As part of the LSA Theme Semester “Understanding Race,” this course will explore the way “race” is made visible in a variety of media: literary works, visual arts, case studies, film, and museum exhibits. Rather than taking race and racial identities as a given, we’ll ask how different texts collect, curate, and exhibit elements of the process of being and becoming “a color,” particularly in spaces that intersect cultures. We will ask how the various works we analyze participate in the way we think about, visualize, and relate to race. We will consider both fictional and non-fictional works across various mediums. Our materials will be drawn from West Africa, the African Diaspora, Western Europe, and North America. All texts will be in English.
While the theme of the course will organize our discussions and readings, the primary goal of the course is to develop critical writing skills. Thus, discussing writing strategies and practicing drafting and re-writing will be an important part of the course. Furthermore, students will work closely with their peers and instructor, as part of a constructive learning community. The writing assignments may include short reaction papers, critical summaries, analytical and comparative essays, exhibit critiques, and creative work. In addition to these assignments and class discussions, we will conduct small group workshops of student papers. Together, these activities will provide many opportunities for students to receive feedback on their writing and to consider the writing process more generally as a critical — and collective — intellectual activity.
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