BK 508.01 Black Modernity (Fall 2007-2008: 3)
This class interrogates the text and contexts of Ralph Ellison¿s Invisible
Man to create a working definition of a¿ Black modernity.¿ Specifically,
bringing historical and cultural analysis to bear on a single work of fiction,
this course will survey key themes in the Black modern experience from 1899
to 1950 including migration, urbanization, the black modern aesthetic, black
radicalism, and black nationalism. While modernity has been generally understood
to consist of secularization, mass production, and consumption, scientific
rationalization and democratization, black people in the West have had an
uneven relationship to these processes. With W.E.B. DuBois¿ concept of
¿double-consciousness¿ in mind, this course explores the uneven relationship
the black people have had as both outside of, yet central to the modern
experience. It should be noted that neither literary, film, nor social scientific
texts take on a primary position in this critical reading-, thinking- and
writing-intensive course. All texts are used in a fully interdisciplinary
framework where the conceptualization of a Black modernity becomes the primary
focus of analysis. Those looking to get basic African American history or
to simply read the novel should not take this course.
Davarian Baldwin
Last Updated: 29-MAR-07