AFRI 114 AF -Unruly Bodies: Black Womanhood

Institution: Pomona

Description: In this course we will explore and critically analyze representations of black womanhood in popular culture. Closely reading texts, television, music, comedy, and artistic works from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, we will think through some of the processes by which black women’s bodies are socially, politically, and culturally constructed as dangerous, disruptive, and out of control. Another major goal of the course is to consider the various strategies black women take up to foreground pleasure, and various ways of seeing black bodies as healthy and adequate. We can do so by examining competing versions of ‘black womanhood,’ looking at how ideas about the discourse circulate around the hegemonic idea of black women and black femininity as unruly. Letter grade only.

For up-to-date information on current course offerings and details, please refer to the Pitzer class schedule on MyCampus2 Portal.