AAS 2727

Course Description

Which performances of Blackness do we find acceptable, and which do we scorn? How have Black Americans worked to assert their value in a media climate that seemingly relies on dichotomies of exceptionalism and deficiency? We will examine how African American culture, history, and experiences--"Blackness"--are presented in popular media. We will focus on representations of Blackness as offered up by Black people and how, intra-racially, concepts of racial uplift and good Black citizenship.