UNIT II
Week 6 Human-Animal Metamorphoses
Tuesday, 3/29
- Justin Torres: We the Animals
- DUE: Reading Response— Write a 1-page story emulating Torres’ style (diction, prosody, sentence structure, tone, themes, voice, point-of-view, etc.); let the experience of Torres’ story prompt a story from your life, but since you are reading fiction (not nonfiction), take freedoms with fictionalizing the personal. I am especially looking to see how your critical investment in the novella is conveyed through your creative piece.
Thursday, 3/31
- Justin Torres: We the Animals
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Week 7 Queer Expatriation
Tuesday, 4/5
- Justin Torres: We the Animals
Thursday, 4/7
- James Baldwin: Giovanni’s Room
- DUE: What is the most important word in the novel, and why (in a few sentences)? (Post) / What is the most important passage in the novel, and why? (Highlight)
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Week 8
Tuesday, 4/12
- James Baldwin: Giovanni’s Room
- CLASS GUEST: Beyond the Page
Thursday, 4/14
- James Baldwin: Giovanni’s Room
- FILM — John Schlesinger: Midnight Cowboy
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Week 9
Tuesday, 4/19
- Toni Morrison: Sula
- DUE: Reading Response (cancelled)
Thursday, 4/21
- Toni Morrison: Sula
- Vivian Gornick essay (pages 3-13 via email)
- DUE: Essay 2 Brainstorm/Freewrite
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UNIT III
Week 10 Black Art, Myths of Citizenship, Genre-Crossing
Monday, 4/25
- DUE: Essay 2, Draft 1 w/Memo (and Peer exchange)
Tuesday, 4/26
- Claudia Rankine: Citizen
- Amiri Baraka: “Black Art”
Thursday, 4/28
- LIBRARY SESSION (Location: LIB 220, Wilson Media Lab)
- FILM — Spike Lee: Do the Right Thing
- DUE: Film Response
- [OPTIONAL: Tony Hoagland: “The Change” / Rankine’s Response / Hoagland’s Letter ; Interviews: 1) https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/dec/27/claudia-rankine-poet-citizen-american-lyric-feature; 2) “I Wanted to Know What White Men Thought About Their Privilege. So I asked.” ]
Friday, 4/29
- DUE: Peer Review Letter
CONFERENCES
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Week 11
Tuesday, 5/3
- Claudia Rankine: Citizen
- DUE: Essay 2 Annotated Bibliography
Thursday, 5/5
- Claudia Rankine: Citizen
- FILM — Raoul Peck/James Baldwin: I Am Not Your Negro
- FILM — Spike Lee: Do the Right Thing
Friday, 5/6
- DUE: Essay 2, Draft 2 w/Memo
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Week 12
Tuesday, 5/10
- Presentations of Final Creative Projects
Thursday, 5/12
- Presentations of Final Creative Projects
Monday, 5/16
- DUE: Essay 2, Draft 3 w/Memo and Final Self-Evaluation (NO LATE WORK ACCEPTED)