GENERAL TRACK THE VANISHING HALF SYLLABUS DECEMBER 2020 © 2019 BHK LLC. All Rights Reserved. #SmartBrownGirl is a Registered Trademark of BHK LLC. For the Black girls in the forgotten spaces. Bringing together an international community of women of color through reading and dialogue. All SmartBrownGirl® Book Club syllabi and reading guides are curated by a cohort of graduate level #SmartBrownGirl researchers. Your membership and participation in the #SmartBrownGirl Book Club ensures that we can pay all Black women who help run this book club an equitable rate. Smartbrowngirl.com The Vanishing HalfSyllabus Author: Morgan Holloman-Bryant Editor: Danielle Slaughter Facebook | Instagram Table of Contents 06 Author History 07 Book History 08 Reading Tips 09 Themes/Motifs 10 The Discussion 21 Final Thoughts 23 Further Reading/Resources Author History Born and raised in Southern California, author Brit Bennett graduated from Stanford University and earned her MFA in fiction at the University of Michigan. While there, she won a Hopwood Award in Graduate Short Fiction and the 2014 Hurston/Wright Award for College Writers. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Paris Review and Jezebel. She currently resides in New York where she teaches writing on the university level. 6 Book History Released in June of 2020, The Vanishing Half is author Brit Bennett’s second novel, following the equally successful novel, “The Mothers” (2016). Since its summer release, the novel has received praise from rea- ders and critics alike, with many citing the timeliness of its captivating storyline. It debuted at number one on The New York Times best-seller list and HBO has since acquired the rights to develop a limited series on the novel with Bennett as the executive producer. 7 TIPS FOR READING TIPS RETURNING Tips for Fresh Readers READERS 1. You do not have to have profound thoughts right away: Everyone reads and digests at a different pace. Take your time in understanding the text but you do not need to 1. Put the book in context: Times have dissect it immediately. Make a note of any points that are changed and so have you. Before rereading significant to you and move on. think about who you were, and where you were in life the first time you read the book. 2. Set aside 15-20 mins a day to read: Much like power Think about who was influencing you/your nap — a power read — can energize your reading and thoughts. (School, friends, family, news etc.) help you focus. You do not need large chunks of time. Set aside 15-20 mins to read a day and make sure you have no 2. Be Critical: First reads are a time to be distractions during this time. open-minded and give the author lead way to understand their thoughts. Second 3. Reflect on what you read: a) What were the reads you can be much more critical of themes and/or major events that had taken place in the work and its intentions. So get on your your selected readings? soapbox boo we got some boxes on reserve too. 4. Take notes: a) Highlight terms, phrases, quotes etc that may immediately grab your attention 3. Focus on Few Chapters at a Time: For non-fiction (and some fiction) it’s not 5. Build a personal glossary: If you don’t know a word, totally necessary to reread the book circle it, get the definition and reread the section in chronologically from start to finish. Try context. This may help you come to a new understanding focusing on themes that you may have of the text or discover concepts you didn’t notice before. grazed over the first time around and choose a few chapters to lean into at a time. 6. Discuss the book: Healthy discussion on what you already know can entice you to read more and that’s what the #SmartBrownGirl Book Club is here for. Join in on our discussions. Post your questions to the Facebook Group. 7. Author Background: When approaching a text that you’re unfamiliar with, it may be beneficial to do some quick background research on the author, as it can help provide insight on what the text may be discussing. 8 Terminology: Colorism: prejudicial or preferential treatment of same-race people based solely on their color; skin tone bias, preferring those of lighter complexions Passing: the ability of a person to be regarded as a member of an identity group or category different from their own, which may include racial identity, ethnicity, caste, social class, sexual orienta- tion, gender, religion, age and/or disability status. Themes/Motifs: • Racism • Colorism • Misogynoir • Motherhood • Passing and Racial Identity • Darkness and Light • Self preservation • Manipulation • Classism • Social Equality 9 The Discussion Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett is a 2020 best-selling novel divided into six parts, each comprised of related chapters and stories. As you journey throughout this novel with Stella and Desiree, pay attention to markers of time, historical happenings and important themes. It is important that you take the time to consider each character’s decisions as central to the demise of their relationship. Use the discussion questions to further interrogate the reading. PART I: The Lost Twins (1968) • Mallard, Louisiana is a farm town founded by a light-skinned Black man, exclusively for other light-skinned Black people. ‣ What do you think it says about the town, its founders and present day (‘68) occupants that it was created for light-skinned Black folks and has remained as such? ‣ How does the town and its values impact the twins as individuals and as sisters? ‣ What does the depiction of Mallard tell readers about home, belonging and community? Desiree is described as the “fidgety twin” and Stella the “smart, careful girl,”. How do you believe that this will potentially play out as the novel progresses, considering the fact that they are both light-skinned Black girls? Consider possible relationship dynamics, friendship circles, etc. 10 After Stella leaves Desiree alone in Louisiana, Desiree moves to Washington DC and begins working as an FBI fingerprint analyst using scientific methods to identify people through physical and genetic details. • What does the specificity of this career choice add to your understanding of Desiree’s identity? How does witnessing the brutal murder of their father inform both Stella and Desiree’s understanding of race and racism? • Return to this question towards the end of the novel and think on how witnessing this act impacted them into their adulthood. 11 Assess Stella and Desiree’s relationship with their mother, Adele. How does their relationship with their mother eventually inform their method of mothering their young daughters? What do you make of the twins’ decisions to date/marry the men they each choose? • What do you think of Desiree’s decision to marry a dark-skinned Black man juxtaposed alongside her sister’s decision to pass as white? 12 PART II: MAPS (1978) Jude’s experience with colorism is marked by comparisons to her mother and foul name calling in the small town of Mallard. • Consider your personal experiences with colorism. How have you experienced and/or perpetuated harmful biases rooted in skin tone discrimination towards darker-skinned individuals? Consider this in tandem with your gender identity? • Why does Jude decide to attend UCLA and what is her relationship with Mallard after leaving for college? 13 Reese Carter, Jude’s best friend at UCLA is a transgender man from Arkansas who ran away from home, fleeing an abusive father, to live life on his own terms in LA. Jude shares more about her experience with colorism with Reese and their relationship begins to blossom romantically. • What do you presume is the purpose and impact of Reese not having to engage in a typical “coming out” conversation with Jude in regards to his trans identity? What does Reese’s trans identity add to the story as a whole? • What does this relationship dynamic offer to the story of Stella and Desiree? • Consider Reese and Jude’s relationship alongside the other romantic relationships in the novel? How does identity contribute to the foundation of their relationship? 14 PART III: HEARTLINES (1968) At the homeowners association meeting in Brentwood where Stella resides with her family, she and her neighbors are shaken up after finding out that a Black family is set to move into the estate and prepared to sue if they are denied the opportunity to buy the home. Now married to her husband Blake, Stella is half of a wealthy white marital duo and has been passing since leaving her sister Desiree. Together, she and her husband have a daughter, Kennedy and when questioned about her past, Stella lies. She shows much disdain for Black people and coldly interacts with the new Black family in the neighborhood. • How does Stella’s relationship with her daughter mirror her relationship with her own mother? • In what ways does Stella’s past contribute to her present day decision to pass as a white woman? • When Loretta, a Black woman moves into Stella’s neighborhood, what does her presence begin to represent for Stella? ‣ How does the relationship between their children impact Stella’s ongoing struggle with her identity? • What do you think of Stella and Loretta’s budding relationship? What ideas or identities does Loretta symbolize? • Consider the picturesque performance of Blake and Stella’s relationship in contrast with the reality of their relationship and Stella’s feelings/role within it. ‣ How does her idealistic relationship with her wealthy white husband compare to her sister’s relationship with Sam? Why do you think author Brit Bennett placed them within these specific relationship dynamics? 15 PART IV: THE STAGE DOOR (1982) • Jude is haunted by her encounter with Kennedy and Stella, and is hopeful that they will one day have yet another chance meeting.