Fall 2020
Matthew Brown
3 credits
Fulfills Literature, Comm B, Elementary
This Comm B course will investigate two overlapping and simultaneous questions: What is poverty and how is it represented in African literature and related forms of cultural production? Originating in critiques of media produced in the Global North, “poverty porn,” is understood to be a particular representation of poor people designed to gratify the basic instincts of an audience. This formulation begs even more questions. Who are “poor” people? What does it mean to “represent” them? How do we evaluate the “design” of representations? Under what circumstances can poverty be “gratifying?” The underlying logic that will motivate our exploration and analysis of several different forms of representation—from novels, short stories, and drama, to music videos and films—is that studying culture and writing about it are immediate, palpable, political acts.
As a Comm B course, African 203 places emphasis on writing and verbal communication. Students will work in small groups to generate ideas, meet with the instructor to formulate writing projects, make formal class presentations, explore ideas in small writing projects, and draft and revise 2 major essays.
