| Course Title: Writing the Black Self |
| Start Date: 09/09/2026 End Date: 12/22/2026 |
| Term: Fall Semester 2026 |
| Description: This course explores the idea of "the self" and "the subject" by reading autobiographical and memoir writing by Black authors. Through an engagement with some criticism on the role of slavery in staffing the sense of self-possession accorded to the individual subject, we will think together about how autobiographical forms of writing function in the tradition of black thought and letters. From slave narratives, to the essays of the Harlem Renaissance, to the preponderance of Black Power-era memoirs, we will consider whether these texts accomplish a Black self in writing, and if indeed that is their ambition. |
| Distribution(s): I - Humanities , MP - Multicultural Perspectives , SI - Speaking-Intensive , 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 | 01:45PM - 03:00PM | TBA | TBA | Weekly |
| Requisite Courses | ||
| None |
| Comments |
| Additional Comments |
| Course Tags | ||
| ENGL0002 | ENGL-RP: Race, Power, and Difference | This course has been approved to count towards the English major's Race, Power, and Difference Disciplinary Perspectives requirement. |
| ENGL0003 | ENGL-TM: Theory and Methods | This course has been approved to count towards the English major's Theory and Methods |
| CRPE0001 | CRPE-1: CRPE - Major Pathway/Minor | This course has been approved to count towards the CRPE major pathway and the CRPE minor. |
| CRPE0003 | CRPE-3: Critical Social Thought - Major Pathway | This course has been approved to count towards the CRPE Critical Social Thought major pathway. |
| CRPE0007 | CRPE-RE: Representation Courses | This course has been approved to count towards the CRPE Representation requirement. |
| Cross-listed Sections |
| None |
| Course Availability | ||||
| Section status: Open | Capacity: 18 | Enrollment: 0 | Available: 18 | 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. |