Joseph Bauerkemper
“Specialized Studies in Literature: Indigenous Trans/Nationalisms”
Department of English
In this course we will explore how the African diasporic experience is recreated and represented in global cinemas. Our timeline begins with the Atlantic slave trade and ends with contemporary migration out of Africa and into the global north. Through watching and analyzing cinematic representations of African diasporic movement, voluntary and involuntary, we will explore how filmmakers use cinematic techniques to tell stories of violence, brutalization, liberation, empowerment, hope, alienation, and many more. At the same time we want to address the intersections of filmmaking and globalization, concepts of national cinemas vs. transnational filmmaking, and problematize the outside and inside representation of Africans and Africa. We will discuss films by Haile Gerima, Julie Dash, Sergio Giral, Leonardo Ricagni, Stephen Frears, Radu Mihaileanu, and others.
Claudia Hoffmann
“The African Diaspora(s) in Global Cinema”
Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media
In this course we will explore how the African diasporic experience is recreated and represented in global cinemas. Our timeline begins with the Atlantic slave trade and ends with contemporary migration out of Africa and into the global north. Through watching and analyzing cinematic representations of African diasporic movement, voluntary and involuntary, we will explore how filmmakers use cinematic techniques to tell stories of violence, brutalization, liberation, empowerment, hope, alienation, and many more. At the same time we want to address the intersections of filmmaking and globalization, concepts of national cinemas vs. transnational filmmaking, and problematize the outside and inside representation of Africans and Africa. We will discuss films by Haile Gerima, Julie Dash, Sergio Giral, Leonardo Ricagni, Stephen Frears, Radu Mihaileanu, and others.
S. Ani Mukherji
“South Asians in the Americas, 1838-present”
Department of History
While first South Asians appeared in Americas as early as 17th century, substantial and sustained migration from India to western hemisphere began only in mid-19th century with introduction of Indian indentured laborers to British colonies in Caribbean. Examination of social, political, and cultural history of South Asians in Americas–including U.S., West Indies, and Canada–from period of indenture to present. Study of multiple diasporic locations intended to highlight specificities and commonalities of different sites of transplantation. Principal methods of investigation are historical and literary, with strong emphasis on work with primary sources.
Jeannine Murray-Román
“Caribbean Voices”
Department of Comparative Literature
Introduction to intellectual, cultural, and literary trends of Caribbean region. Study of key terms that have emerged from Caribbean or have been useful to theorizing Caribbean, such as creolization, hybridity, transculturation, and chaos theory. Primary concern is impact of history of movement to and from islands, to metropolitan centers and within Caribbean region itself. Consideration of deep and abiding commitment of writers and artists in region to recover and imagine Caribbean history; as such, study returns to question of what historical forces tie region together and what is history of its regional divisions? Readings include fiction, poetry, theater, and film by artists such as Derek Walcott, Maryse Condé, Mayra Santos-Febres, and Édouard Glissant.
Firat Oruc
“Global Literature in Theory and Practice”
Department of Compapative Literature
Is there such a thing called “global literature”? How do we enter, delimit and define this category? How does globalization affect the conception of literary studies as well as the production and reception of literature? At least since Goethe articulated the notion of a “world literature” in the 1820s, there have also been attempts to think of literature in a transnational framework, and the issue has become only more urgent with the increasing globalization of culture since then. In this course we will examine the history and current status of these attempts as well as recent models of comparison and approaches to reframe and resituate literature in a global rather than a national setting. We will also examine a set of literary texts to discuss the global processes of textual migration and intertextual transculturation. Students completing the course will be able to characterize different understandings of the concept of global literature, conduct research in the field of world literature and construct their own interpretive arguments in relation to existing scholarship in this field.