The Voice of Toni Morrison

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the Nobel Prize for Literature, Toni Morrison, who passed away in August of last year, ranks as one of America’s greatest novelists. As Mason Stokes, a scholar of Toni Morrison, says, “Her work explores contradictions that lie at the heart of American identity: the love of freedom in a country founded on slavery; the fact of racial bigotry in a country allegedly dedicated to equality; and the role of community in a country that worships the individual.” In this course, we will focus on understanding Morrison’s complex American experience through a selection of her novels, most likely including The Bluest Eye, Sula, and Beloved. We’ll also read excerpts from her nonfiction work, Playing in the Dark, as well as a selection of scholarly criticism.