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African Cultural retentions in the Americas is presented this semester as a reading and writing-intensive course focused on the continuities, transformations, adaptations and re¬inventions of African culture found within the African diaspora in the Americas since the era of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Some of the research and writing conducted by historians, anthropologists, archaeologists, art historians, and musicologists pertinent to our subject matter will be studied. Lectures, readings, classroom discussions and writings will explore cultural developments in the Caribbean, Central and South America, and the United States. In addition to our readings, a number of documentary films will be shown and reviewed. In the Americas, Africans encountered Native Americans and Europeans; therefore, a major focus of this course is to explore and to understand the new cultural contexts which emerged, and Africa’s contributions to those contexts.

African Cultural retentions in the Americas is presented this semester as a reading and writing-intensive course focused on the continuities, transformations, adaptations and re¬inventions of African culture found within the African diaspora in the Americas since the era of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Some of the research and writing conducted by historians, anthropologists, archaeologists, art historians, and musicologists pertinent to our subject matter will be studied. Lectures, readings, classroom discussions and writings will explore cultural developments in the Caribbean, Central and South America, and the United States. In addition to our readings, a number of documentary films will be shown and reviewed. In the Americas, Africans encountered Native Americans and Europeans; therefore, a major focus of this course is to explore and to understand the new cultural contexts which emerged, and Africa’s contributions to those contexts.

Course Description (course catalogue): Analysis and critical understanding of selected fiction. Our Course: In this class, we will study the human condition through the eyes of scholars, creative writers and, especially, through the medium of film. In doing so, we will examine the evolution of the evolving human identity: the hero/heroine, the martyr, the vigilante, familial bonds and constraints, vengeance, rage, freedom, sex, love, hate, the bitch, the bastard, race, Class, and everything in between that showcases the human story in all its complexity. This semester, this course will also study several works of fiction that have transitioned to the big screen. As such, viewing visual texts in class is JUST as important as reading course material. English 2001 is both reading and writing intensive and will address socially sensitive topics. Those uncomfortable with any/all of the described course content should reconsider taking this course.

Course Description (course catalogue): Analysis and critical understanding of selected fiction. Our Course: In this class, we will study the human condition through the eyes of scholars, creative writers and, especially, through the medium of film. In doing so, we will examine the evolution of the evolving human identity: the hero/heroine, the martyr, the vigilante, familial bonds and constraints, vengeance, rage, freedom, sex, love, hate, the bitch, the bastard, race, Class, and everything in between that showcases the human story in all its complexity. This semester, this course will also study several works of fiction that have transitioned to the big screen. As such, viewing visual texts in class is JUST as important as reading course material. English 2001 is both reading and writing intensive and will address socially sensitive topics. Those uncomfortable with any/all of the described course content should reconsider taking this course.