Austin Herzing’s Profile Student Toggle navigation

The pur­pose of this course is to read, an­a­lyze, and dis­cuss the life and works of James Bald­win. Through­out the se­mes­ter we will read some of the most so­cially im­pact­ing lit­er­a­ture ever writ­ten. We will ex­am­ine both fic­tion and non-fic­tion, un­earthing some of the most sen­si­tive is­sues of the twen­ti­eth cen­tury, as well as the tur­bu­lent life of the au­thor him­self. To­gether, we will learn to meta­tex­tu­al­ize the mean­ing be­neath Bald­win’s words, pro­vid­ing in­sight into the his­tor­i­cal worlds in which he ex­isted and wrote about. At the same time, we will fol­low Bald­win’s “flight” from Amer­ica and his writ­ing while ex­ist­ing abroad as an ex­pa­tri­ate. With re­gard to the read­ings—in an at­tempt to de­velop stronger ar­gu­ments and clar­ity re­gard­ing the is­sues dis­cussed—there will be di­rected re­search writ­ing as­sign­ments (re­sponse pa­pers). We will also de­velop a clear, con­cise, gram­mat­i­cally cor­rect MLA style re­search paper based on as­signed paper top­ics. This re­search paper will in­clude an out­line and an ab­stract that must be ap­proved be­fore the paper pro­ject and posted onto our Open­Lab page. Ad­di­tion­ally, we will have exams to see how we are pro­cess­ing the ma­te­ri­als. With the as­sis­tance of both the pri­mary and sec­ondary texts, we will re­view the fun­da­men­tals of his­tor­i­cal writ­ing, and learn to con­dense our thoughts re­gard­ing the au­thor’s sub­ject mat­ter. Par­tic­i­pa­tion is both es­sen­tial and re­quired for a suc­cess­ful se­mes­ter. IF WE DEMON­STRATE THAT WE ARE NOT PREPA­PRED FOR OUR DAILY READ­INGS, QUIZZES WILL BE IM­PLE­MENTED INTO THE COURSE DE­SIGN. The exams can only be taken on as­signed dates, and the pa­pers and as­sign­ments are to be sub­mit­ted at the be­gin­ning of class on the dates due. LATE WORK IS NOT AN OP­TION. NOTE: This course will ex­am­ine var­ied themes—sex, sex­u­al­ity, re­li­gion, Class, racism, vi­o­lence, self-ha­tred, slav­ery, op­pres­sion, love—and re­quires the abil­ity to en­gage in com­plex and con­tro­ver­sial dis­cus­sions ma­turely.

The purpose of this course is to read, analyze, and discuss the life and works of James Baldwin. Throughout the semester we will read some of the most socially impacting literature ever written. We will examine both fiction and non-fiction, unearthing some of the most sensitive issues of the twentieth century, as well as the turbulent life of the author himself. Together, we will learn to metatextualize the meaning beneath Baldwin’s words, providing insight into the historical worlds in which he existed and wrote about. At the same time, we will follow Baldwin’s “flight” from America and his writing while existing abroad as an expatriate. With regard to the readings—in an attempt to develop stronger arguments and clarity regarding the issues discussed—there will be directed research writing assignments (response papers). We will also develop a clear, concise, grammatically correct MLA style research paper based on assigned paper topics. This research paper will include an outline and an abstract that must be approved before the paper project and posted onto our OpenLab page. Additionally, we will have exams to see how we are processing the materials. With the assistance of both the primary and secondary texts, we will review the fundamentals of historical writing, and learn to condense our thoughts regarding the author’s subject matter. Participation is both essential and required for a successful semester. IF WE DEMONSTRATE THAT WE ARE NOT PREPAPRED FOR OUR DAILY READINGS, QUIZZES WILL BE IMPLEMENTED INTO THE COURSE DESIGN. The exams can only be taken on assigned dates, and the papers and assignments are to be submitted at the beginning of class on the dates due. LATE WORK IS NOT AN OPTION. NOTE: This course will examine varied themes—sex, sexuality, religion, Class, racism, violence, self-hatred, slavery, oppression, love—and requires the ability to engage in complex and controversial discussions maturely.