Category: american literature

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Art Serves as Reflection of Ourselves

What is the role of art in society? During the Harlem Renaissance, luminaries such as W.E.B DuBois argued that all art should serve as propaganda and should stem from classical traditions whereas others such as Langston Hughes sought to make art of and about the people, eschewing the position that art should be “lofty.” Throughout A Long Way from Home, Claude McKay addresses this … Read More Art Serves as Reflection of Ourselves

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Multicultural American Literature Syllabus 2021

Over the past two years, I have taught three multicultural American literature courses, at various levels from sophomore to graduate. This fall, I am teaching my fourth, and I am doing things a little differently because it is an upper level course. As I constructed each of the previous courses, I purposefully thought about a wide variety of texts and assignments for students. I … Read More Multicultural American Literature Syllabus 2021

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Multicultural American Literature and Pedagogy Syllabus

Every semester, I post the syllabi for the course I am teaching. This semester, I am teaching “Multicultural American Literature,” a graduate level course for education majors. It is an online, asynchronous course, so my approach differs from the face to face classes or online synchronous courses I teach. Since students in this course are education majors, I wanted to focus on things that … Read More Multicultural American Literature and Pedagogy Syllabus

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Identity in Genaro Kỳ Lý Smith’s “The Land South of the Clouds”: Part III

Over the last couple of posts, I have written about issues of identity in Genaro Kỳ Lý Smith’s The Land South of the Clouds. Today, I want to conclude the discussion that I started last post and look at the rest of “Beautiful,” the chapter where Long Vanh details his relationships with women, focusing on the white woman Melanie first then his relationship with his … Read More Identity in Genaro Kỳ Lý Smith’s “The Land South of the Clouds”: Part III

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Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisn in the Sun” Lecture: Part I

My final lecture last fall for the American literature course at the University of Bergen was on Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun. A couple of years ago, I wrote about the presence of Big Walter on stage during a performance in Boston that was directed by Liesl Tommy. As well, I have discussed my other lectures fro the American Literature class: Introductory … Read More Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisn in the Sun” Lecture: Part I