Respectability politics has long circumscribed the Black American experience and the literature produced by Black communities. This course examines some of the earliest examples of that literature to understand where, how, and why protest emerged in African American literature as a strategy to combat American racism and state-sanctioned violence.

Students explore not only the potential sound and form of an early American poem but also the factors that contribute to its perceived literary or cultural value. 

Students write discussion questions and craft prompts to build a deeper relationship with their assigned texts.

This course asks students to reconsider their understanding of early American culture by taking seriously Black Africans and Natives as intellectuals and as cultural doers during the early modern period.

Cassander L. Smith explores the enduring myth of respectability politics by tracing its roots from the 18th century to the present day.

A syllabus exploring early modern literature to trace racial discourse development across transatlantic encounters and Black intellectual history.