Département de langue et littérature anglaises

“The Death of Clotel.” Frontispiece of the 1853 edition of William Wells Brown’s novel, Clotel; or, The President's Daughter:

A Narrative of Slave Life in the United States, by Partridge & Oakey, London.

32 E 0095 The Tragic Mulatta

BA Seminar Littérature moderne et contemporaine des 19e, 20e et 21e siècles

Credit can be obtained for BA5, BA6 or BA7

Schedule Fall Semester 2009

Thursday 12-14, Phil 017

Instructor Annick Challet

022/ 379 78 87

Office CO 210, Comédie

Office hours Thursdays,10-11, or by appointment

Course Description Tragic mulatta novels emerged in African American literature in the 19^th century as a genre offering new possibilities of literary expression in a tradition dominated by slave narratives. Not only did this character type give African American writers the opportunity to address issues of racial equality from a fresh perspective; it also allowed them to challenge gender conventions in fiction. We will trace the evolution of this figure of hybridity from its debut in Victor Séjour’s short story, “The Mulatto”, and in William Wells Brown’s “Clotel” to its appropriation by women writers such as Frances W.E. Harper and Nella Larsen.

Works studied The following texts can be ordered from www.amazon.de:

Brown, William Wells. Clotel ; Or the President’s Daughter. 1853. London: Penguin Classics, 2004.

Harper, Frances E.W. Iola Leroy; Or Shadows Uplifted. 1892. Oxford UP, 1990. (Shomburg Library of 19th Century Black Women Writers)

Larsen, Nella. The Complete Fiction of Nella Larsen: Passing, Quicksand, and The Stories. Anchor, 2001.

Short stories will be available for photocopying from the English library.

Syllabus Bibliography Requirements

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