Teaching

Perceptions – PR 401: This upper-level course examines the various ways Black artists addressed issues surrounding race, gender, sexuality, and class within the larger framework of U.S. history and society. Students will critically examine artwork, literature, film, and music within the broad historical framework of African American intellectual history, and their engagement with controversial social, political, and economic issues in American society within their art.

Spike Lee & The Black Aesthetic – PR 445: This upper-level course examines race, gender, sexuality, and class in Spike Lee films within the larger framework of U.S. history and society. Spike Lee has been classified by many as one of the most important African American filmmakers in American history. The often-controversial productions of Lee have been extensively examined by critics and scholars since his first film She’s Gotta Have It was released. This class will consider various Spike Lee “joints” from multiple disciplinary perspectives including history, film studies, sociology, and gender studies. We will critically examine Lee’s work within the broad historical framework of African American intellectual history and in terms of his engagement with controversial social, political, and economic issues in American society within his films. Lee’s films will also be analyzed for the aestheticization of larger historical, cultural, and social aspects of U.S. society.