ENGL 2740 - Introduction to African-American Literature

Credit Hours: 3.00

Objectives: The student will:

1. Identify elements of African‐American texts that reveal efforts to meet, exceed, and/or challenge Enlightenment standards.
2. Describe Enlightenment standards as they relate to African‐American literature.
3. Identify the use of vernacular in slave narratives, hymns, spirituals, and folktales.
4. Analyze the use of vernacular in slave narratives, hymns, spirituals, and folktales.

Outcome 2:
Upon completion of this course students will be able to interpret works that have been categorized as participating in the Harlem Renaissance.

Objectives: The student will:

1. Recognize works from the Harlem Renaissance.
2. Assess works from the Harlem Renaissance.
3. Recognize the ways works from the Harlem Renaissance contributed to emerging popular culture.
4. Explain connections between the Harlem Renaissance and the Great Migration.
5. Explain Pan‐Africanism.

Outcome 3:
Upon completion of this course students will be able to critically evaluate the tenets of various literary movements and critical debates fostered by African‐American literature during the 20th century.

Objectives: The student will:

1. Identify elements of an urban realism text, including seting and the impact of social forces.
2. Investigate the conflicts and debates over the protest novel.
3. Explain the conflicts and debates over the protest novel.
4. Analyze literature and polemics advocating a black arts movement.

Outcome 4:
Upon completion of this course students will be able to interpret examples of contemporary African‐American literature.

Objectives: The student will:

1. Recognize and discuss the multiplicity of African‐American identities.
2. Identify the uses of history in contemporary African‐American fiction.
3. Assess works produced by an emerging community of black women writers.

Outcome 5:
Upon completion of this course students will be able to write papers that combine literary analysis with standard documentation format.

Objectives: The student will:

1. Shape a controlling idea for each paper, stated in an introduction.
2. Develop the controlling idea for each paper in a body, using appropriate support and evidence.
3. Organize each paper appropriately, unifying paragraphs by means of topic sentences, linking paragraphs by a variety of transitions, and arranging the main points effectively.
4. Summarize the controlling idea of each paper in a conclusion.
5. Document sources used for each paper according to standard format.

• Communication: The graduate can communicate effectively for the intended purpose and audience.
• Critical Thinking: The graduate can make informed decisions after analyzing information or evidence related to the issue.
• Global Literacy: The graduate can analyze human behavior or experiences through cultural, social, political, or economic perspectives.
• Information Literacy: The graduate can responsibly use information gathered from a variety of formats in order to complete a task.
• Quantitative Reasoning: The graduate can apply quantitative methods or evidence to solve problems or make judgments.
• Scientific Literacy: The graduate can produce or interpret scientific information presented in a variety of formats.

1. 18th and 19th Century Writing
   1. Poetry
   2. Slave Narratives
   3. Abolitionist Literature
   4. Hymns and Spirituals
   5. African‐American Folktales
2. Harlem Renaissance
   1. Poetry
   2. Literature
   3. Essays
3. Literary Movements
   1. Urban Realism
   2. Debates over the Protest Novel
   3. Black Arts Movement
4. Contemporary African‐American Literature
   1. Multiplicity of Identities
   2. Uses of History
   3. Women Writers