Required Texts
Twain, Mark. Pudd'nhead Wilson [1894]. New York, NY: Bantam Classics, 1984. ISBN: 9780553211580. The e-text is available from Project Gutenberg.
Chesnut, Charles. The Marrow of Tradition [1901]. New York, NY: Penguin Classics, 1993. ISBN: 9780140186864. The e-text is available from Project Gutenberg.
Johnson, James Weldon. Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man [1912]. New York, NY: Vintage, 1989. ISBN: 9780679727538. The e-text is available from Project Gutenberg.
Larsen, Nella. Passing [1929]. New York, NY: Penguin Classics, 2003. ISBN: 9780142437278.
Schuyler, George. Black No More [1931]. New York, NY: Modern Library, 1999. ISBN: 9780375753800.
Griffin, John Howard. Black Like Me [1961]. New York, NY: NAL Trade, 2003. ISBN: 9780451208644.
Jones, LeRoi. (Baraka, Amiri.) "Dutchman" [1964]. In Dutchman and The Slave: Two Plays. New York, NY: Harper Perennial, 1971. ISBN: 9780688210847.
Parks, Suzan-Lori. "The America Play" [1994]. In The America Play and Other Works. New York, NY: Theatre Communications Groups, 1995. ISBN: 9781559360920.
Derricotte, Toi. The Black Notebooks [1997]. New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 1999. ISBN: 9780393319019.
Roth, Philip. The Human Stain [2000]. New York, NY: Vintage, 2001. ISBN: 9780375726347.
Readings by Session
SES # | TOPICS | READINGS |
---|---|---|
1 |
Introductions In-class TV clip: "When Keeping it Real Goes Wrong" |
Chapelle, Dave. "When Keeping it Real Goes Wrong." In Episode 20 of Chapelle's Show, 2004. |
2 | Herman Melville |
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3 | Mark Twain | Pudd'nhead Wilson, chapters 1-12. |
4 | Pudd'nhead Wilson, chapters 13-end. | |
5 | Suzan-Lori Parks | The American Play, read all. |
6 | Charles Chesnutt | The Marrow of Tradition, chapters 1-16. |
7 | The Marrow of Tradition, chapters 17-end. | |
8 |
Interracial identity In-class film: Cross-Over King |
Cross-Over King. Directed by John Leguizamo. Sollors. "Passing; or, Sacrificing a Parvenu." |
9 |
Toni Morrison In-class film: Mr. White |
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10 | James Weldon Johnson | Autobiography of an Ex-Colured Man, chapters 1-7. |
11 | Autobiography of an Ex-Colured Man, chapters 8-end. | |
12 | Nella Larsen |
Passing, read all.
|
13 | Being Indian |
|
14 | Philip Roth | The Human Stain, chapters 1-3. |
15 | The Human Stain, chapters 4-5. | |
16 | John Howard Griffin | Black Like Me, pp. 1-101 or 10/28-11/21. |
17 | Black Like Me, pp. 102-end or 11/24-8/17. | |
18 |
Gender In-class film: Paris is Burning |
Paris is Burning. Directed by Jennie Livingston, 1990.
|
19 |
LeRoi Jones Whiteness |
Dutchman.
|
20 | Library instruction | (no readings) |
21 | Toi Derricotte | The Black Notebooks, Introduction to "Blacks in the U." |
22 | The Black Notebooks, "Among School" to the end. | |
23 | George Schuyler | Black No More, chapters 1-6. |
24 | Black No More, chapters 7-end. | |
25 | In-class film: Six Degrees of Separation | Six Degrees of Separation. Directed by Fred Schepisi, 1993. |
26 | Student presentations | (no readings) |