This course will examine European colonialism from the perspective of black writers of French, Spanish and Portuguese expression. Our approach focuses intently on the literary aesthetics, textual unicity and poetic strategies under-girding the art of post-colonial writing, as markedly exemplified by black Spanish American, Brazilian, and Francophone writers. In this process, we shall question by what means and to what extent the works explored underscore the phenomenon of difference: difference from constituents of the more traditional canon, difference from alternate contemporary models, difference, perhaps, even from themselves. Writers will include: Césaire, Zoebel, Sembène Ousmane, Oyono, Memmi, Fanon, Cubena, Olivella, Manzano, Montejo, Lima Barreto, de Jesus, and selected poems by Damas, Morejon, Guillen, Roumain, Senghor.

This course is cross-listed as French/Spanish 4980/7980.