BLST 318 Waywardness, Fugitivity, and the Anarchism of Blackness
Saidiya Hartman (2019) conveys the social significance of waywardness for Black life: “Waywardness is an ongoing exploration of what might be; it is an improvisation with the terms of social existence, when the terms have already been dictated, when there is little room to breathe, when you have been sentenced to a life of servitude, when the house of bondage looms in whatever direction you move.” In this course, we will study waywardness, fugitivity, and the anarchism of Blackness as integral concepts for understanding how Black people have navigated the treacherous terrain of slavery and its afterlife. Through historical and contemporary case studies, discussion, and engagement with a range of thinkers, including, but not limited to, Saidiya Hartman, Lucy Parsons, Zoé Samudzi, William C. Anderson, Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin, and Fred Moten, students will explore how anarchism (broadly defined) is a critical resource for Black life.