230466 African-American Poetry (S) (SoSe 2019)

The parameters of race vary in the political and public discourses of the Americas, where cultural complexity translates the historical entanglements between African, European and Native American heritage. The individual definition of racial constructs gains meaning through human interaction and intercultural contact. Since literature emerges as a space of (re)negotiation and expression of racial identity, this seminar will cover African-American writing, with a focus on poetry by African-American writers from various centuries. Taking an inter-American perspective, the course also aims at mapping a series of theoretical approaches to racial identity as they emerge throughout the major Black Movements in the US, the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights Movement, but which must be regarded in the larger context of the Americas. For a Studienleistung you are expected to do the required amount of reading, take part in group discussions, and give one presentation.