ENG1200HS L0101
Assembling the Afro-Métis Syllabus
Clarke, G. E.
Course Description:
This course reads a representative sample of texts by African-Canadian writers who may be regarded as “Black and Indigenous” and/or “Afro-Métis” and/or who explore this intersectional identity that has been long-obscured, often disputed, and yet indisputably present. Indeed, as more and more Black Canadians claim or name this identity, so will it be necessary to attend to their writing out of a dual-racial, or biracial, experience of oppression, protesting both notions of “race purity” and government definitions of who is or can be “status” Indigenous, Inuit, or Métis. For an introduction to the controversies and conundrums around this Black-and-Indigenous self-concept, see George Elliott Clarke, “Assembling the Afro-Métis Syllabus: Some Preliminary Reading,” Zeitschrift für Kanada-Studien, 42 (2022), pp. 10-41.
Course Reading List:
Atkinson, Ricky, & Joe Fiorito. The Life Crimes and Hard Times of Ricky Atkinson. Exile.
ISBN: 978-1-55096-674-9
Bailey, Troy Burle. The Pierre Bonga Loops. Commodore Books.
ISBN: 9780981390604
Coulthard, Glenn. Red Skin, White Masks. U Minnesota P.
ISBN: 978-0-8166-7965-2
Fanon, Frantz. Black Skin, White Masks. Grove.
0-8021-5084-5
Mills-Proctor, Dorothy. “Born Again Indian.” Kola, 2010, 22 (1), pp. 44-137.
Proctor, Dorothy & Fred Rosen. Chameleon. New Horizons Press.
ISBN: 0-88282-099-0
Tayac, Gabrielle, ed. Indi/Visible. National Museum of the American Indian.
ISBN: 978-1588342713
Willis, Vivian. Mom Suse. Author House.
ISBN: 978-1-4490-5202-7
Method of Evaluation and Course Requirements: [NB: SGS requires that participation grade must not exceed 20% of total grade]
Evaluation:
- 8 Response papers (1 due for each text): 40%
- Research paper: 40%
- Participation: 20%
- Do not plagiarize. (When in doubt, quote.)
- “Participation” requires presence: engaging in discussion and raising questions.
Requirements:
1. Read texts thoroughly and be prepared to comment on them spontaneously.
2. Submit assignments punctually: No late papers accepted without a medical excuse or official equivalent.
Structure:
Seminar discussion.