seminar. Students must use at least five secondary sources. Papers must conform to the guidelines outlined in the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed. They must be submitted as a word or PDF document via email. Final deadline for submission is October 31, 2024.
Assessment criteria / Standards of assessment for examinations
Components of final grade:
- 20 % participation in class (pillar 1)
- 20 % oral presentation (pillar 2)
- 60 % research paper (pillar 3)
Students will need to achieve passing grades in all pillars of assessment in order to receive a passing grade for the class.
Grading scheme
Grade / Grade grading schemePosition in the curriculum
- Bachelor-Lehramtsstudium Bachelor Unterrichtsfach Englisch
(SKZ: 407, Version: 17W.2)
-
Subject: Anglophone Cultural History and Theory
(Compulsory subject)
-
ENM.003 Topics in American Cultural Studies (
2.0h PS / 3.0 ECTS)
- 552.285 Topics in American Cultural Studies: Narratives of Slavery in Contemporary African American Culture (2.0h PS / 3.0 ECTS) Absolvierung im 4., 5., 6. Semester empfohlen
-
ENM.003 Topics in American Cultural Studies (
2.0h PS / 3.0 ECTS)
-
Subject: Anglophone Cultural History and Theory
(Compulsory subject)
- Bachelor-Lehramtsstudium Bachelor Unterrichtsfach Englisch
(SKZ: 407, Version: 15W.2)
-
Subject: Anglophone Cultural History and Theory
(Compulsory subject)
-
ENM.003 Topics in American Cultural Studies (
2.0h PS / 3.0 ECTS)
- 552.285 Topics in American Cultural Studies: Narratives of Slavery in Contemporary African American Culture (2.0h PS / 3.0 ECTS) Absolvierung im 4., 5., 6. Semester empfohlen
-
ENM.003 Topics in American Cultural Studies (
2.0h PS / 3.0 ECTS)
-
Subject: Anglophone Cultural History and Theory
(Compulsory subject)
- Bachelor-Lehramtsstudium Bachelor Unterrichtsfach Englisch
(SKZ: 407, Version: 19W.2)
-
Subject: Anglophone Cultural History and Theory
(Compulsory subject)
-
ENM.003 Topics in American Cultural Studies (
2.0h PS / 3.0 ECTS)
- 552.285 Topics in American Cultural Studies: Narratives of Slavery in Contemporary African American Culture (2.0h PS / 3.0 ECTS) Absolvierung im 4., 5., 6. Semester empfohlen
-
ENM.003 Topics in American Cultural Studies (
2.0h PS / 3.0 ECTS)
-
Subject: Anglophone Cultural History and Theory
(Compulsory subject)
- Teacher training programme English (Secondary School Teacher Accreditation)
(SKZ: 344, Version: 04W.7)
-
Stage two
-
Subject: Advanced Culture Studies
(Compulsory subject)
-
SE zu Topics in American Culture Studies (
2.0h SE / 5.0 ECTS)
- 552.285 Topics in American Cultural Studies: Narratives of Slavery in Contemporary African American Culture (2.0h PS / 3.0 ECTS)
-
SE zu Topics in American Culture Studies (
2.0h SE / 5.0 ECTS)
-
Subject: Advanced Culture Studies
(Compulsory subject)
-
Stage two
- Extension programme (UG §54a) Encounters in English
(SKZ: 020, Version: 23W.1)
-
Subject: Stage Two
(Compulsory subject)
-
2.6 Topics in Culture (optional: mit Studienprojekt) (
0.0h PS / 3.0 ECTS)
- 552.285 Topics in American Cultural Studies: Narratives of Slavery in Contemporary African American Culture (2.0h PS / 3.0 ECTS) Absolvierung im 2. Semester empfohlen
-
2.6 Topics in Culture (optional: mit Studienprojekt) (
0.0h PS / 3.0 ECTS)
-
Subject: Stage Two
(Compulsory subject)
- Bachelor's degree programme English and American Studies
(SKZ: 612, Version: 15W.3)
-
Subject: Fachliches Grundstudium Culture
(Compulsory subject)
-
6.2 Topics in American Cultural Studies (
0.0h PS / 3.0 ECTS)
- 552.285 Topics in American Cultural Studies: Narratives of Slavery in Contemporary African American Culture (2.0h PS / 3.0 ECTS) Absolvierung im 3. Semester empfohlen
-
6.2 Topics in American Cultural Studies (
0.0h PS / 3.0 ECTS)
-
Subject: Fachliches Grundstudium Culture
(Compulsory subject)