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LIT/AAS 371: The Appropriation of Blackness

guide to library resources for students enrolled in Professor Jackson's course

Guide Introduction

Use this guide to find credible sources to complete your assignments for LIT 371:

  • Case Study Presentation (15% of the total grade).
    • Choose a specific popular cultural production, not included on the syllabus, that appropriates African-American artistic production.
    • Two (2) additional sources minimum are required—beyond the 1 required source (essay) from the syllabus.
    • Sources may include magazine and newspaper articles, reviews, and/or scholarly journal articles.
  • Cultural Criticism Essays (15% of the total grade).
    • Theoretically informed analysis of a primary work of art (poetry, novel, short story, visual art, film, performance, etc.) that is either an appropriation of Black creativity or a work produced by Black creators that addresses the appropriation of Black creativity.
    • One (1) peer-reviewed scholarly journal article is required, which may or may not be about your work of art.

If you are researching an artist or work of art, seriously consider consulting my Artists and Artworks libguide.

If you are looking for book, film, or theatrical reviews, consider the Reviews page of my English libguide.

Questions? Use the profile box in the left-hand column to contact me or schedule a research consultation.

Reference Shelf

Companions:

Encyclopedias:

Library Databases

The Gitenstein Library databases listed below facilitate access to articles in credible periodicals including magazines and newspapers as well as scholarly, peer-reviewed journals. If you have chosen a creative individual or creative work to research, use that person's name and/or the name of their creative work as keywords (or search terms). Add a second term to narrow your results. Example: "Kim Kardashian" AND ("cultural appropriation" OR blackfishing).

Best bets:

Also great:

Library Search

The following Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) reveal articles, books, and book chapters. Add a keyword (or search term) and then re-execute your search to retrieve fewer results. Useful keywords include those listed in your syllabus: appropriation, Blackness, intersectionality, performativity, and color-blind, but also influence OR influences. Listed under each heading are a few representative book and e-book titles available from our library.