Black Studies 246 - Black Girlhood Studies

(Offered as BLST 246 [US] /SWAG 246.)  The course introduces students to theories, methods, and analytical approaches to the study of Black girlhood.  Students will interrogate Black girlhood as a political category of identity and symbol of agency, addressing such topics as foundations of the field, utility of the categories of "girl" and "woman" and representation of Black girlhood in academic literature and popular culture.  We will explore problems pressing upon the lives of Black girls with respect to their lived experiences of work, sexuality, and education and illuminate the strategies, genius and potential of Black girls and Black girlhood.  Working within and beyond Black radical hip hop feminist frameworks, our learning will involve thinking through and embodying theories and practices -- emancipatory, humanizing, radical acts -- as produced by Black girls, artists, and scholars.  Class materials will include journal articles, films, novels, music and student-generated ethnographic observations.

Fall semester.  Professor Hill.