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| Photo: Westchester University |
First, allow me to introduce myself. I am Dr. Julie Lester, and I am an associate professor of English here at Southwest. I have been teaching at the College for eight years, and before that, I earned my doctorate in African American Literature from the University of Memphis.
Why did I choose this subject? I was inspired by several of my college professors to read and study the work of Zora Neale Hurston (whom you will hear a lot about this course), and to read her most acclaimed novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Immediately I was drawn to her as a kindred: a familiar, and I was struck with the notion that we are all very much alike--regardless of a 'little pigmentation' (1). For me, Hurston's work underscored the importance of experience both as a woman and as a southerner, and in so doing, diminished the importance of race as a subjugating category of identity. In other words, the similarities that draw us together as human beings far outweigh and differences tied to race.
Additionally, my dedication to the study of African American literature has revealed a lot of answers about my own upbringing, about the history of the South, and how that history has helped to shape who we are and where we are going.
I like to structure my course as an investigation of how African American literature has evolved from its moorings in folk culture. It is a unique evolution because it reflects a unique and troubled history; however, as one reviews the development of an African American Literary tradition, one discovers the resilience, strength, and determination of a people who fought against a common oppressor and lived to tell the tale. It is a literature of protest and a literature of victory.
We will begin, then, with a look at the Vernacular Tradition: a tradition of folk customs that have been handed down from one generation to the next, and whose presence continues to be influential today. The folk customs referred to as part of the Vernacular Tradition include stories, jokes, dozens, cautionary tales, fables, sermons, and songs. From this tradition we locate the Trickster--the protagonist of many African American Tales. The Trickster is cast here as the wily slave who tricks his master by exploiting the master's greed. In the Trickster we observe what Dr. Henry Louis Gates refers to as 'signifying': a performance of submission that is used to mask the ulterior motive of the slave. It is a form of resistance and rebellion as much as it is a mode of survival.
Later we will observe how the Vernacular Tradition occurs in later literary forms, like the Slave Narrative. Here, non-literary forms are transformed into the literary, as the slave narrator becomes the author/storyteller, and his tale becomes the novel. By necessity, the African American slave must adopt western modes of self-expression and speak the self into existence. From this point forward, the African American writer faces new forms of self-expression while battling the oppressive forces and obstacles that seek to intervene and silence him.
By the time the 20th Century arrives, we will see the emergence of the African American philosopher and ideologue. Alongside the poet, writer, and musician of the Harlem Renaissance, individuals such as W.E.B. Dubois, Alain Locke, James Weldon Johnson, and Marcus Garvey will seek to redefine the role of the African American artist as well as to reexamine the question of what it means to be both black and an American citizen in the United States. Questions would be raised about Pan-Africanism and what it meant to be a member of a diaspora. Further, these voices will call for a unifying relationship with all people of color whose histories bespeak oppression.
Though our time together is quite short (and at times will seem very rushed) my hope is that you step away from this course with a new understanding of African American Literature--and culture. Perhaps you will begin to make new cultural connections you'd never considered before; or perhaps you will ask questions about history that you had not pondered before this semester. Above all, I hope you learn new and exciting things--but it will require your diligence and perseverance, so allow the figures we will consider to inspire you as they have inspired me.
