English R1B

Reading and Composition: The Parallel Discourses of Sex and Race: The Problems of Othering Sexuality

Book List

Allison, Dorothy: Bastard out of Carolina; Baldwin, James: Go Tell It on the Mountain; Faulkner, William: The Sound and the Fury; Morrison, Toni: The Bluest Eye

Other Readings and Media

secondary reading TBA

Description

James Baldwin once said, “The sexual question and the racial question have always been entwined, you know.  If Americans can mature on the level of racism, then they have to mature on the level of sexuality.” This course will be invested in explaining and exploring how the discourses of race and sexuality interact with and construct a culturally prevalent dialogue based on scientific racism, misinformation, fantastic social assumptions, counter-factual evidence, privilege, and power—we will utilize these discourses to theorize how twentieth-century American writers engage with and deconstruct the legacies of scientific racism, class prejudice, and misogyny in their fictional writing about race and sexuality in general and incest in particular.

The writing fundamentals of the course build on the basic writing tenets introduced in R1A by essaying longer expository and argumentative pieces with an emphasis on learning and utilizing research skills.  Students will write and rewrite progressively longer essays as the course progresses, culminating with a ten-page research essay.  This class places a premium on peer editing and student workshopping.