Enrollment and waitlist data for current and upcoming courses refresh every 10 minutes; all other information as of 6:00 AM.
| 02/05 - 05/24 | ||||||
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6:00 pm |
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Subject: English (Grad) (GENG)
CRN: 21932
In Person | Lecture
St Paul: John Roach Center 301
In this course, we will explore the historical context of abolition as a social and political movement, beginning with the fight to abolish slavery. The discussions will then shift to the evolution of abolition as an idea and a political framework, with an examination of perhaps its most powerful expression in the twentieth century: the fight against the prison industrial complex and mass incarceration. We will see how this particular struggle becomes connected to other social justice movements, leading to the final section of the class, which will focus on Abolitionist Futures. This focus on “futures” will allow us to consider the ways in which abolition as a political idea intersects with class struggle, gender justice, the fight against settler colonialism, and multiple, ongoing forms of resistance. Many of the works we examine (including literary works, films, music, visual art, etc.) in this class will also raise questions about the complex interplay between cultural texts and historical transformation, encompassing broader discussions on the relationship between aesthetics and politics. How do writers, filmmakers, and painters, for example, raise new questions about existing aesthetic categories even while negotiating the charge of didacticism that has confronted politically engaged artists through the ages. Some of the texts we will analyze include Angela Davis et al.’s ABOLITION. FEMINISM. NOW. Ruth Wilson Gilmore’s ABOLITION GEOGRAPHY, Mariamme Kaba’s WE DO THIS 'TIL WE FREE US, and Colson Whitehead’s THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD. We will also examine essays by W.E.B. Du Bois, Nick Estes, and Andrea Ritchie, a selection of poems, ranging from the work of Claude McKay and Sonia Sanchez to Maria Melendez Kelson and Danez Smith, and contributions from artists such as Dawoud Bey, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Lorna Simpson, and Kara Walker, among others. This course fulfills the Identity and Power requirement.
3 Credits
| 02/05 - 05/24 | ||||||
| M | T | W | Th | F | Sa | Su |
6:00 pm |
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Subject: English (Grad) (GENG)
CRN: 21933
In Person | Lecture
St Paul: John Roach Center 301
In this course we will study the fiction, poetry, and essay writing of Louise Erdrich, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, and Heid E. Erdrich, McKnight Foundation and Balcones prize winner. Louise and Heid, sisters, are members of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe, and are two of the most prominent American writers of our time. Likely texts include the novels TRACKS, THE LAST REPORT ON THE MIRACLES OF LITTLE NO HORSE, LOVE MEDICINE, THE SENTENCE, and THE NIGHT WATCHMAN (winner of the Pulitzer) by Louise Erdrich, and poetry collections NATIONAL MONUMENTS, LITTLE BIG BULLY, and CURATOR OF EPHEMERA by Heid E. Erdrich. Additionally, we will read the anthology SISTER NATIONS: NATIVE WOMEN WRITERS IN COMMUNITY, edited by Heid E. Erdrich. We may also consider connections through food, history, and story using Heid's memoir-cookbook ORIGINAL LOCAL and explore her multi-media creations through her "pomeos": poetry videos. In order to better understand these texts, we will be reading historical texts written from an indigenous perspective and will construct our theoretical lens using indigenous literary scholarship. As we are able (not required), we will take field trips to the All My Relations Art Gallery and the Birchbark Bookstore in Minneapolis. For a glimpse into the connections amongst Louise, Heid, and Birchbark Books, see this creative non-fiction short: https://newterritorymag.com/literary-landscapes/heid-erdrich-minneapolis-minnesota/. This course satisfies the identity and power requirement.
3 Credits
| 02/05 - 05/24 | ||||||
| M | T | W | Th | F | Sa | Su |
6:00 pm |
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Subject: English (Grad) (GENG)
CRN: 21934
In Person | Lecture
St Paul: John Roach Center 301
A workshop course focused on the craft and techniques of fiction. Readings will include creative work, craft essays, and theoretical texts. The course will also discuss fiction writing as it relates to the publishing industry. Students will explore the broader publishing landscape, from Big-5 publishers to small and university presses. The course will discuss how to enter the publishing industry, what to expect as a writer, and the industry’s issues and inequalities. We will workshop both creative work and materials that will be useful in publishing (such as marketing pitches and query letters). This course will include guest lectures and other engagements with agents and/or editors from the publishing community.
3 Credits
| 02/05 - 05/24 | ||||||
| M | T | W | Th | F | Sa | Su |
6:00 pm |
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Subject: English (Grad) (GENG)
CRN: 21935
In Person | Lecture
St Paul: John Roach Center 301
This course will explore representations of Rural Blackness – Black people existing in rural white spaces and Black people creating rural Black spaces for themselves. Ultimately, we will interrogate the assumption that Blackness is synonymous with the urban and challenge the spatial ideology which races all rural space as white. Texts for the course will include novels such as Toni Morrison’s PARADISE, Charles Chesnutt’s THE MARROW OF TRADITION, Jesmyn Ward’s SALVAGE THE BONES, and S.A. Cosby’s ALL THE SINNERS BLEED. We will also engage with work by Black poets, playwrights, scholars, and theorists grappling with the question of what it means to be Black in rural spaces. Additional writers may include: August Wilson, Pearle Cleage, bell hooks, Ann Moody, Katherine McKittrick, Imani Perry, Michael Klebber Diggs, and Frank X. Walker. This course satisfies the Identity and Power distribution requirement.
3 Credits