AFCA 295 - Seminar in Africana Studies

Credits: 3 credits in fall or winter, 4 in spring

Prerequisite: Completion of FW requirement. Students in this course study a group of African-American, African, or Afro-Caribbean works related by theme, culture, topic, genre, historical period, or critical approach. In the Spring Term version, the course involves field trips, film screenings, service learning, and/or other special projects, as appropriate, in addition to 8-10 hours per week of class meetings. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.

Spring 2020, AFCA 295-01/ENGL 295-04: Adolescence in the African-American Novel (3). Adolescence names a complicated moment in human development. Considering this complexity, it is not surprising that writers use this theme to convey the knotty realities that attend black self-definition. Focusing on the post-Harlem Renaissance era, we examine novels about adolescence. We identify sexuality as a key theme in these works. By term’s end, students should emerge with a mature understanding of how adolescent sexuality symbolizes black participation in American democracy. (HL) Hill.