Encompassing an array of genres and forms, this course examines black culture, literature, and performance from mid-20th century to present. It engages aesthetic, critical, and political issues related to seminal periods such as the Black Arts Movement of 1960's, the Third Renaissance of 1980's-90's, and the ascent of the first U.S. president of African descent. This course examines how forms of performance such as folklore and work songs, the blues, jazz, and rap, all shape cultural and literary production. Authors may include Lorraine Hansberry, Ernest Gaines, Gloria Naylor, Ice Cube, Cornell West, Marlon Riggs, Tupac, India Arie, Percival Everett, Nikky Finney, Natasha Tretheway, Barack Obama, and others. Open to students from any major. Provides ENG Major Elective credit and ENG minor credit.