Critical Theories: Hybridity and African Diaspora |
Critical Theories: Hybridity and African Diaspora
Rutgers University, Newark
Spring 2013
Belinda Edmondson, Professor and Director, Women’s & Gender Studies
This course will investigate the concept of the hybrid society, or “hybridity”, in African-American and Caribbean literature. Hybridity here refers to both culturally and ethnically hybrid communities and peoples. Specifically, we will concentrate on the ambivalent representations of the multiracial ideal for African-descended societies, from W.E.B. DuBois’ articulation of African-American identity as a dual, or “double-voiced”, one, to Caribbean images of the mixed-race citizen as the core of a uniquely Caribbean identity. Course readings will emphasize historical context as well as the theoretical foundations for hybridity discourse.
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