American literature from segregation to Black Lives Matter, 5 op

This course looks at the literary history of the U.S. from early twentieth-century modernism to twenty-first-century contemporary literature. We will analyze American novels, short stories, and poems in their political and cultural contexts with a focus on questions of race, structural racism, and minority rights. Alongside literature, we will read canonical essays from black activists and thinkers, such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Angela Davis, and Ta-Nehisi Coates, as well as key texts from black feminist theory and critical race studies.

Classes will be conducted in English and students will have the option of writing their final paper in English or Finnish.

Course work: Students are required to read the literary and theoretical texts in preparation for our lectures, actively participate in class discussions, and write a final paper on the course materials.