Cross-listed with AASP478E. Credit only granted for ENGL438B or AASP478E.

In investigating a broad range of materials: essays, literature, film, VR, and video games, this class in digital study and practice explores the long history of Black Atlantic engagement with digital techniques and modalities. Over the course of the semester students will engage a variety of hands on experiences, creating or conceptualizing digital objects as entry points into learning how to read digital experiences from both cultural and computational perspectives. Writing assignments will especially focus on how play and interactivity impact narrative and representation. By combining close reading practice with digital treatments of canonical African American texts, this class will help students historicize important cross-fertilizations between Black expressive traditions and a range of contemporary media.