Mixed race literatures comprise fictional texts written by authors who represent multiple cultural and literary traditions’ (Brennan, 2002:6). Adopting an intersectional approach, this seminar will address how mixed race experiences are represented in contemporary American literatures. The texts to be examined in this class articulate how the protagonists shape their senses of self by accessing multiple cultural and racial affiliations, gender identities, ancestral legacies among others. Engaging with these texts will entail confronting the uncomfortable fact that while race is a socially constructed category, it is still operational in shaping lives both in the US and elsewhere.
Presentations will be a required part of this class. A reader will be made available. Students are required to acquire the novels and have read them before classes begin. Do consider getting the text editions provided below to facilitate text references during class.
Texts:
Mark Twain. The Tragedy of Puddenhead Wilson. Oxford University Press. 1997 [1894]
Nella Larsen. Passing. Martino Fine Books. 1929
Michael Dorris. A Yellow Raft in Blue Water. Picador. 1987.
Michele Cliff. No Telephone To Heaven. Plume. 1996.
Heidi Durrow. The Girl Who Fell from the Sky. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. 2011. |
