AAAS - African American and Africana Studies

AAAS271 Monsters and Racism: Black Horror and Speculative Fiction (3 Credits)

The previous decade has been considered a renaissance for Black Horror. From Get Out to Lovecraft Country, the genre has enjoyed unprecedented mainstream media buzz and accolades. This course looks at contemporary Black horror and speculative fiction as cultural texts which put into question our notions of human(e) and inhuman(e) through critiques of white supremacy and accompanying oppressions. Students will learn a host of critical skills through close reading and analysis of literature and film by Black creators such as Jordan Peele, Misha Green, Toni Morrison, Jewelle Gomez, and Octavia Butler. With the ability to interpret cultural texts using literary criticism, film analysis, history, cultural studies, ethnic studies, feminist theory, and the social sciences, students will connect these texts to continuing historical and contemporary issues of racial and cultural oppression such as medical discrimination, policing and criminalization, misogynoir, and racialized capitalism.

Cross-listed with: WGSS271, ENGL289J.

Credit Only Granted for: AAAS271, ENGL289J, HONR299Y, HNUH238W, WGSS271 or WGSS298W.

Formerly: HNUH238W.