Black Diaspora Literature and Culture

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE 235/ENGL235: Black Diaspora Literature and Culture Fall 2011

Jeremy Metz, [email protected] Course Meeting, TuTh 9:30 to 10:45, Tawes 0221 Office: 2128 Tawes Hall Office Hours: Thurs 11:00 to 12:00, or by appointment

1. Course Description

Students in CMLT235, Literatures of the African Diaspora, learn about the ways in which writers of African descent have interpreted the experiences of forced migration, slavery, colonialism, and discrimination in a variety of literary forms, including narratives, autobiographies, poetry, and novels. Students examine the rhetorical strategies that diasporic authors have employed in their struggles for freedom, recognition, civil rights, and equality. The class pays particular attention to the texts of diasporic women authors who describe and resist patriarchy and gender bias. As students take in the sweep of diasporic literary history-in-the-making, they gain important insights into vital and enriching cultural forms of our contemporary world.

Diaspora constitutes the unifying theme of course readings, lectures, and assignments. Diaspora is considered: as a historic term that encompasses geographic dispersal and community formation, both forced and voluntary; as a conceptual term that articulates an intellectual and philosophical basis for peoples of African descent to explore enduring connections and common agendas across national boundaries; and as a cultural term that recognizes and celebrates the enormous contributions of writers, musicians, artists, and many others of African descent to our diverse contemporary culture.

The course begins with a foundational modern text, Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, which evokes a traditional African tribal community at the moment of its encounter with European colonizers. Having thus established a crucial reference point in Africa, the course then follows a historical trajectory that encompasses literary representations of the Middle Passage, the slave trade, the fight for emancipation, the foundation of distinctive African American cultural formations, the search for authentic black identities, the continuing struggle against racism, discrimination, and oppression, and the recovery of vital memories of a common heritage, both in Africa and in the New World, that have been, in part, erased.

Learning Outcomes:

General Education Humanities

At the completion of this course, students will be able to:  Demonstrate familiarity and facility with fundamental terminology and concepts in black diaspora literature and culture.

1 | P a g e C M L T 2 3 5 , F a l l 2 0 1 1 , S y l l a b u s v e r s i o n 1 . 2  Demonstrate understanding of the methods used by scholars in the areas of black diaspora studies, especially those drawn from literary studies, history, and anthropology.  Describe how language use is related to ways of thinking, cultural heritage, and cultural values. Emphasis on histories of linguistic traditions—Anglophone, Francophone, Hispanophone, and Lusophone.  Demonstrate the ability to formulate a thesis related to black diaspora studies and to support the thesis with evidence and argumentation.

General Education Plural Societies

At the completion of this course, students will be able to:  Demonstrate understanding of some of the bases of human diversity, especially cultural, historical, social, economic, and ideological.  Explicate the processes that create or fail to create just, productive, egalitarian, and collaborative societies.  Analyze forms and traditions of thought or expression in relation to cultural, historical, political, and social contexts.  Use comparative and intersectional frameworks to examine the experiences and cultures of different geographical and linguistic groups across the black diaspora.

2. Texts (on order at the UMD Book Center and the Maryland Book Exchange)

 Chinua Achebe: Things Fall Apart, 978-0385474542  Langston Hughes, The Langston Hughes Reader, 978-0807600573  Maryse Condé, I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem, 978-0345384201 .  Toni Morrison, Beloved, 978-1400033416  Andrea Levy, Small Island, 978-0312429522

Additional readings will be available via the course Elms site or online, as indicated in the Schedule below.

Note: All of these titles are available inexpensively from used book vendors listed on Amazon and on other sites. Using the ISBN codes shown above will ensure that your page numbers are in synch when we discuss passages in class.

3. Schedule

Please note that the following schedule is subject to change. Please check the current version on Elms.

o WEEK I. + Th 8/31: Course introduction: Introduction and Concepts of Diaspora

o WEEK II + Tu 9/6: Chinua Achebe: Things Fall Apart

2 | P a g e C M L T 2 3 5 , F a l l 2 0 1 1 , S y l l a b u s v e r s i o n 1 . 2 + Th 9/8: Things Fall Apart, continued

o WEEK III + Tu 9/13: Chinua Achebe: Things Fall Apart, continued + Th 9/15: W.E.B. Dubois Institute, Black Imagination and the Middle Passage, Selections (Elms)

o WEEK IV + Tu 9/20: Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative (Elms) + Th 9/22: Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative, continued

o WEEK V + Tu 9/27: Mary Prince, The History of Mary Prince, (http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/prince/prince.html) + Th 9/29: Mary Prince, The History, continued

o WEEK VI + Tu 10/4: Frederick Douglass, Autobiography (1845) (http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/douglass/douglass.html) + Th 10/6: Frederick Douglass, Autobiography, continued

o WEEK VII + Tu 10/11: Frederick Douglass, The Heroic Slave, selections (http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/douglass1853/douglass1853.html) Due Date: Keywords +Th 10/13: Research day, McKeldin Library, Room 6107

o WEEK VIII + Tu 10/18: Midterm exam + Th 10/20: The Langston Hughes Reader, Selections

o WEEK IX + Tu 10/25: The Langston Hughes Reader, Continued Due Date: Statement of General Subject Area and Annotated Bibliography + Th 10/27: The Langston Hughes Reader, Continued

o WEEK X + Tu 11/1: Aimé Césaire, Notebook of a Return to the Native Land, Selections (Elms) + Th 11/3: Léopold Senghor, Selected Poetry (Elms)

o WEEK XI + Tu 11/8: Maryse Condé, I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem + Th 11/10: Maryse Condé, I, Tituba, continued 3 | P a g e C M L T 2 3 5 , F a l l 2 0 1 1 , S y l l a b u s v e r s i o n 1 . 2 Due date: Term Paper Prospectus

o WEEK XII + Tu 11/15: Maryse Condé, I, Tituba, continued + Th 11/17: Toni Morrison, Beloved

o WEEK XIII + Tu 11/22: Toni Morrison, Beloved, continued + Th 11.24: Thanksgiving Recess

o WEEK XIV + Tu 11/29: Toni Morrison, Beloved, continued + Th 12/1: Andrea Levy, Small Island

o WEEK XV + Tu 12/6: Andrea Levy, Small Island, continued + Th 12/8: Andrea Levy, Small Island, continued Due Date: Individual and Group Notebooks

o WEEK XVI + Tu 12/13: 9:30 to 11:30 Extended office hours for those wishing last minute help on the term paper, Tawes 2128 Friday 12/16 Due Date: Term Paper

4. Assignments and Grading:

Please note that further information on the cycle of assignments leading to the term paper is contained in the Term Paper Assignment document available on Elms. These include the Keyword list, the Statement of general subject area, the Term paper prospectus, and the Term paper. The final paper is 8-10 pages in length, plus a Works Cited section.

 Participation. Most of our class meetings will include small group or full class discussions. In order to participate effectively, students are expected: to miss no more than one week of class, i.e. two class meetings; to offer comments and to pose questions frequently during discussions; to contribute actively to small group exercises; and to listen attentively to comments and presentations of their peers and the instructor. Absences due to illness will be excused, but appropriate written documentation must be provided at the next class at which the student is present. Please see “What should I do if I miss class because of an illness?” http.//www.health.umd.edu/faq for more information. Participation grades will be

4 | P a g e C M L T 2 3 5 , F a l l 2 0 1 1 , S y l l a b u s v e r s i o n 1 . 2 adversely affected by: texting, Internet surfing, perusing unrelated written material during class, sleeping, whispering, etc.

 Individual notebook. In many classes, students will write short responses to questions on the readings. These responses will frequently be used to prompt class discussions. Students will keep these responses in spiral bound or loose-leaf notebooks. Each notebook should include a title page listing each assignment by date and page number in the notebook. The grade for the individual notebooks will be based 50% on effort and 50% on the quality and originality of the responses.

 Group notebook. Students will be assigned to small groups for the course. In many classes, time will be provided for small group discussions that are structured around specific questions on the readings. Groups will be asked to write down their answers to the questions, and to keep all their answers in a notebook. Each notebook should include a title page listing each assignment by date and page number in the notebook, along with the initials of all group members who contributed substantially to the assignment. The grade for the group notebooks will be based 50% on effort and 50% on the quality and originality of the responses. While all students in a group generally receive the same grade for the group notebook, adjustments may be made for individuals who are clearly contributing to the work to a lesser degree than other group members.

 Class presentation. Each small group will present one of the assigned texts to the class. Students coordinate their presentations with each other and each presents some aspect of the text to the class. Students are encouraged to use images and slides. Students read from a two to three page paper that they have prepared to fulfill the major part of the assignment. 75% of the grade is for the short paper, and 25% for the overall quality of the student’s presentation on the text.

 Reading quizzes. Students take weekly quizzes on the assigned readings. Students will receive one-half extra credit point simply for being present and having available their laptops or mobile devices with browsers. At least eleven quizzes will be given, but only the top ten scores will be used.

 Midterm. Students will write short essays in response to one question that will be drawn from a list of two questions that will be posted on our Elms site five days before the date of the midterm exam, and to a second question that will not be provided in advance.

 Final exam. Students will write short essays in response to two questions that will be drawn from a list of four questions that will be posted on our Elms site one week before 5 | P a g e C M L T 2 3 5 , F a l l 2 0 1 1 , S y l l a b u s v e r s i o n 1 . 2 the date of the final exam, and a third question that will not be provided in advance. Questions in the final exam cover only readings after the midterm.

5. Grading

Grade distribution

Assessment Points Participation 20 Individual notebook 10 Group notebook 10 Presentation text (2-3 page paper) 10 Reading quizzes (top 10 scores) 5 each, 50 total Midterm exam 20 Keyword list 5 Statement of general subject area 5 Term paper prospectus 10 Term paper 30 Final Exam 30 Total assessment points 200

Note: Decimals may be utilized. For example, a term paper prospectus may receive a grade of 8.5. Please also note that the Elms grade book will show a total higher than 200, as it will include at least one quiz score that is disregarded.

6 | P a g e C M L T 2 3 5 , F a l l 2 0 1 1 , S y l l a b u s v e r s i o n 1 . 2 Grading Scale

188-200 A 180-187 A- 173-179 B+ 167-172 B 160-166 B- 153-159 C+ 147-152 C 139-146 C- 133-138 D+ 119-132 D 0-118 F

6. Policies

 Laptops. Students should bring their laptops or smart phones for quizzes. Laptops must be turned off and put away at other times.

 Text messages. Students must not at any time during class use or read from their mobile phones.

 Materials required at class. Students must bring with them to class the book(s) indicated on the syllabus for each class meeting. Students must also have available their individual and group notebooks, paper and pencils or pens.

 Submitting assignments. All papers must be submitted through Elms/Assignments by midnight of the due date as shown on the current syllabus and on the assignment in Elms. Late assignments will be accepted only at the instructor’s discretion and will be marked down two points for each day late.

 Suspected violations of the honor code, including plagiarism and cheating. Any suspected violation of the honor code, including plagiarism and cheating, will be referred immediately to the Office of Student Conduct. The outcome of such a referral may, after investigation, lead to meaningful sanctions. Please see http.//www.studentconduct.umd.edu/info/students/default.aspx for more information. Students are urged to consult with the instructor when they have questions on the appropriate acknowledgement of sources. Students are particularly warned not to incorporate the unattributed work of others, either through direct appropriation of the specific writing of others or through the paraphrase of the work of others, into their 7 | P a g e C M L T 2 3 5 , F a l l 2 0 1 1 , S y l l a b u s v e r s i o n 1 . 2 own work. Students are discouraged from consulting reading guides or Wikipedia when writing their papers, but if they do so they should cite them scrupulously. (There is no deduction for using these sources, provided they are cited.)

 Writing center. Students are strongly encouraged to visit the writing center, located at Tawes 1205, for tutoring, particularly when preparing papers. For further information and to schedule appointments, please see http.//www.english.umd.edu/the-writing- center-front-page.

 University-wide Emergency Preparedness. In case of an extended closure of the University due to an emergency, the instructor will provide specific instructions by email and through the course Elms site on alternative plans for communicating lecture information and conducting discussions, which may be held by conference call or live forums on Elms. Papers and other assignments should be submitted through Elms on the date provided in this syllabus.

 Special Needs. If you have a registered disability and wish to discuss accommodations with me, please let me know. Disabilities may be registered through Disability Support Services (4-7682 or 5-7683 TTY/TDD). If you experience a personal or family crisis, please avail yourself of the resources offered by the University’s Counseling Center’s Crisis Management Team (http://www.counseling.umd.edu/Services/srv_cmt.htm) and then ask a professional at the center to let me know the nature of accommodations that would be appropriate under your particular circumstances. I will typically grant accommodations requested by an appropriate counselor at the center without requiring disclosure of the nature of the disability or crisis.

8 | P a g e C M L T 2 3 5 , F a l l 2 0 1 1 , S y l l a b u s v e r s i o n 1 . 2