AFST 320 - Black Feminisms

(Same as WGST 320.) Prerequisite, AFST 101 or WGST 101 or WMST 101 or consent of instructor. This course explores key issues, debates, and the range of ideas used by Black women, which examine features of Black feminist thought. This course is designed to encourage an exploration of various methods including video, film and others. It will introduce and familiarize students with the contributions of Black women in the African Diaspora and will commit to linking Black feminist thought with popular culture. Central discussions will be focused on understanding intersectionality and how the experiences of Black women have rendered visible the interlocking nature of race, gender, class and sexuality. Beginning in the 19^th century and into the 21^st century, students will engage with selected works of African American women’s scholarship and enter conversations which foreground Black women’s aesthetics, cultural, spiritual, erotic, and political traditions. In addition, the course will survey scholarship, which travels internationally as it interacts with the works of Black women and women of color outside of the United States. Rather than attempt a definitive history, the course will concentrate on works that map out the broader linkages of a Black feminism(s), which extends across disciplines and expands territorially. Letter grade. (Offered spring semester.) 3 credits