ENGL 323 - African-American Literature After 1945

Units: 4 ; Breadth Area: GE-UD-C; Diversity
A survey of writings by African Americans from the middle of the 20th century through the Black Arts Movement. Identifies major authors in a variety of genres and provides historical contexts for literary movements from the period.

Strongly Recommended Preparation: Upper division status (greater than 60 earned semester units) and completion of lower division Area C requirements; and ENGL 200.
Prerequisites: Completion of GE Areas A1, A2, A3 and B4 with grade C- (CR) or better.
Possible Instructional Methods: On-ground, or Hybrid or Online-Asynchronous.
Grading: A-F or CR/NC (student choice).
Breadth Area(s) Satisfied: GE-UD-C - Upper Division Arts or Humanities, Overlay - Diversity
Course Typically Offered: Spring ONLY

Student Learning Outcomes - Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

demonstrate familiarity with themes and structures of important works in African American literature from after 1900;
identify and describe the characteristics of major 20th century African-American literary forms and periods;
locate and summarize secondary texts related to important works of African American literature before 1900;
articulate in writing meaningful connections between specific African American literary texts, their themes, their historical contexts, and contemporary readers.

UD-C. Upper-division Arts or Humanities Learning Outcomes

demonstrate an understanding of and ability to apply the principles, methodologies, value systems, and thought processes employed in the arts and humanities;
analyze cultural production as an expression of, or reflection upon, what it means to be human; and
demonstrate how the perspectives of the arts and humanities are used by informed, engaged, and reflective citizens to benefit local and global communities.

Diversity Overlay Learning Outcomes

describe the histories and/or experiences of one or more U. S. cultural groups and the resilience and agency of group members;
identify structures of oppression and the diverse efforts and strategies used by groups to combat the effects of oppressive structures;
analyze the intersection of the categories of race and gender as they affect cultural group members’ lived realities and/or as they are embodied in personal and collective identities;
recognize the way that multiple differences (including, for example, gender, class, sexuality, religion, disability, immigration status, gender expression, color/phenotype, racial mixture, linguistic expression, and/or age) within cultural groups complicate individual and group identities.