Department of English

This seminar will be a study of the conceptual turns and breaks that are shaping twenty-first century Black Studies. As we think about the space-clearing gestures that have re-energized Black Studies in the twenty-first century, the changing same will matter as much as new frames that dislodge what has been naturalized in earlier waves of Black Studies. We will situate our study in the most nuanced, emergent waves of inquiry. This attention to the most recent debates and fractured points of view will put a spotlight on the work that remains to be done (the theorizing, textual analysis, and archival work that is being hailed as scholars gesture to the unfinished). This course is open to all Ph.D. and terminal M.A. students. Submatriculated M.A. students interested in enrolling should contact the course instructors to request permission and submit a permit request via Path@Penn.