Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man Continued

Dear students,

As you continue reading Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man, think about your overall evaluation of our nameless narrator. What do you applaud about him? What do you critique? What message about race, class, and gender in American do you think Johnson seeks to leave you with? And why do you he tells us this story through the genre of autobiography?

Looking forward to our discussion tomorrow--please come in ready to debate and discuss this provocative text!

Comments on Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man

Dear students,

For each day of blogging I will set up a post, and you will write your commentary (1-2 developed paragraphs, ideally tied closely to the text--try to discuss specific language and specific scenes) in the comments section. Click on the link below.

You are free to write on whatever strikes you as interesting, intriguing, or inexplicable in the section we will be discussing. For example, you might want to think about how knowing that this text is a novel and not an autobiography reshapes our conception of its purpose. You might also think about how Johnson's text nods to slave narratives. What kind of social and cultural critiques does the novel offer? And why does it do so through irony?

Let me know if you have any questions!

Welcome to the Class Blog for English 2353!

Welcome to the blog for English 2353! Throughout the spring semester, we will use this blog as a forum for responding to and analyzing the novels we will be reading. In addition to in-class participation, your contributions to this blog will be assessed as part of your final grade. I will also be using the blog as a way to make class announcements, post handouts or sample papers, describe assignments and respond to questions.

My expectations are that you will contribute to this blog with the same degree of respect, thoughtfulness, and intellect that you use in making oral contributions to class discussion. Please "attend" this blog regularly between our class meetings and contribute a minimum of once a week (we'll set up a schedule in class). Identify your posts either with your name or an identifiable version of your name (e.g., "Sally H.").

Let me know if you have any questions!