This course is an examination of Black feminist theory as an intellectual, political, and lived methodology. The course examines how race, gender, sexuality, class, and ability operate as interlocking systems of power and resistance. Students will engage foundational and contemporary texts by scholars and activists, alongside cultural texts, political manifestos, and grassroots organizing practices. Emphasis is placed on Black feminism as both critique and praxis—connecting theory to activism and collective liberation. Through reading, discussion, and projects, students will develop the analytical tools to understand Black feminist theory’s transformative contributions across several disciplines, while also reflecting on its relevance to contemporary struggles for justice. Together we will trace the recent history of Black feminist scholarship, activism, and knowledge production.
In the 1980s in New York City hip-hop was born. In basement parties, front stoops, and oversized boomboxes the sound of hip-hop could be heard flooding the marginalized communities that the government abandoned. Since this art form emerged it has shaped and been shaped by United States culture. Hip-hop has also been criticized for its violent, misogynistic, and hyper capitalist content. Despite their presence in hip-hop culture from the very beginning, women are often left out of these conversations unless they are being framed as powerless, exploited figures.This course challenges that framing and examines Black feminist hip-hop cultures. We will consider the ways that Black women understand their own participation in hip-hop culture, as well as the ways they engage in subversive work both within and outside of the hip-hop community. We will also discuss the ways that the violent legacies of discrimination, and the ways hip-hop engages in resistance, inform the ways that hip-hop culture is understood today.
When we think of writing, alphabetic writing is often the first thing that comes to mind. We have been conditioned to think about writing as black letters on white paper. This course pushes beyond alphabetic forms of communication to consider the ways that text, images, and sounds have been deployed in communication, with a particular focus on social justice and alternative knowledge making practices. Composition scholar Claire Lutkewitte claims, “Multimodal composition offers us the opportunity to discover other ways of knowing and communicating ideas besides the ways we know and communicate through traditional print-based writing” (11). Working from this claim, this course will explore the theoretical foundations of multimodal composition and engage in digital writing across various mediums. We will consider the ways that digital writing allows for new, and more expansive forms of communication. We will examine the relationship between text, image, and sound with a primary focus on the ways that digital writing opens a space for more critical language and communication practices aimed toward social justice. Students will deploy multiple modes of communicating, including linguistic, visual, spatial, gestural, and aural ways of composing and creating. This class primarily requires a lot of hands-on project based assignments, digital writing workshops, and peer editorial groups.
Afrofuturism
Intro to Gender and Queer Studies
Intro to English Studies
FYW: Protest and Resistance
Language, Literacy, and Power