(Re)making masculinities: Black British Writers and the Poetics of Gender -taster

About this course

The course focuses on selected poems from Inua Ellams’ The Actual and extracts from Caleb Azumah Nelson’s Open Water. Discussion will consider how ethnic, cultural and social identities intersect with representations of masculinity, including the influence of technology, social media and populist politics. Learners will examine how poetic and novelistic forms create space for different expressions of gender. Poems and extracts will be supplied before or during the class, providing material for close reading and critical discussion.

What you'll learn

• Identify literary and poetic techniques in contemporary poetry
• Analyse constructions of masculinity in relation to social and cultural identity
• Discuss how Black British writers use literary form to question canonicity and develop new expressions of masculinity

Is this course right for you?

The course is open to learners at all levels. An interest in reading contemporary poetry is likely to be useful, but the source does not specify particular previous study or experience.

• Suitable for learners exploring contemporary Black British literature
• Involves critical consideration of gender, identity and literary representation

Before you go

• Selected poems and extracts from Open Water will be provided before or during the class.
• Learners are recommended to buy or borrow a copy of Open Water and read it in advance.
• No work outside the class is required.