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ENG32560

Academic Year 2026/2027

Writing Black: African American Literature and Racial Consciousness (ENG32560)

Subject:
English
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
English, Drama & Film
Level:
3 (Degree)
Credits:
10
Module Coordinator:
Professor Adam Kelly
Trimester:
Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

This module explores the historical development of racial consciousness in African American writing from the nineteenth century to the present. With the legacies of transatlantic slavery and W.E.B. Du Bois’s classic notion of “double consciousness” as central through-lines, the module addresses texts from across a range of genres: fiction, autobiography, drama, poetry, film, and theory. We will explore how consciousness of race and racialization has been articulated by Black writers in a variety of historical contexts, from slave narratives through the New Negro Renaissance and Civil Rights era to the contemporary moment of Black Lives Matter. We will also examine how race has intersected for African American writers with other concerns, including class, gender, sexuality, economy, and political activism. The title of the module is intended to signify in multiple ways: as a suggestion that blackness can be as much a question of writing as of being; as a gesture towards the figure of black type on a white page, found in the work of many African American writers; and as an allusion to “writing back,” a mobilizing phrase for many anti-colonial literary movements. Attending to these varying resonances, the module offers students an opportunity to explore how African American writers have grappled with and shaped American racial consciousness, in the political sphere and on the page.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

1. Identify key issues in the study of African American literature
2. Articulate the importance of (and challenges to) the idea of “double consciousness” in this literature
3. Explore the wider theoretical, cultural, political and artistic contexts surrounding African American literature in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, including the legacy of antebellum slavery
4. Display strong primary and secondary research skills – undertaking research, application of research, transmission of research
5. Demonstrate ability to discuss complex ideas in class and/or in written assignments

Indicative Module Content:

Novels by Ralph Ellison, Nella Larsen, and Toni Morrison.
Short Stories by Derrick Bell, Octavia Butler, and Richard Wright.
Poetry by Jericho Brown, Mari Evans, Nikki Giovanni, Langston Hughes, Audre Lorde, Claudia Rankine, and Sonia Sanchez.
Drama by Amiri Baraka.
Film by Jordan Peele.
Autobiography by James Baldwin and Frederick Douglass.
Essays by W.E.B. DuBois, Barbara Fields, Richard Wright, Malcolm X, Toni Morrison, Larry Neal, Alondra Nelson, Keeanga-Yamattha Taylor, Sarah Lauro, and G.W.F Hegel.

UNESCO highlights a set of key competencies that support individuals in their development and support society in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UCD has adapted these competencies and is combining them with others to form a general framework of learning competencies. This module will help you develop the competencies below to the levels specified. 
Learning Competency Additional Information Level

Collaboration

 The ability to learn from others; to understand and respect the needs, perspectives and actions of others (empathy); to understand, relate to and be sensitive to others (empathic leadership); to deal with conflicts in a group; and to facilitate collaborative and participatory problem solving. Competent

Critical Thinking

 The ability to question norms, practices and opinions; to reflect on one’s own values, perceptions and actions. Competent

Systems Thinking

 The ability to recognize and understand relationships; to analyse complex systems; to think of how systems are embedded within different domains and different scales; and to deal with uncertainty. Competent

Strategic

 The ability to collectively develop and implement innovative actions that further sustainability at the local level and further afield. Advanced Beginner

Integrated Problem Solving

 The overarching ability to apply different problem-solving frameworks to complex sustainability problems and develop viable, inclusive and equitable solution options that promote sustainable development, integrating the competencies in this list. Advanced Beginner

Self-awareness

 The ability to reflect on one’s own role in the local community and (global) society; to continually evaluate and further motivate one’s actions; and to deal with one’s feelings and desires. Competent

Normative

 The ability to understand and reflect on the norms and values that underlie one’s actions; and to negotiate values, principles, goals, and targets, in a context of conflicts of interest and trade-offs, uncertain knowledge and contradictions. Competent

Anticipatory

 The ability to understand and evaluate multiple scenarios for the future – possible, probable and desirable; to create one’s own visions for the future; to apply the precautionary principle; to assess the consequences of actions; and to deal with risks and changes. Advanced Beginner

Digital Literacy and Judgement

 The ability to access, evaluate, create and communicate information in digital environments; to engage critically, ethically and responsibly with digital technologies and digital information; to understand their opportunities, limitations, risks and impact on individual’s digital identities; and to exercise informed judgement in digital participation and decision-making. Competent

AI Literacy & Agency

 The ability to understand, critically evaluate and responsibly engage with artificial intelligence; to recognise how AI systems are shaped by human values; to assess their ethical, social and environmental implications; and to exercise human judgement, agency and accountability in AI-related contexts. Competent

Wellbeing

 Wellbeing is having the resources and skills to meet life's challenges, including attributes such as personal development skills, resilience, stress management, strengths, lifestyle skills, nutrition, physical activity, sleep, alcohol/substance use, academic skills, time management, goal setting, interpersonal skills, group work, communication. Competent

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


Goal Name Description Coverage

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all 1

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls 1

Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all 1

Reduce inequality within and among countries 1
 

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Seminar (or Webinar)

24
Specified Learning Activities

32
Autonomous Student Learning

144
Total

200

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Seminars are discussion-based and will feature a mix of close reading of textual passages and consideration of context and general themes. I will draw on your contribution to discussion boards for the week in question, so be prepared to follow up in class on comments made in that forum.

The use of AI is discouraged on this module. If students do choose to use AI, it should be strictly limited to planning and research. All submissions for credit, including discussion posts, should be authored entirely by the student.

A proportion of written assignments in each module in the School of English, Drama and Film are subject to moderation, meaning they undergo a second layer of review by another grader. This is to promote consistency within and between modules in the same level and discipline.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Participation in Learning Activities: Plan for final essay Week 9 Pass/Fail Grade Scale No
10
 No
Assignment(Including Essay): Final essay on agreed topic Week 15 Graded No
50
 No
Participation in Learning Activities: Participation in Brightspace Discussion Board Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11, Week 12 Graded No
40
 No

As part of UCD's student support, under the Additional Consideration policy, extensions may be available for the following assessments in the module: Assignment (including essay/poster), Portfolio, Reflective Assignment, Report(s), and Individual Project.


Carry forward of passed components
No
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Self-assessment activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Online discussion board: Informal feedback is offered to the group through written engagement by the module coordinator, and through verbal comments in the classes. Summative feedback is offered on the discussion board performance at the end of the module. Essay plan: Written feedback is offered by the module coordinator on the essay plan of each student, and module coordinator is available for follow-up discussion in office hours. Summative feedback is offered on the final essay.

DOUGLASS, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself. Norton, 2016. ISBN: 978-0393265446
ELLISON, Ralph. Invisible Man. Vintage, 1995. ISBN: 978-0141184425
LARSEN, Nella. Passing. Modern Library, 2001. ISBN: 978-0375758133
MORRISON, Toni. The Bluest Eye. Vintage, 1999. ISBN: 978-0099759911
RANKINE, Claudia. Citizen: An American Lyric. Penguin, 2015. ISBN: 978-0141981772

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Autumn Seminar Offering 1 Week(s) - Autumn: All Weeks Tues 15:00 - 16:50
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