Aufbauseminar Black at You Key Steps in African American Writing Oratory from Slavery to Obama Mo 14:45 18:00 biweekly

-The past isn’t dead and buried. In fact, it isn’t even past.” (William Faulkner) President Obama’s election in 2008 was accompanied by the hope that the USA may finally have entered a -post-racial” era. But a staggering number of incidents since then – from racist invectives against Obama himself to police killings of unarmed black men, from the white supremacist massacre in Charleston to the upheavals in Ferguson and -#BlackLivesMatter” - have shown that tensions based on the problematic notion of -race” continue to be a festering wound at the very heart of American history and culture. This advanced seminar will explore the historical roots of this contemporary situation. We will analyze a selection of exemplary African-American texts and speeches on what it means to be Black in the USA from the times of slavery until today (Ph. Wheatley, F. Douglass, B.T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, L. Hughes, M.L. King, Malcolm X., A. Walker, Obama et al.), and learn about their historical, social and political contexts (US slavery and abolitionism, Civil War, the Reconstruction era, Jim Crow and segregation, the Great Migration and the Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights Movement et al.). In so doing, the course will address crucial ethical questions, e.g. How has -race” been constructed, and how was slavery legitimized? Should the fight for equality draw on pluralism, or universal values, or both; should it be led peacefully of violently? We will address how such debates were popularized through various forms of writing and oratory, and consider the interrelations between aesthetics, ethics, and politics. Literature: Please purchase an unabridged version of Fr. Douglass’ Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. (Recommended: Dover Thrift Edition or Norton Critical Edition). A limited number of copies will be ordered at Buchhaus Stern Verlag on campus. Other texts (see above) will be made available in a seminar reader. Bemerkung PLEASE NOTE: Sessions are longer (double time slot, with a break) because the seminar will take place on a bi-weekly basis. -> More time for you to read, and more time to address texts and their contexts in class! First session: Oct. 19, 15:00h. Voraussetzungen Willingness to read assigned texts, regular active participation. English & American studies students must have passed at least one literature intermediate module. MeKuWi: This course is particularly suited for more advanced students in the Interculturality module. ----------------------------------------------------- Enrolled students must be present on the first day of class; otherwise your untaken slots will be made available to present students from the waiting list. (Enrolled /-Zugelassene- students: Please contact me beforehand at nmilde@phil.hhu.de if you need to be excused from the first session but wish to remain enrolled!) Leistungsnachweis Course requirements: - All participants: regular attendance, active participation & reading of assigned texts! - AP candidates major / minor: final term paper / oral exam. - One short oral presentation with handout - or equivalent. (AP candidates may prepare an ungraded abstract for their exam.) Anglistik II: American Studies Willingness to read assigned texts, regular active participation. English & American studies students must have passed at least one literature intermediate module. MeKuWi: This course is particularly suited for more advanced students in the Interculturality module. ----------------------------------------------------- Enrolled students must be present on the first day of class; otherwise your untaken slots will be made available to present students from the waiting list. (Enrolled /-Zugelassene- students: Please contact me beforehand at nmilde@phil.hhu.de if you need to be excused from the first session but wish to remain enrolled!) Course requirements: - All participants: regular attendance, active participation & reading of assigned texts! - AP candidates major / minor: final term paper / oral exam. - One short oral presentation with handout - or equivalent. (AP candidates may prepare an ungraded abstract for their exam.) Universität Düsseldorf WiSe 2015/16 Milde Nadine