Nov 21, 2024  
2022-2023 Catalogue 
    
Catalog Navigation
  Catalogue Home
  The College of Wooster
  The Academic Program
  Areas of Study
  Course Numbering
  Courses
  Special Programs and Educational Opportunities
  Student Resources
  Degree Requirements
  Academic Policies
  Admissions, Expenses, and Financial Aid
  Academic Calendar
  Travel Directions
  Campus Map
  Four Year Calendar
HELP
2022-2023 Catalogue [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

AFST 30001 - The Politics of Black Hair

Course Credit: 1
(WGSS)
THE POLITICS OF BLACK HAIR This course will explore the politics of Black hair in the U.S., Brazil, and the Dominican Republic. In the (post)colonial world, afro hair has been a contested and conspicuous phenotypic marker of Blackness. Eurocentric notions of ‘good hair’ and ‘bad hair,’ which echo the white / Black racial dichotomy, fall particularly on Black women. Given the pervasiveness of anti-Black racist structures, Black women are compelled to navigate the politics of hair in schools, workplaces, and societies at large. Interdisciplinary texts will frame our examination of these issues from historical and transnational perspectives. Readings will include Alice Walker, Audre Lorde, bell hooks, Lélia Gonzalez, and Sueli Carneiro. Prerequisite(s): AFST-10000 and a 200-level course in Africana Studies (AFST) or permission of instructor. [AH, HSS]