AAS 206 - Black Women and Power

This course focuses on the ways in which women in the African Diaspora—respond to social and political forces in their communities and effect change, while confronting “traditional” issues of home and family, definitions of “woman.” We will engage poetry, drama, and film by women to tease out themes of power vis a vis sexuality, history and geography, economics, and patriarchy. The goal of the course is to get a clearer understanding of how issues of power “play” in the context of the African Diaspora; how do women writers/filmmakers explore the issue of silences/silencing as plays of power? Finally, to what degree do geography and history influence how women in these regions respond to/write about their worlds?

Credits: 3