University of Texas Arlington

In “Remixing the American Dream: History of American Literature,” we will explore a range of authors and works, both canonical and less well-known, illustrating the diversity of perspectives and kinds of writing produced in what is now the United States. Students will gain experience analyzing stylistics features of literary texts and making connections between a diverse cast of American artists. We will read the works of mainstream American writers alongside those who represent more marginalized perspectives, exploring shifting ideas of cultural identity and national belonging.

“The Life and Times of S. Carter” places Jay Z’sThe Black Album (2003) in a broad African American literary continuum of autobiographical and semi-autobiographical works. In this course, we will use text-mining software to quantify linguistic and thematic trends between Jay Z’s albums and classic literary texts by writers such as Frederick Douglass, Richard Wright, Malcolm X, and Ralph Ellison. We will compile quantitative and qualitative datasets on Jay Z in order to produce thematic data visualizations, literary timelines, and a list of key terms, pinpointing intellectual and cultural components of rap music.

“The Life and Times of S. Carter” places Jay Z’sThe Black Album (2003) in a broad African American literary continuum of autobiographical and semi-autobiographical works. In this course, we will use text-mining software to quantify linguistic and thematic trends between Jay Z’s albums and classic literary texts by writers such as Frederick Douglass, Richard Wright, Malcolm X, and Ralph Ellison. We will compile quantitative and qualitative datasets on Jay Z in order to produce thematic data visualizations, literary timelines, and a list of key terms, pinpointing intellectual and cultural components of rap music.

This course examines the intellectual history surrounding creative conflicts in African American artistic history. We will track creative conflicts ranging fro W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington, Richard Wright and Zora Neale Hurston, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X as well as examining contemporary battles by rap figures such Lil Kim and Nicki Minaj. In this class, we will use digital tools to uncover the underlying features of signifying and public debates by analyzing linguistic features and thematic characteristics of select figures. Specifically, we will analyze speeches, essays, and short compositions using text-mining software in order to extract information and create datasets about black literary figures.

From Slavery to Hip Hop focuses on African American literary compositions produced over more than 150 years.  We will cover works by a wide range of writers and cultural figure, including Frederick Douglass, Zora Neale Hurston, Malcolm X, Toni Morrison, and Jay Z. Students will gain experience analyzing stylistics features of literary texts and making connections between a diverse cast of black artists. We will compile metadata on various black writers in order to produce thematic data visualizations, literary timelines, and a list of key terms, pinpointing intellectual and cultural components of African American literary art. 

“Geo-coding Black Short Stories” focuses on a range of texts by Charles Chesnutt, Zora Neale Hurston, Richard Wright, Toni Cade Bambara, Edward P. Jones and others to examine the racial-spatial dimensions of African American short fiction. Students will use of quantitative data and text-mining software to create datasets that illuminate the significance of ‘black’ geography and corresponding thematic trends.

“The Life and Times of S. Carter” places Jay Z’s self-described “four classic albums”—Reasonable Doubt (1996), The Blueprint (2001), The Black Album (2003), and Vol. 2 (1998)— in a broad African American literary continuum of autobiographical works. In this course, we will use text-mining software to quantify linguistic and thematic trends between Jay Z’s albums and classic literary texts by writers such as Frederick Douglass, Richard Wright, Malcolm X, and Ralph Ellison. We will compile metadata on Jay Z in order to produce thematic data visualizations, literary timelines, and a list of key terms, pinpointing intellectual and cultural components of rap music.

From Slavery to Hip Hop focuses on African American literary compositions produced over more than 150 years.  We will cover works by a wide range of writers and cultural figure, including Frederick Douglass, Zora Neale Hurston, Malcolm X, Toni Morrison, and Jay Z. Students will gain experience analyzing stylistics features of literary texts and making connections between a diverse cast of black artists. 

“Empire State of Mind” concentrates on a range of texts—novel excerpts, short stories, poems, and rap music—that present New York City as a focal point. Students will develop a sharper awareness of the importance of New York in African American artistic history and gain experience analyzing literary texts.