The novel we are currently reading in African-American Literature II
This semester I am taking African-American Literature with Dr. Mary. I was very worried about it because I am very sensitive to race issues, and I thought that maybe this course might be emotionally taxing. I was also worried about being the only black girl in the course which would automatically make me the one who would have to represent the race. Surprisingly, the class has been fun and engaging; I have not felt the urge to cry once which I tend to do when I am emotionally invested in a topic. We also have a good mix of backgrounds in the class.
So far we have only read one of the four novels we have for this semester, but I really enjoyed it. Despite being black, I have not read much black literature outside of children’s stories. The first novel I read with a black protagonist actually confused me because I had been so accustomed to creating stories and images in my mind with white protagonists. Thus, this class is helping me a lot in terms of seeing the effects of having African-American literature and how that affects the black community.
This class has already helped me understand myself more. It challenges what I think about minority politics and what it means to black in society. I am constantly learning about the effects of slavery and how that has contributed to the current states of affairs in the United States. It is a better history lesson than I could have imagined and has encouraged me to read more so that I can understand the situations of others.
I love classes that inspire me to learn and grow. In this course, I have been inspired to learn more about the history that affects my world and how others see me. I would also love to learn more about the perspective of other minority groups all over the world. The more I read, the more understanding I will gain and then the better person I will be. All in all, this is looking to a fun semester with lots of interesting discussion.
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