The term “Black Atlantic” was first used by Paul Gilroy to refer to the circuits and networks between Black people in Europe, Africa, and North America (including the Caribbean). Common experiences like slavery, colonialism, and postcolonial realities have shaped this circuit. In addition, literary and cultural forms have been transmitted across the various constituencies of the Black Atlantic. The class surveys a range of major Black Atlantic authors of literature, and theory, such as Chinua Achebe, Derek Walcott, Langston Hughes, Frantz Fanon, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and M. NourbeSe Philip. The key questions that motivate our readings and discussions include: what are the major themes that have defined Black Atlantic literature and culture? What are the major forms through which these themes are coded? In exploring these questions, we will underscore the common experiences shared by Black people on all sides of the Atlantic and also foreground the specificities of Blackness in each region of the Atlantic. Our goal is to conceptually use the Black Atlantic to compare how Blackness functions across the Atlantic even as we explore the connections and differences between Africa and its old and new diasporas.
Outcomes: By the end of this course, students will be able to define and apply Paul Gilroy’s concept of the Black Atlantic to analyze the transnational circuits linking Africa, Europe, North America, and the Caribbean; identify and explain major themes that shape Black Atlantic literature and culture (including slavery, colonialism, modernity, racial formation, diaspora, and postcolonial life); and evaluate how these themes are coded through multiple forms and genres (poetry, drama, autobiography, theory, film, visual art, and performance). Students will also be able to compare how Blackness is articulated across different Atlantic regions, attending to both shared histories and local specificities, while developing well-supported interpretations that integrate close reading with relevant socio-historical and theoretical contexts.
Outcomes: By the end of this course, students will be able to define and apply Paul Gilroy’s concept of the Black Atlantic to analyze the transnational circuits linking Africa, Europe, North America, and the Caribbean; identify and explain major themes that shape Black Atlantic literature and culture (including slavery, colonialism, modernity, racial formation, diaspora, and postcolonial life); and evaluate how these themes are coded through multiple forms and genres (poetry, drama, autobiography, theory, film, visual art, and performance). Students will also be able to compare how Blackness is articulated across different Atlantic regions, attending to both shared histories and local specificities, while developing well-supported interpretations that integrate close reading with relevant socio-historical and theoretical contexts.
- Primary Instructor: Mathias Iroro Orhero