Tradition and Influence in African American Literature

This course examines the various forms of African American literature, the traditions that they embody, and the ways in which writers perpetuate and revise these traditions. Selected readings demonstrate how early writers influence their successors even as these later writers transform traditions to reflect generational, gender, or ideological differences. Texts, which may vary from semester to semester, are analyzed within a specific generic framework, including fiction, poetry, or drama.