Course Description and Syllabus: English 311ProfessorC.C. O'Brien
404 PLC
Office hours MWF 2-3346-0994
African American Poetry:
Mapping Home
In this survey of poetry by African-American authors, we will explore how word and image move toward the creation of a sense of home: a space of resistance to racism and nostalgia for cultural and family ties obliterated by the Middle Passage. Drawing primarily from the Vintage Anthology, our study will extend through time and space from the colonial period to the twentieth century, from Harlem to an independent film shot in the DC jail to an imagined Afrika. We will, at every possibility, work with poetry accompanied by visual and audio texts. The purpose of integrating visual arts, jazz, blues, and hip-hop music, and film in a poetry class is to think about the relationship between word and sound or image, thus to see the space created in the poem with greater clarity and detail.We might then learn to treat language with the same attention and care as does a poet.
Texts:
Most readings will be a textavailable at Mother Kali's bookstore; theBooksspace on Blackboard also holds numerous poems as do links on might purchase an audio CD as a supplementary text.If you do not have a glossary of literary or poetic terms, I recommend Bob's Byway. You should also familiarize yourself with the Oxford English Dictionary, also online.
Michael Harper, ed.The Vintage Anthology of African American Poetry
Useful Web Sites:
Class Policies:
1.Attendanceis mandatory. Perfect attendance will be rewarded with a one-increment increase in your final grade. More than two unexcused absences will result in incremental reduction of the final grade for each absence.
2.Discussion and Participationare essential to learning to read analytically. Each student will be asked to recite and lead discussion or illustrate a portion of the reading assignment this semester. Please see separate discussion guidelines.
3.Written Requirementsthat will be graded includea paper or a formal presentation, two exams as well as brief quizzes, if necessary.
4.Gradesreflect your attainment of Course Goals and will be determined according to the following 300 point scale:
Discussion50 points
Quizzes30 points
Midterm50 points
Recitation/Illustration40 points
Presentation/Paper70 points
Final Exam60 points
5.Plagiarismis a serious offense, a separate handout will explain department policies.
6.Late papers or missed exams/quizzeswill be docked one increment per day, including weekends.
8.Extra Helpwill be offered during office hours, over email, and by special appointment. The classroom is a community for learning that extends beyond our weekly meeting times, so I encourage you to see me if you are having trouble and to work collaboratively with your classmates so you can succeed in the course.I am particularly interested in active use of Blackboard for discussion and development of critical thinking.
Warning:
Many professors have idiosyncrasies; I will tell you mine up front.I reserve the right to reject assignments or lower your grade an increment if you violate these boundaries.I find it unacceptable when:
1.Students try to please me by anticipating what my personal beliefs are and ventriloquzing them through your papers. Your papers are an opportunity to develop critical thinking skills and analyze complex, often very personal beliefs about race and identity. Since you are not me, you will not learn if you waste time trying to guess what I would say. Paper writing is a problem-solving process that should open and exercise your mind. I would like to learn what you think, not what you think I think. I already know what I think.
2.Students use the passive voice in sentences; I would prefer you use the first person pronoun and present tense at all times.
3.Students begin paragraphs with phrases like "throughout history, throughout time, in our society" or other forms of ridiculous generalizations. Introduce your text, topic, and debatable argument rather than muddling through the Paleolithic age!
4.Pages aren’t numbered. Number pages and staple your work.
5.Students don’t read directions. I always give concise and specific directions. Read them thoroughly before you begin the assignment and when you have completed it so you are sure that you have followed instructions.
6.Students want to submit documents online but don’t name them appropriately. The only appropriate names for documents are "<your last name>.html" or "<your uniqname>.html" If you want to distinguish between files, you can add numbers butno spaces or punctuationother than the .doc tag. You should also use the digital drop box on Blackboard; DO NOT email unless I give you special permission.
7.Students miss class then email me and say "did we do anything important?"If you miss class, please don't email me and ask what you missed. Check with classmates using email; there is a useful COMMUNICATION side bar on Blackboard for your convenience.
8.Students come to class completely unprepared.You can buy a coursepack.Readings online and in traditional reserves are there for you to PRINT OUT, READ, AND BRING TO CLASS.
9.You will notice that I am very energetic and animated in class. To ask questions or inform me of important issues, please use email rather than approach me before or after class. My mind is very focused on the material at these times, you might note that my expression is not unlike an athlete during a big game. I may not be paying attention to your story about a broken printer, stalled car, or family reunion or your questions about assignments that are spelled out on Blackboard, in handouts, and on the syllabus. I can give you my full attention during OFFICE HOURS.
10.Finally, we will all respect the community of ideas that forms our class. Central to this community is the understanding that racism is not a mere personal proclivity. To take this course, you must explore the ways racism has functioned historically and still functions today through political, economic, social, and educational structures of power. Should your classmates have more contemporary knowledge of racism thus defined, you should listen actively rather than debate whether racism exists. Certainly, personal experiences of racial or ethnic prejudice are very powerful and worthy of discussion, but always respect the difference between prejudice and racism.
Due Dates for Assignments:
*Quizzes will be given unannounced beginning with week one, they will cover readings assigned up to that day's date.
*The midterm examis due in classon November 1.
*The final examis due in my office Monday, December 9.
*During the first week of class, you will select one poem to recite or illustrate and one poem to present or write your paper about. The exercise will encourage you to teach your classmates, people in your small group, and me about the text you have selected.
Agenda:
Week One:Ethiopian Masks and Pagan Hymns
10/2--Dunbar, 73-87 ;Hammon, 3-7; Wheatley, 14-20;
10/4--Whitfield, 39-43; Harper, 45-55
Week Two:What is Africa to Me?
10/7--McKay, 99-101;
10/9--Cullen, 154-164;
10/11--Bennett 140-141; Johnson, 96-98
Week Three:The Weary Blues
10/14--Langston Hughes, 143-153
10/16--"Theme for English B"--"Dream Variations" and "Frosting"
10/18--"Negro Mother" and "Mother to Son"
Week Four:Modern History
10/21--Melvin Tolson,"Dark Symphony" (109);
10/23--Robert Hayden, 166-175; "Middle Passage" (CP)
10/25Gwendolyn Brooks 184-195;--"A Song in the Front Yard" (185)
"We real Cool" (187)
Week Five:The Bee Bop Age
10/28--Knight, 223-228,
"The Idea of Ancestry" (225).
"Hard Rock Returns to Prison from the Hospital for the Criminal Insane" (CP)10/30: REVIEW
11/1--Baraka,229-236;
"A Poem for BlackHearts"
"I Don't Love You"
"Black Art" (234)
Week Six:A Week of Special Surprises!
Week Seven:Sanchez and the Saxophone
11/11--Sonia Sanchez, "Reflections After…"(240)
"Poem at Thirty"
11/13"Summer of Words of a Sistuh Addict"
"Homecoming"
11/15--Jane Cortez (CP) "How Long Has Trane Been Gone?"
In-class listening/free write on Coltrane's "My Favorite Things"
Michael Harper, 267-276
Week Eight:Jordan, Clifton, Lorde
11/18--June Jordan
"Richard Wright was Wrong"
"The Female and the Silence of the Man" (BB)
"In Memoriam: Martin Luther King, Jr." (BB)
11/20--"Coal" by Audre Lorde (BB)
"Revolution Is One Form of Social Change"(238).
11/22--"4/30/92: for Rodney King" by Lucille Clifton (249)
"White Lady" (248)
"Slave Ship"(250)
Week Nine:Student Presentations/TBA
Week Ten:Student Presentations/TBA