Course Description: This course explores the ways in which “race” have been defined in select cultural texts in various forms, including literary fiction, films, isual art, and critical theoretical essays. We will examine how the definitions of race that emerge from each text rely on or critique (implicitly or explicitly) 20th-century American legal, scientific, economic, and aesthetic logics or theories. We will also explore how knowledge about race and its social order is shaped by
the form or medium of expression—how is the “medium” related to the “message”? In short, our approach to reading and viewing texts will trace how the definition of race, the definition of social structures, and its formal expressions are co-dependent.

To analyze course texts, we will focus the on the practice of close reading through writing of essays that make clear arguments based on evidence found in the text and other sources. Class time will be dedicated to comprehension, examination, close reading, and application of the texts we have read. Daily attendance, active participation, and a clear engagement with class materials are vital for your success in this course.

This course fulfills the University of Washington’s W-requirement. It will include 10-15 pages of graded, out-of-class writing, most likely in the form of two 5-7 page papers. The course will also most likely include a presentation component, with the additional possibility of in-class quizzes, short writing assignments, etc.

Book List: Fiction will include Nella Larsen, Quicksand (1928); George Schuyler, Black No More (1931); and Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man (1952). All other materials will be in the course reader or posted to the class website.