Syllabus – Intro to African American Literature

What does it mean to read literature in the age of Black Lives Matter? How have African American writers critiqued the status quo and imagined more just, equitable, and pleasurable worlds? What is the relationship between literature and social change? In this course, we will explore these and other questions through works of African American literature. In particular, we will consider the ways resources are unevenly distributed along embodied axes of race, class, gender, and sexuality and the roles that language, literature, and culture play in producing and altering these conditions. Students will learn to closely read literary texts in relation to different genres, historical contexts (slavery, Reconstruction, the Great Migration, Jim Crow, the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements), and literary movements such as the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts Movement. Note: This course emphasizes experimentation, creativity, collaboration, and student-centered learning.

REQUIRED TEXTS

All additional readings will be available on our course website.

Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun (Vintage, 2004) 0679755330
Toni Morrison, Sula (Vintage, 2004) 9781400033430.
Claudia Rankine, Citizen: An American Lyric (Graywolf, 2014)

In order to do well in this class, I recommend that you obtain all texts prior to the beginning of the semester. We move quickly and those still scrambling to track down texts often fall behind. If possible, you should purchase a physical, hard copy of each book. You will need to annotate (underline, highlight, take notes in the margins) the texts in order to complete your assignments. If you strongly prefer a digital copy, that is permissible, though it can sometimes be harder to follow along with our in-class discussions of particular pages.

LEARNING GOALS

In this course, you will learn…

To closely read and analyze works of African American literature, especially in relation to the material, economic, social, and political conditions in which they were produced.
To read critically and creatively and draw connections among a wide variety of texts.
To develop a vocabulary for talking about race, class, gender, and sexuality, especially in relation to literature.
To make persuasive arguments that are organized and supported by sufficient evidence.
To communicate effectively, with an emphasis on digital publishing.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

This course is organized around several small assignments, rather than exams. Work for this course will be evaluated on a point system. This means you can (roughly) calculate your grade at any point in the semester.

Assignment	My points	Total possible
Participation (quizzes, homework, attendance)		25
Blog post		10
Class facilitation		10
Blog comments		35
Graded comment #1		(5)
Graded comment #2		(5)
All other comments		(25)
Collaborative close reading		5
Black History Month event review		10
Course reflection		5
		100

Extra credit opportunities will be announced throughout the semester. Each extra credit assignment typically adds 1-2 points to your total. You may complete as many as you like.

COURSE WEBSITE AND TECHNOLOGY

Course website: https://S24afamlit.classroomcommons.org

This semester, instead of Blackboard, our course will use a customized site built using the WordPress.org content management system. WordPress.org is the free, open-source software upon which 34% of the world’s websites are built. This means that as you complete the assignments for this course (post blogs and comments, learn to incorporate multimedia, etc.), you are increasing your digital literacy and developing a transferable skill that is highly valuable to employers beyond the classroom. While it can initially be frustrating that our course isn’t on Blackboard, students often come to appreciate WordPress and continue to use that platform to build personal and professional websites.

One-time registration: Before you are able to access readings and write blogs on our course site, you will need to register. For this course, you will be writing blogs that are publicly available. For that reason, I encourage you to sign up for an account with a username that will not disclose your identity. Often, students choose to use their first name and last initial. If you choose to use a pseudonym, let me know so that I can give you credit for your blog posts and comments.

From the homepage click “Register” (upper lefthand corner). Remember to save your username and password! You may see a screen that says “Check your email for an activation link.” Ignore that. I need to manually approve your account, which can take up to a day. Once your account is approved, you will be able to login to our site using your username and password.

Video lecture on how to post to website (note that, due to software updates, our particular site may look slightly different).

COURSE POLICIES

Academic integrity: Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Students who cheat or plagiarize will be disciplined according to the guidelines in chapter 340 of the College Handbook. All students are expected to have read this chapter and to understand the Handbook’s definitions of these terms.

Attendance: All students are given two absences. You do not need to provide an explanation or note. All subsequent absences will reduce your final grade by one-third of a letter grade. For example: if you earn a B+ but miss three classes, you will earn a B. Two late arrivals constitute an absence. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to contact other students and find out what you missed.

Disability resources: As part of SUNY Cortland’s commitment to a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment, we strive to provide students with equal access to all courses. If you believe you will require accommodations in this course, please place a request with the Disability Resources Office at disability.resources@cortland.edu or call 607-753-2967. Please note that accommodations are generally not provided retroactively so timely contact with the Disability Resources Office is important. All students should consider meeting with their course instructor who may be helpful in other ways.

Diversity and inclusion: I believe that the different perspectives you bring to our readings, discussions, and assignments are a tremendous benefit to all. It is my intent that students from diverse backgrounds will be well served by this course and that the materials presented will respect differences of gender, sexuality, disability, age, class, ethnicity, race, and culture. Your suggestions are encouraged and appreciated. For more info, see chapter 130 of the College Handbook and the Institutional Equity and Inclusion Office.

Emails: The answers to most questions regarding the course can be found on the syllabus or our website. If you can’t locate the answer to a question, please ask another student before sending an email. When sending an email, make sure to include your section number. I try to answer most emails within 48 hours, but generally do not check email on weekends, so plan ahead!

Respectful discussion: This semester, we will discuss a range of topics including identity, difference, and structural inequality. Discussion is encouraged, but you must always be respectful of ideas shared by your peers. The classroom should be a challenging, fun, and positive place for all.

Sources: We live in an era of fake news and misinformation. In this course, you are required to cite reliable, accurate sources in order to support your ideas. It’s likely that you will look up definitions, statistics, or historical contexts related to the works of literature we discuss. Keep in mind that not everything you encounter on the internet has been fact-checked. Sources you might consult in your research include news organizations like The New York Times, NPR, The BBC, The Washington Post, and The Guardian. If you find a fact or idea you’d like to use, make sure that the organization you’re citing is reliable. Read the organization’s “About” page and verify that the author is an expert on the topic. In addition, try to verify your information across multiple sources to confirm that it is true. If you have a question, please don’t hesitate to contact a Cortland librarian or the professor.

Submission of work: All work in this class should be properly cited according to the Modern Language Association (MLA) specifications. Please refer to the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) to ensure you are using proper in-text citations and that your Works Cited is correctly formatted. For blog posts you may use a combination of hyperlinks and MLA style citations. Unless otherwise stated, all formal writing assignments should be submitted in hard copy (printed), with 12 pt, Times New Roman font, double-spaced, with one-inch margins, and your last name and page number in the upper righthand corner of the document. Your grade will decrease one step every day an assignment is late (ex. 1 day late a B+ becomes a B, 2 days late a B+ becomes a B-).

Title IX: Title IX, when combined with New York Human Rights Law and the New York Education Law 129-B, prohibits discrimination, harassment and violence based on sex, gender, gender identity/expression, and/or sexual orientation in the education setting. The federal Clery Act and NY Education Law 129-B provide certain rights and responsibilities after an incident of sexual or interpersonal violence. When a violation occurs, victims and survivors are eligible for campus and community resources. Where the College has jurisdiction, it may investigate and take action in accordance with College policy. If you or someone you know wishes to report discrimination based in sex, gender, gender identity/expression, and/or sexual orientation, or wishes to report sexual harassment, sexual violence, stalking or relationship violence, please contact the Title IX Coordinator at 607-753-4550, or visit cortland.edu/titleix to learn about all reporting options and resources.

Tutors: If you would like additional help with an assignment, I highly recommend you make an appointment to visit the Writing Center (Brockway Hall, rm. 216). You can also utilize the Academic Support and Achievement Program (A.S.A.P.) in Van Hoesen Hall B-205 and NightOWL online tutoring.

HOW TO DO WELL IN THIS COURSE

Take notes on assigned readings. This is called “annotating” a text, which we will go over during class. Your annotations will become the evidence and examples that you analyze in your blog posts and essays. The more notes you take as you read, the easier it will be for you to participate in class discussions and complete formal writing assignments.
Because this is a discussion- rather than lecture-based course, it is crucial that you take notes in class, not only on material presented by the instructor, but on our class discussions and your peers’ presentations as well. This will help you write excellent blog posts and comments.
Identify your intellectual investment in the course material. Pay attention to what most interests and perplexes you each class. Take note of these. Try to make connections among them. These will help you craft interesting blog posts and essays.
Attend office hours. If you want to come but aren’t sure what you’d like to talk about, start with your list of intellectual investments. I’m here as a resource for you.
Ask questions. No question is too small. We are all learning and experimenting.
Make an effort to connect our course discussions, readings, and activities to your experiences outside of the classroom. This is called praxis.
Be an active classroom participant. Come to class ready to share questions and ideas. This includes reflections on the structure of the class itself. Be vocal about what does and doesn’t work for you, and suggest learning experiments you’d like us to try as a class.
Because this class is structured around experiments, take creative risks and be willing to fail.
Care about your work as much as I do. This means editing and proofreading your writing multiple times and finding people, such as peers and tutors, to help. I won’t proofread your papers but if you come to office hours we can talk specifically about your revising and editing strategies.
Plan ahead. At the beginning of the semester, write all of your assignments down in a calendar, agenda, or planner. Include reminders two weeks, one week, and two days before each deadline.

ASSIGNMENTS

Active in-class participation, quizzes, homework (25%)
Class discussions are a vital part of our class and it is essential that all are actively involved. The more effort and energy you put into this course, the more we will all learn. In order to actively listen, participate, and learn you must not use electronics in class for anything unrelated to our course. Every class will involve some assortment of group discussion, note taking, quizzes, and in-class writing activities. In order to get full credit for participation, you should try to contribute at least one comment or question during each class. Most quizzes will be announced ahead of time. The frequency of quizzes will increase if students attend class unprepared, without readings and notes.

Blog Post (10%)

At the beginning of the semester, you will sign up to write a blog post about the assigned reading and serve as a discussion leader for one of our course sessions. Blog posts must be uploaded to the course blog by NOON on the day before class, so other students have ample time to comment. They should be at least 800 words (roughly 3 thoughtful paragraphs), and should end with two robust discussion questions.

Your blog should identify and analyze something specific within the assigned reading, helping us to see it in a new way. Your blog does not have to address every aspect of the assigned readings. Instead, the best posts will have a main argument (thesis), make 1-2 observations, elaborate on their implications, and use these observations to raise new questions. The deliberate use of images, music, video, and supplementary materials is encouraged.

Some options for your blog post:

analyze a specific feature of the text. Consult your close reading handout for examples of what you might analyze.
trace a significant pattern you see developing throughout a text.
provide historical context that reveals something about a text.
look up additional information about the text (such as interviews with the author or book reviews) and use that information to help the class analyze a specific aspect of the reading. Make sure to include all sources in your Works Cited.
connect an example from the text to something going on in the world beyond the classroom.
creative option: translate an excerpt from the reading into another medium — a drawing, poem, painting, short narrative, dialogue, collage, etc.

In order to receive full credit, your blog must…

Be uploaded by NOON the day before class so other students have ample time to comment.
Meet the minimum length requirement: 800 words (roughly 3 solid paragraphs).
Draw our attention to something specific about the assigned reading, helping us to see it in a new way.
Focus on analysis rather than summary. This means incorporating and analyzing quotes from the assigned readings.
Be thoughtful, organized, and carefully proofread.
Include proper MLA in-text citations as well as a Works Cited at the bottom of the post.
Conclude with two robust discussion questions. (We will go over how to ask excellent questions. NOT: what did you think about the reading? Did you like my blog post?)

Facilitation (10%)

On the day of class for which you are blogging, you will also facilitate a class discussion and/or activity based on your blog post and discussion questions. Similar to the blog posts, the goal of these facilitations is to help deepen our engagement with the readings. You may lead the class in an activity (think-pair-share, a close reading exercise, a writing prompt), design a worksheet, give a presentation, or lead a discussion based on your blog post and students’ comments.

Students can elect to work individually or as a group if another student is blogging that same day. Each student is responsible for a 10 minute facilitation. If you choose to work with other students, this time compiles (so two students would be expected to lead a 20 minute activity). You are welcome to more time if you request it at least 12 hours prior to class. If you need any materials for your facilitation, please let the instructor know at least 24 hours ahead of time. IMPORTANT: If you have slides, please send them to the instructor prior to class and make sure we have permission to view them.

Facilitations should

Teach us something: help the class see an aspect of the assigned reading(s) in a new way.
Use close reading to analyze the author’s use of language. This involves making observations about specific aspects of a text (how it is constructed) to produce certain effects on the reader. To receive full credit, you must incorporate and analyze quotes from the reading.
Encourage class participation, engagement, and critical thinking.
Be well-organized (not haphazardly thrown together) and stick to the time allotment of 10 minutes per person.
Include every member of the group (if you elect to work as a group).
Be creative and delivered with enthusiasm – this is your opportunity to teach the class in whatever way you want. Make it your dream lesson! The way every course should be taught!

You will receive feedback on your facilitation via email.

Comments (35%)

For classes in which you are not responsible for writing a blog entry, you are expected to comment on someone else’s post. These comments should demonstrate a respectful and collegial engagement with other students’ ideas and/or questions. Your comment should advance the conversation in a specific way. You might answer one of the blogger’s discussion questions or introduce an additional piece of textual evidence (a quote from the reading) that either supports or complicates the blogger’s interpretation. Comments must include at least one direct quote from the assigned reading. They should be at least 150 words in length and must be posted before class. We will go over effective commenting strategies in class.

I will not accept any late blog posts, facilitations, or comments. These cannot be made up so remember to check your own schedule before signing up for response dates.

Collaborative close reading (5%)

In your small group, you will co-author a short analysis of a passage in the assigned reading. More details to follow.

Black History Month event review (10%)

February is Black History Month! For this assignment, you will attend an event related to Black history and/or African American studies and write a review describing the event for your classmates. A calendar of Cortland Black History Month events will be provided (Sandwich Seminars, panels, films, guest speakers, etc.), though students may also attend an event outside of Cortland with the instructor’s permission. The event review should include information about the who, what, when, where, and why of the event; a report of what happened; and some key takeaways, highlights, things you learned, and/or connections to class readings and discussions. Aim for roughly 500 words or two thoughtful paragraphs. Supplementary photographs or images from the event are welcome. Post your event review to our course blog and check off the category in the right hand column for “Event Review.” Sample event reviews can be found on the course website under “Resources.” You may post an additional event review for extra credit.