Section Info: FYSEM-110AE-01

Course Title: The African American Essay
Start Date: 09/09/2026 End Date: 12/22/2026
Term: Fall Semester 2026
Description: In this first-year seminar, students will be introduced to and acquainted with the essay form as it has been endeavored by African American writers throughout the 19th and 20th century. This course emphasizes the essay as a written genre that is meditative, argumentative, and inquisitive; it is a form that open-endedly captures a course of thought, often times raising more questions than proffering secure answers to its inquiries. Students will read works by Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Zora Neale Hurston, W.E.B Du Bois, Richard Wright, bell hooks, and Audre Lorde.
Distribution(s): NO - Meets No Distrib. Rqmt , FY - First-Year Seminar , WI - Writing-Intensive
Academic Level Of Course: Undergraduate     Credits:4.00    

Faculty         Phone         Email address        
Kristen Maye             kmaye@mtholyoke.edu  

Meeting Dates         Method         Meeting days         Meeting times         Building name         Room     Frequency    
09/09/2026 - 12/22/2026   Seminar   Tuesday and Thursday   10:30AM - 11:45AM   TBA   TBA   Weekly

REGISTRATION DETAILS

Requisite Courses        
None                    

Comments        
Additional Comments        
Course Tags        
FYSEM0001   First-Year Seminar   This is a First-Year Seminar.  

Cross-listed Sections        
None  

Course Availability
Section status: Open     Capacity: 16     Enrollment: 0     Available: 16     Waitlist: 0

BOOK INFORMATION

Book List         Required         Publisher Full Price        
To be determined.                    

Additional Book Comments        
This is NOT the complete book list for this class.