Courses

Spring Semester information

390A: Advanced Topics:Black Arts Poetry 1965-1975

The period from about 1965 to 1975 was a crucial decade in African American politics, culture, and literature. During the Black Arts Movement, writers used their poetic voices to radicalize and transform awareness of racial injustices in the U.S. Indeed, contemporary Black activists, authors, and artists have drawn some of their inspiration from this era. In this course, we will focus on the urgency, wit, and innovation that informed the poetic work of such writers as the "Black Beats" (Amiri Baraka, Ted Joans, Bob Kaufman); the consciousness-raising Black feminists (June Jordan, Maya Angelou, Mari Evans, Nikki Giovanni); and the Black poets who foregrounded social inequities (Gwendolyn Brooks, Larry Neal, Etheridge Knight, Haki Madubuti). Since this is an "S" course, students will be expected to participate actively in discussions and presentations as well as writing papers.

390B: Advanced Topics:Ryan Coogler: Auteur Cinema and the Politics of Storytelling

This course explores the films of Ryan Coogler as a case study in auteur cinema, examining how his work develops recurring artistic signatures while engaging urgent social and political issues. From Fruitvale Station (2013) to Creed (2015), Black Panther (2018), and Wakanda Forever (2022), Coogler's films address themes of race, community, masculinity, grief, and collective memory. Students will study his directorial style--visual composition, sound design, narrative structure, and performance--while interrogating the industrial contexts of both independent filmmaking and blockbuster franchises. Readings from auteur theory, Black film criticism, and cultural studies will situate Coogler's oeuvre within larger debates about authorship, representation, and power in contemporary cinema.