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AFRAMER 131Y: Enslaved Black Women Narratives and the 21St Century #Metoo Movement: a Conversation Dr

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AFRAMER 131Y: Enslaved Black Women Narratives and the 21St Century #Metoo Movement: a Conversation Dr AFRAMER 131Y: Enslaved Black Women Narratives and the 21st Century #MeToo Movement: A Conversation Dr. Linda Chavers Barker Center, 114 Mondays, 12-2:45pm Note: we will not usually use all 165 minutes of class, I suggest blocking off 12-2 as absolute Contact: [email protected] Office Hours: By Appointment Office Location: 12 Quincy Street Communication Policy: If you email me on a weekday (Monday thru Thursday) I should respond within 24 hours. Any emails sent during the weekend or on holidays will be answered within 72 hours Course Description: What would happen if we genuinely paid attention to the history of American slavery? What threads could we pull from it about gender, sex and power? This course examines the current discourse around sexual harassment and assault from the #MeToo movement through the informed lens of Harriet Jacobs’s slave narrative Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Both “texts” involve navigating spaces of subjugation and supremacy and yet one voice has remained steadily ignored in mainstream audiences. We will also look at the intersection of race and gender that Incidents reveals and trace how these remain intact or not through today. While there isn’t yet a week to week schedule you should know that we will generally be reading a 50-100 page book per week with smaller secondary articles, there will be required weekly blog posts, three open book quizzes, leading class discussion and no final. **Explicit Content Statement** Over the course of the semester you will be introduced to texts that may be explicit in nature (i.e. cursing, sexual content). Students should be fully aware that these types of texts, though offensive, should still be discussed with respect to the opinions of peers, the instructor, and creator of the text in question. A Note on Civility: I will not tolerate disruptive language nor disruptive behavior. Disruptive language includes, but is not limited to, violent and/or belligerent and/or insulting remarks, including sexist, racist, homophobic or anti-ethnic slurs, bigotry, and disparaging commentary, either spoken or written (offensive slang is included in this category). While I do not disagree that you each have a right to your own opinions, inflammatory language founded in ignorance or hate is unacceptable and will be dealt with immediately. Disruptive behavior includes the use of cell phones, pagers or any other form of electronic communication during the class session (e-mail, web-browsing). Disruptive behavior also includes whispering or talking when another member of the class is speaking or engaged in relevant conversation (remember that I am a member of this class as well). This classroom functions on the premise of respect, and you will be asked to leave the classroom if you violate any part of this statement on civility. ADA: Students with disabilities needing academic accommodations should in the FIRST WEEK OF CLASS register with and provide documentation to Accessible Education Office (if you haven’t done so already). It is incumbent upon you, the student, to confirm that your instructor(s) have received proper notice of your accommodations. Conflict Resolution: Should you have a concern about my teaching or policies, please schedule a meeting with me first. I am happy to meet and discuss your concerns. Attendance: You should always inform me, ahead of time when possible, about why you miss class. You have a total of two (2) absences without penalty. Three (3) absences will result in the lowering of your final grade by one (1) letter grade. Four (4) absences will result in your failure of the class. Save your absences for when you get sick or for family emergencies. All Readings are listed under the Library Reserves Tab in Canvas or provided by the instructor. Evaluation and Distribution**: Your grade for this course is based on a one thousand (1,000) point grade scale: 15% Attendance and Participation 35%: Discussion Prompts and Leading Class Discussion (Group Work) -15% - Discussion Prompts -20% - Leading Class Discussion 50%: Quizzes -50% - Quizzes Grade Scale: 900 – 1000 = A 800 – 899 = B 700 – 799 = C 699 – 600 = D 600 and below = E ** I understand you are anxious about your grades in this course. Please do not wait until the last day of class to express these concerns. I am happy to meet and discuss your progress in the course but will not consider extra credit. Late Work Policy: Late work will not be accepted unless under excruciating and documented circumstances. Each assignment has a concrete due date that you will be aware of well in advance (as in the first day of class, folks). Tweet lectures and discussions are performed in class and cannot be made up. Quizzes, once the deadline has passed, cannot be re-opened. Leading Class Discussion: From your group you and your fellow speaker will lead class discussion twice this term. You will meet with me at least a week in advance to discuss. Discussion Prompt Assignment: Your participation in this class counts! You will help me facilitate the class discussion on the topic of the week through submitting critical questions. In order to be eligible for full credit, your submission must execute ALL of the following components of the assignment: Ø You and your group scribe will post questions or prompting statements to help lead the week’s discussion twice this term. These questions should reflect your grappling with the text(s) for the week and demonstrate your knowledge of the subject. These are DUE the SUNDAY NIGHT BEFORE CLASS via email (11:59:59PM). Quizzes (700 points) Quizzes will be based on class readings and occasionally class discussions. The questions range from the straightforward who/what/where fact-based context to the loftier intellectual mini-essay-type questions pushing you to put the readings and discussion into your own articulate thoughts and arguments. Please read to make sure you stay on top of class readings and participate in class lectures to do well on quizzes! Quizzes are assigned Monday and due by the following Thursday 11:59:59PM EST. And Lastly…. I. Please do not feel you have nothing to contribute if you are unfamiliar with or do not engage popular culture on a regular basis. Your perspective is welcome and necessary to complicate what popular means! II. The tone and language used in this course will not be sugarcoated. I will intentionally provoke you in order to stimulate conversation and challenge your comfort zones. This is by no means a way to attack your personal beliefs or character; rather, my intentions are to force you to think about issues and concerns from various viewpoints outside your own. III. Please do not view me as inaccessible. Schedule appointments so I can be of assistance. IV. Do not –I repeat DO NOT – turn in writings and critical analyses that you think are “safe.” The purpose for scholarship is to challenge, stimulate conversation, and be as innovative as possible. Write fluidly and openly. Push it to the limit! Do not restrict your observations in fear of retaliation. That will not happen here. Schedule Every week there will be a forum on CANVAS for you to post a prompt for class discussion. Each of you are required to do this at least FOUR times in the term Secondary articles will be mentioned or handed out physically to be read for the following class. The idea behind the paired readings is to read the contemporary with the past. January 28th • Introductions and Context Setting: a timeline of the #MeToo Movement, how did we get here? • Homework: Read the first third of INCIDENTS by Harriet Jacobs (pp. 1-60) and Read Salamishah Tillet and Scheherazade Tillet. After the “Surviving R. Kelly” Documentary, #MeToo Has Finally Returned to Black Girls: Let’s Keep It There. The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/10/opinion/r-kelly-documentary- metoo.html. (January 10, 2019) February 4th • Homework: Read the second third of INCIDENTS by Jacobs (pp. 61-120) and Read Allyson Hobbs. One Year of #MeToo: The Legacy of Black Women’s Testimonies. The New Yorker/ Conde Nast, https://www.newyorker.com/culture/personal-history/one- year-of-metoo-the-legacy-of-black-womens-testimonies. (Oct. 10, 2018) February 11th • Discussion of contrasts between Jacobs narrative and today • Homework: Read the final third of INCIDENTS by Jacobs (pp. 121-176) FEBRUARY 14TH FIRST QUIZ DUE ON CANVAS by 11:59PM February 18th (Holiday – no class) • Homework: Read selections from NARRATIVE OF SOJOURNER TRUTH by Truth February 25th • Discussion: compare and contrast Truth with Jacobs in 21st-century context • Homework: continue reading TRUTH selections and secondary article March 4th • Homework: Begin KINDRED by Octavia Butler, Prologue through The Fall, pp. 1-107 March 11th • Discussion: storytelling – movement from nonfiction to fiction – what stays true – what gets to be lied about – place in conversation with nonfiction predecessors and future narratives • Homework: Continue KINDRED, Chapters The Fight through Epilogue, pp. 108-264 MARCH 14TH SECOND QUIZ DUE ON CANVAS by 11:59PM SPRING BREAK (March 16-March 24) March 25th • Continue discussion of movement into fiction and science fiction and the story Butler is telling and its place in the 21st century with #MeToo • Homework: Read first third of CORREGIDORA by Gayl Jones, pp. 1-60 April 1st • Homework: Continue CORREGIDORA, pp. 61-120 April 8th • Homework: Finish CORREGIDORA, pp. 121-192 April 15th • Homework: Begin CITIZEN by Claudia Rankine April 22nd • Homework: Finish CITIZEN by Rankine APRIL 25th THIRD QUIZ DUE ON CANVAS by 11:59PM April 29th LAST CLASS/Reflections There is NO FINAL. Required Reading Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs (1861) Narrative of Sojourner Truth, Sojourner Truth (1850) Kindred, Octavia Butler (1974) Corregidora, Gayl Jones (1975) Citizen, Claudia Rankine (2014) Secondary Readings to be Assigned Weekly (linked via CANVAS) ZAHARA HILL.
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