This course examines a series of theoretical initiatives that challenge and broaden the study of African-American literature. We will be reading a mixture of fiction and non-fiction by writers such as James Weldon Johnson, Alain Locke, W.E.B. Du Bois, Zora Neale Hurston, Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, Toni Morrison and Patricia Williams. In doing so, we will be asking a set of practical questions: What is the relationship between sociopolitical criticism and literary history? Should Afrocentric ideology govern the theoretical and critical examination of African American literature? What role does literature play in shaping contemporary debates about the social construction or political realities of race and gender? What is the nature of the relationship between American and African-American literary history? How has the formation of African-American literature challenged or affirmed other literary and national paradigms? Format: discussion/seminar. Requirements: four short essays and one oral presentation as well as participation in class discussion. Prerequisites: a 100-level English course, except 150. Enrollment limit: 25 (expected: 25). Preference given to English majors, African-American concentrators, and qualified non-majors. This course is part of the Critical Reasoning and Analytical Skills initiative. (Criticism or Post-1900)