IMPORTANT
*Unless otherwise specified, readings and assignment should be completed by the start of class on the day they are listed on the syllabus.
*The below schedule includes due dates for assignments and our major (and longer) texts. As our semester conversations develop, I will add shorter texts meant to complement our discussions of the central texts. In general, you should expect that for the 3rd and/or 4th day(s) discussing a particular text I will ask you to read an additional smaller text(s) (ex. a speech, a poem, video, etc. ).
*I reserve the right to adjust the below schedule to accommodate our particular class needs.
*Changes to the schedule will be announced in one or more of the following ways: in-class announcement; group email; post on the “announcement” page of the course site.
Date
Readings
Due
8/31
Introduction
McKittrick, Katherine. “Worn Out.” Southeastern Geographer. 57.1 Special Issue: Black Geographies in and of the United States South (Spring 2017), 96-100.
- BC: Convocation @ 4pm
9/2
- McKittrick, Katherine. “Worn Out.” Southeastern Geographer. 57.1 Special Issue: Black Geographies in and of the United States South (Spring 2017), 96-100.
9/7
- “Slave Narrative” Packet
- Chapters 1-21 of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl 1861. Documenting the South, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill <docsouth.unc.edu> Last Accessed 8/28/21.
- Chapters 6-7 + the song on page 61 from Brown, Henry “Box,” Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown, Written Himself. 1851. Documenting the South, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill<docsouth.unc.edu>Last Accessed 8/28/21.
- Optional
- Chapters 1-3 and 5-7 from Douglass, Frederick. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave. 1845. Documenting the South, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill<docsouth.unc.edu>Last Accessed 8/28/21.
- Chapters 1-2 or all of Brown, Henry “Box,” Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown, Written Himself. 1851. Documenting the South, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill<docsouth.unc.edu>Last Accessed 8/28/21.
- BC: Wed. 9/8 – Add/Drop Ends
- BC: Wed. 9/8 – P/F Deadline
9/9
- “Slave Narratives” Packet (See 9/7)
- BC: Mass of the Holy Spirit @ noon
9/14
- “Slave Narratives” Packet (see 9/7)
- “Neo Slave Narratives” Packet
- Kara Walker- select texts include 2 Image albums; 4 Video clips; and 2 Interviews (This link will take you to the Kara Walker multimedia post on our site, where you can find the specific selections to read, watch, and view.)
- Alvin Ailey’s Revelations, [Start at 1:10:15]
- White, Artress Bethany. “Tradition: A Perilous Age in A Black Girl’s Life.” Poetry Foundation. Accessed 9/9/21.
- Shockley, Evie. “Sex Trafficking Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl in the USA (or, the Nation’s Plague in Plain Sight)” Poetry Foundation. Accessed 9/9/21
- Optional
- “bill t. jones” (8:08) posted on Jan 21, 2008
9/16
- “Neo Slave Narratives” Packet
- Kara Walker- select texts include 2 Image albums; 4 Video clips; and 2 Interviews (This link will take you to the Kara Walker multimedia post on our site, where you can find the specific selections to read, watch, and view.)
- Alvin Ailey’s Revelations, [Start at 1:10:15]
- White, Artress Bethany. “Tradition: A Perilous Age in A Black Girl’s Life.” Poetry Foundation. Accessed 9/9/21.
- Shockley, Evie. “Sex Trafficking Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl in the USA (or, the Nation’s Plague in Plain Sight)” Poetry Foundation. Accessed 9/9/21
- Optional
- “bill t. jones” (8:08) posted on Jan 21, 2008 by Alexander Girshon. YouTube. Accessed 9/9/21.
Pick Final Project Groups
9/21
“Neo Slave Narratives” Packet
The Garies and Their Friends (chapters1-12)
9/23
The Garies and Their Friends (chapters1-23)
9/28
- Virtual Meeting – Project Day
- Zoom Link (circulated via email)
Due – Project Proposal Paragraph by Monday 9/27
9/30
The Garies and Their Friends – All Chapters
Panel A
10/5
Fire!! Devoted to Younger Negro Artists (1926). (An interactive scan of Fire!! is available online via the POC Zine Project’s issuu site.)
10/7
Fire!! Devoted to Younger Negro Artists (1926). (An interactive scan of Fire!! is available online via the POC Zine Project’s issuu site.)
Panel B
10/12
- No Class
- BC: Monday Schedule
Due – Journal Assessment 1 due 10/16 by noon
10/14
- Virtual Meeting – Project Day
- Zoom Link (circulated via email)
Due – Project Proposal Friday 10/15 @ Noon
10/19
- Fire!! Devoted to Younger Negro Artists (1926). (An interactive scan of Fire!! is available online via the POC Zine Project’s issuu site.)
- Larsen, Nella. Quicksand. Chapters 1-4. [This link is to a digital copy of the1928 New York: Alfred Knopf version of the novel, available via HathiTrust <babel.hathitrust.org> Accessed 9/29/21]
- NOTE: I believe this version is free to the general public (meaning you can just Google it). However, if you wish to down load it as a pdf or print part of the text, you will need to login using your BC login credentials. On the HathiTrust site, you should see a yellow log in button. When you click it, you will be prompted to choose your partner institution from a drop down menu. Find “Boston College,” and click “continue.” If you’re on campus or recently logged in with your BC credentials, you should be immediately logged in. If not, you will be directed to enter your BC login credentials first.
10/21
Quicksand (chapters 1- 15)
Panel C
11/2
- “A Black Trip” Packet
- Baldwin, James, “Sonny’s Blues” (PDF posted on the University of Wisconsin -Milwaukee domain as part of content material for course site called Cultures-Communities. <https://uwm.edu/cultures-communities/wp-content/uploads/sites/219/2018/01/SonnysBlues.Baldwin.pdf> Accessed 10/25/21)
- Bell, Derrick, “The Space Traders” PDF download from Poetstree blog at <whgbetc.com> Accessed 10/25/21.
- “‘The Space Traders'” Derrick Bell 1994)” [33:28] Short film version featured as part of the program Cosmic Slop. Posted on YouTube by thepostarchive on March 4, 2020. Youtube.com <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpOJzIvmCCk> Accessed 10/25/21.
- “Kanye West – Spaceship [The Real Official Video]” [4:58] posted by YoungC12 on July 13, 2009. YouTube.com <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGM6N0qXeu4> Accessed 10/25/21.
- “Lakeside – Fantastic Voyage (Official Music Video)” [3:47] posted by UnidiscMusic on February 22, 2010. YouTube.com <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1YjmXSyHa8> Accessed 10/25/2021.
- Optional
- Select Jacob Lawrence pieces:
- Any of the 1940-41 pieces from The Migration Series, viewable by scrolling down the MoMa’s “Jacob Lawrence American, 1917-2000” page. MoMa Museum of Modern Art. <https://www.moma.org/artists/3418?=undefined&page=&direction=> Accessed 10/25/21.
- See Also: “Escape” (1967); “Community (Study for Mural, Jamaica, NY” (1986); and “New Jersey, from The United States Series” (1946) all viewable on line at SAAM’s “Jacob Lawrence” page. (Scroll down to the page.) Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) <https://americanart.si.edu/artist/jacob-lawrence-2828> Accessed 10/25/21.
- Sun Ra. Space is the Place
- Full Uncut Film: “Space is the Place, (Uncut Version, 1974) Sun Ra” [1:21:22] posted by townesvancant on July 22, 2019. YouTube.com <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iAQCPmpSUI> Accessed 10/25/21. WARNING -POSSIBLE TRIGGER ALERT – The film contains EXPLICIT LANGUAGE and MATURE CONTENT. Scenes depicting and/or suggesting sexual assault and sexual violence against women may be particularly triggering. Please contact the instructor if you have concerns or would like to discuss the contents further before viewing the film.
- Music track only: “SUN RA / Space is the Place” [21:21] posted by misterclochard on May 21, 2011. YouTube.com <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dokLwszdUgY&t=125s> Accessed 10/25/21.
- Select Jacob Lawrence pieces:
Panel D
11/4
- “A Black Trip” Packet (From-11/2)
Panel E
11/16
Sassafrass, Cypress, & Indigo
11/18
Sassafrass, Cypress, & Indigo
Panel G
11/23
Sassafrass, Cypress, & Indigo
- Black Arts Packet
- “Amiri Baraka reads ‘Black Art'” [6:33]. Uploaded by hoodoojazz. Youtube.com < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh2P-tlEH_w > Accessed 10/29/19.
- Baraka, Amiri. “Black Art.” Rap Genius. < https://genius.com/Amiri-baraka-black-art-annotated > Accessed 10/29/19.
- Lorde, Audre. Four poems from “Audre Lorde 1934-1992.” Poetry Foundation, poetryfoundation.org> Accessed 11/5/21.
- Lorde, Audre. “Poetry is Not a Luxury” Sister Outsider. PDF hosted on a sites.utexas.edu WordPress Site. Accessed 11/5/21.
- Optional
- “Black Voices” Playlist, Jacobs Pillow Dance Interactive. Watch all 16 clips. Last Accessed 8/29/21.
- “Black Artists in the Duke” Playlist, Jacobs Pillow Dance Interactive. Watch all 18 clips. Last Accessed 8/29/21.
11/25
- No Class
- BC: No Classes, Thanksgiving
11/30
Watch: The Fits
12/2
Watch: The Fits
12/7
Presentations
12/9
Presentations
Due – Any Outstanding Panel Paper Presentation Material – 12/9 by 11:59 pm
Due – Any extra credit opportunities (except course evaluation exc.) must be posted and/or emailed to me – 12/9 by 11:59 pm.
12/10 – 12/13
- BC: Study Days
Due – Final Journal Assessment – 12/11 by 12:00 pm (Noon).
Due – 1 of 3 Final Project Materials – 12/13 by 11:59 pm.
12/14 – 12/21
- BC: Exam Days
Due – 2 of 3 Final Project Materials – 12/14 by 11:59 pm.
Due- 3 of 3 Final Project Materials – 12/15 by 11:59 pm.
Due – Any Course Evaluation Extra Credit documents. (Refer to your in-class notes for more details.) – 12/18 by 5:00 pm.
12/23
- BC: Grades Posted
Not sure about what post group group you’re in, click here.
IMPORTANT
*Unless otherwise specified, readings and assignment should be completed by the start of class on the day they are listed on the syllabus.
*The below schedule includes due dates for assignments and our major (and longer) texts. As our semester conversations develop, I will add shorter texts meant to complement our discussions of the central texts. In general, you should expect that for the 3rd and/or 4th day(s) discussing a particular text I will ask you to read an additional smaller text(s) (ex. a speech, a poem, video, etc. ).
*I reserve the right to adjust the below schedule to accommodate our particular class needs.
*Changes to the schedule will be announced in one or more of the following ways: in-class announcement; group email; post on the “announcement” page of the course site.