AFR 285(S) Religion in Black Film and Literature (Same as Comparative Literature 285, English 285 and Religion 229)*
Debates regarding religious beliefs and practices recur throughout the history of African- American film and literature. In this course, we will analyze the complicated role of religion, particularly Christianity, in black communities. Our texts were created during or about slavery, the Great Migration, the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, and the Post Civil Rights Era. We will consider such issues as ways in which religion is shown to empower and/or oppress black people; ways in which the politics of class, gender, and sexuality inflect black religious practices; and strategies by which transcendent, spiritual experiences are represented. Films to be analyzed may include: Spencer Williams' The Blood of Jesus; Stan Lathan's Go Tell it on the Mountain; Spike Lee's Four Little Girls; Julie Dash's Daughters of the Dust; and T.D. Jakes' Woman Thou Art Loosed. We will discuss images of black church life in the media, and texts by Alice Walker, Melba P. Beals, James Baldwin, Zora Neale Hurston, and Ernest Gaines.
Format: seminar/discussion. Requirements: active participation in class discussions, brief written responses to texts, and four 5- to 7-page essays.
No prerequisites, but prior 100- or 200-level Africana Studies and English courses will help. Enrollment limit: 20 (expected: 15). Preference given to (potential) concentrators in Africana Studies or (potential) English majors.
Hour: WINGARD