This course investigates selected writers of the early African-American tradition, primarily from the mid-eighteenth century to post- Reconstruction. Inquiry focuses on the literary modes and genres that were central to the creation of a distinct African-American literary voice and canon, including slave narratives, folklore, poetry, drama, and more. Authors can include Phyllis Wheatley, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, William Wells Brown, Frances Harper, Charles Chesnutt, Martin Delaney, Sojourner Truth, and others. Open to students from any major.