In this course we will read and critically engage with experimental African American literature as it is produced in multiple forms such as fiction, poetry, and film, and in multiple genres such as science fiction, satire, fantasy, and "street lit." We will consider how/why the texts in question are "experimental" in both form and content. We will not only refine what it means to close read and analyze at a college level, we will question the intentions and stakes underlying the practice of literary analysis as a discipline. To this end, we will identify and develop strategies of reading, writing, thinking about, and discussing different kinds of texts—many of which are provocative and potentially challenging—in order to question the ways such texts both reveal and complicate representations of the anxieties, pleasures, and politics of material existence. As we will be explicitly engaging with difficult and at times problematic issues of race, class, gender, sexuality, and ideology, it is crucial to bring an open-minded, curious, and respectful attitude to this class in order to foster engaging and productive discussion. Readings may include in whole or in part: Pauline Hopkins, Charles W. Chesnutt, Ishmael Reed, Jean Toomer, Eric Walrond, George Schuyler, Booker T. Washington, Ralph Ellison, Richard Wright, Chester Himes, Iceberg Slim, Octavia Butler, Samuel R. Delany, Amiri Baraka, Nathaniel Mackey, Harriet Mullen, Thomas Glave, Sister Souljah, Jay-Z, Sapphire, Percival Everett, and Baratunde Thurston. We will also watch Marlon Riggs' documentary film Tongues Untied.

This class counts for "W" credit, and will require students to write two 5-7 page revisable papers. Students can also expect to write several informal reading responses and to participate in a group presentation. **Please note that students are expected to keep up with the weekly reading and are expected to come to class prepared to discuss and engage with the texts**

Required Texts:
**PLEASE NOTE: ALL REQUIRED TEXTS ARE AVAILABLE AT THE UW BOOKSTORE. PLEASE PURCHASE THE REQUIRED EDITION OF EACH TEXT. THE COURSE PACK IS AVAILABLE AT AVE COPY**