Professor: Courtney Thorrson
4 credits
Toni Morrison said the best art "is unquestionably political and irrevocably beautiful at the same time"; this is undeniably true of the eleven novels Morrison wrote. In this course, we will read four of those novels—Song of Solomon (1977), Beloved (1988), Paradise (1997), and A Mercy (2008)—in their historical, political, and literary contexts. We will consider Morrison as a novelist, scholar, and editor who lived and worked within a network of writers and intellectuals. This means that we will read novels by Morrison alongside writings by her friends, her collaborators, and scholars of her writings. We will study how textual traits—diction, syntax, plot, character, metaphor, sound, and so on—create meaning. We will consider our readings in relationship to Black feminisms and African American literary traditions. This course requires substantial reading, vigorous participation, three short writing assignments (3-4 pages each), and a final paper (10-12 pages).
Graduation Requirement: This class will fulfill an Arts and Letters Colloquium and US: Difference, Inequality, and Agency (US) cultural literacy requirement. If a student already has completed an Arts and Letters Colloquium, this course will fulfill both of the following requirements: an Elective Colloquium and the US: Difference, Inequality, and Agency (US) cultural literacy requirement.