ENG 260: INTRODUCTION TO BLACK WRITERS: TWENTIETH -CENTURY BLACK

LITERATURE
SECTION 002 ∙ TR 11:00-12:15 ∙ CB 205
SECTION 003 ∙ TR 12:30-1:45 ∙ CP 183

INSTRUCTOR: MX. LENVIEL

OFFICE: POT 1418
E-MAIL: CLAIRE .LENVIEL@ UKY.EDU
OFFICE HOURS: T: 8:30-10:30PM, 2:00-3:00PM ∙ OTHER HOURS BY APPOINTMENT.

Please read this syllabus closely. Remaining enrolled in this class means that you have read and understood
all of the content in this syllabus and that you agree to abide by all of the outlined guidelines and policies
contained within.

Course Overview:
DuBois rightly predicted that “the problem of the twentieth-century is the problem of the color-line.”
Taking up the mantle, Black writers and artists have resisted, (re)invented, (re)imagined, and revolted over
and across the color-line, and Black literature captures, among many other things, this tumult in its
representations of race. This course provides a survey of twentieth-century canonical Black literature, and
through these readings, students will discover diverse representations of race in literature, identify and
analyze themes in writing, conduct research on cultural and historical context, and present this research to
the class, all with the end-goal of developing our individual and collective knowledge about the
relationships between author, reader, culture, text, and race.

Student Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the semester, students will be able to:
• Analyze literary works by demonstrating close reading, both in class discussion and on written
assignments
• Formulate arguments grounded in literary analysis
• Use evidence from the text to support claims, both in class discussion and on written assignments
• Identify themes common to Black literature and analyze them in written assignments
• Examine and reflect on the relationships between literature and history
• Compose papers that reveal a mastery of the conventions of academic writing (thesis, organization,
paragraph formation, grammar, and mechanics)

Required Material:
• The Marrow of Tradition, Charles Chesnutt (1905)
• Cane, Jean Toomer (1923)
• Passing, Nella Larsen (1929)
• “Big Boy Leaves Home” and “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow” from Uncle Tom’s Children, Richard
Wright (1940)
• Selected Poetry, Gwendolyn Brooks (1945)
• A Raisin in the Sun, Loraine Hansberry (1959)
• Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison (1977)
• The Color Purple, Alice Walker (1982)
• Fences, August Wilson (1985)
• Erasure, Percival Everett (2001)
• Select poetry and readings on Canvas
Course Policies:
Attendance: You are allowed three unexcused absences without penalty, but your final course grade will be
lowered by a half-letter grade for each unexcused absence thereafter. With a sixth unexcused absence (20%
of the course), you will automatically fail the course. Please see University Senate Rules
http://www.uky.edu/StudentAffairs/Code/part2.html for an explanation of excused absences. I will not
accept Tier I forms as an excused absence.

Late Submissions: I will not accept late submission of weekly discussion posts, and only quizzes missed due
an excused absence or excused tardy can be taken at a later date. For all other assignments, each late
submission will receive a lowered letter grade on that assignment for each day (not class) that it is late.

Academic Integrity: Part II of Student Rights and Responsibilities states that all academic work‚ written or
otherwise‚ submitted by students to their instructors or other academic supervisors‚ is expected to be the
result of their own thought‚ research‚ or self–expression. See section 6.3.1 online at
http://www.uky.edu/StudentAffairs/Code/Section%20VI.pdf for more information on plagiarism or consult
with me.

Major Assignments and Grade Breakdown:

Homework (15 pts): Throughout the semester, each student will submit weekly discussion posts (min. 300 words) on
Canvas before the first class each week. Each entry should 1) trace a specific aspect of that week’s readings and 2)
respond personally to the text. For the former, you might trace a specific theme, symbol, style, historical allusion, etc. For
the latter, you should record your personal reactions to the text, including but not limited to moments that troubled you,
why you did not care for a text, which moment in the text confused you, etc. Do not stop simply at listing the personal
reaction, but try to interrogate why the text might have elicited that response.

Historical Context Paper and Presentation (15 pts): For this assignment, each student will select a historical event around
the same time as a literary text we are reading for class and write a paper (1500 words) both presenting that history and
reflect on how that historical moment informs their reading of the text. The student will then briefly present (5-10
minutes) that historical event to the class on the day we discuss that text. Breakdown will be 10 pts for the paper and 5
pts for the presentation.

Footnotes Assignment (20 pts): The objective for this assignment is for you to reflect on and cultivate how you
typically read poetry or prose by executing a critical close reading. This paper (1500 words), in an
unorthodox way, will take the form of footnotes, and each footnote will explore questions you have as you
read the text, unknown terms or allusions, reflections on your reading process, and scholarly criticism.

Then-and-Now Paper (30 pts): For this assignment, each student will select a work that we have read for the course and
write a thesis-driven paper (3000 words) which explores how a feature of that text is still applicable today. This paper
will need to be grounded in some contemporary research and a particular cultural example to ground the argument. For
example, Nella Larsen’s Passing could be put in careful conversation with Rachel Dolezal. This project would require a
careful navigation of historical distinctions, but, done well, should reveal some common threads running through Black
literary and cultural expression.

Participation and Quizzes (20 pts): Because the course will be mostly discussion based, substantive participation is
required. By “substantive,” I mean that each class period, every student should contribute several comments that
forward the class discussion in a productive way. Additionally, students will complete regular, in-class reading quizzes to
demonstrate familiarity with the course material. Breakdown will be 5 pts for participation and 15 pts for quizzes.
 Calendar of Readings
Week 1 (Aug. 23): Introduction to the Course: Terminology and Talking about Race
Week 2 (Aug. 28,30): The Marrow of Tradition, Charles Chesnutt (Chapters 1-17) [Have Historical Context
Assignment Topics and Dates Selected]
Week 3 (Sept. 4, 6): The Marrow of Tradition, Charles Chesnutt (Chapters 18-end)
Week 4 (Sept. 11, 13): Cane, Jean Toomer (not “Afterward”)
Week 5 (Sept. 18, 20): Passing, Nella Larsen
Week 6 (Sept. 25, 27): “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow” and “Big Boy Leaves Home” from Uncle Tom’s
Children, Richard Wright
Week 7 (Oct. 2, 4): Selected Poetry, Gwendolyn Brooks (A Street in Bronzeville and Annie Allen) [Footnotes
Assignment Due]
Week 8 (Oct. 9, 11): A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry
Week 9 (Oct. 16, 18): Select Amiri Baraka and Nikki Giovanni poems (on Canvas)
Week 10 (Oct. 23, 25): Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison (Chapters 1-7)
Week 11 (Oct. 30, Nov. 1): Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison (Chapters 8-end)
Week 12 (Nov. 6, 8): The Color Purple, Alice Walker (1-132, letter on “pants”)
Week 13 (Nov. 13, 15): The Color Purple, Alice Walker (133-end)
Week 14 (Nov. 20, no class R): Fences, August Wilson
Week 15 (Nov. 27, 29): Erasure, Percival Everett (Chapters 1-6)
Week 16 (Dec. 4, 6): Erasure, Percival Everett (Chapters 7-end) [Then-and-Now Paper Due]