What has been surprising for you at this point in your study of the literature? How has your understanding of the literature informed you as both a student and citizen thus far? Write generously from both an academic and personal point of view, seeking to anchor your studies thus far into the real world of today.
The class I am taking is an African American Literature class. This class focuses on the history and experience of the African people.
The literature for this assignment:Norton Anthology of African American Literature, Third Edition, (Vols.1-2).Smith, Gates, et. al. 2014. W.W. Norton Publishing.
Things I have learned:African American vernacular reflects the culture of people of African ancestry extending beyond the enslavement in the Americas. It's important to remember that Africans, on the continent and throughout the Diaspora were affected and harmed by colonialism, invasion, and chattel slavery. As a result, culture was altered, sometimes removed, and/ or prohibited, so the relationship that Africans have to culture varies. Culture is about history, identity, practice, and survival. That said, African American vernacular is a manifestation of the survival of both African cultural and African people globally. Culture affords Africans the opportunity to connect to a part of themselves that might seem distant and/ or foreign. In fact, they might learn to embrace a part of themselves they've been taught to dislike. The foundation of African culture is the same, there was once a unified Africa, Alkebulan before Europeans and Arabs invaded, enslaved, and divide the continent and people. That said, Africans globally are more alike than not. Ancestry and the foundation of culture, as well as biogenetics, connects Africans.