PROF. ANNA SCACCHI
Slavery, Diasporic Identities, and Counternarratives of Modernity
Since the second half of the twentieth century American slavery has gained major prominence in historiography and sociocultural debates and has become a crucial theme in the literature, cinema and visual arts of the Black Diaspora in the Americas. Through the reading of novels selected from among the most interesting contemporary works of US and Caribbean literature, the course will focus on slavery as constitutive of Western modernity, both in its historical developments and present legacies. Basing on Linda Hutcheon’s notion of “historiographic metafiction,” we will investigate how these works critique national master narratives of the past and historiographic methods at large.
Classes will be delivered both as lectures and seminars. Students’ participation in discussions and through brief oral presentations will be encouraged. Because of the multidisciplinary focus of the topics explored and its methodological approach, the course will often rely on films and other audio visual material and, whenever possible, will host guest lecturers.
Slavery, Diasporic Identities, and Counternarratives of Modernity
Since the second half of the twentieth century American slavery has gained major prominence in historiography and sociocultural debates and has become a crucial theme in the literature, cinema and visual arts of the Black Diaspora in the Americas. Through the reading of novels selected from among the most interesting contemporary works of US and Caribbean literature, the course will focus on slavery as constitutive of Western modernity, both in its historical developments and present legacies. Basing on Linda Hutcheon’s notion of “historiographic metafiction,” we will investigate how these works critique national master narratives of the past and historiographic methods at large.
Classes will be delivered both as lectures and seminars. Students’ participation in discussions and through brief oral presentations will be encouraged. Because of the multidisciplinary focus of the topics explored and its methodological approach, the course will often rely on films and other audio visual material and, whenever possible, will host guest lecturers.
- Docente: Anna Scacchi