Keyana Parks specializes in 20th- and 21st-century American literature, specifically African American literature. She is particularly interested in African American satire and humor. Her current project, which she is developing for manuscript, examines 21st century African American satire within the context of debates surrounding the term "post Black," Black women's intervention in the genre, and how the study of satire can reformulate our understanding of the African American literary tradition.
Areas of Expertise
African American Literature, Satire, Black Feminist and Cultural Studies
Education
2019 — Doctor of Philosophy from University of Pennsylvania
2010 — Bachelor of Arts from Spelman College
Courses Recently Taught
ENGL 103
Introduction to Literature and Language
ENGL 103
Each section of these first-year seminars approaches the study of literature through the exploration of a single theme in texts drawn from a variety of literary genres (such as tragedy, comedy, lyric poetry, epic, novel, short story, film and autobiography) and historical periods. Classes are small, offering intensive discussion and close attention to each student's writing. Students in each section are asked to work intensively on composition as part of a rigorous introduction to reading, thinking, speaking and writing about literary texts. During the semester, instructors will assign frequent essays and may also require oral presentations, quizzes, examinations and research projects. This course is not open to juniors and seniors without permission of the department chair. Offered every year.
ENGL 104
Introduction to Literature and Language
ENGL 104
Each section of these first-year seminars approaches the study of literature through the exploration of a single theme in texts drawn from a variety of literary genres (such as tragedy, comedy, lyric poetry, epic, novel, short story, film and autobiography) and historical periods. Classes are small, offering intensive discussion and close attention to each student's writing. Students in each section are asked to work intensively on composition as part of a rigorous introduction to reading, thinking, speaking and writing about literary texts. During the semester, instructors will assign frequent essays and may also require oral presentations, quizzes, examinations and research projects. This course is not open to juniors and seniors without permission of department chair. Offered every year.
ENGL 291
PENDING CPC APPROVAL
ENGL 291
ENGL 388
Studies in 20th-century African American Literature
ENGL 388
W.E.B. DuBois famously observed that the "problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color-line,--the relation of the darker to the lighter races of men..." While one might debate whether that was truly "the" problem of the twentieth century, it certainly proved to be a prominent theme in African-American literature. African-American literature also often turned its gaze inward, reflecting on what it might mean to be a race, and how "the race" might improve its condition. This course will focus on African-American literature written between 1900 and 2000. Subjects considered may include the literature of the Harlem Renaissance, the literature of racial "passing," African-American literature since World War II, the political implications of marriage for a group once legally denied it, and African-American literary feminism. The central questions to be examined may include: Is there a distinctive African-American literary tradition? Are there multiple traditions? How does a body of literature demarked by "race" become inflected by conceptions of gender, ethnicity, social class, or sexual orientation? What are the significant relations between African-American literature and other overlapping literary traditions? What does it mean to speak of identity in literature? This counts toward the post-1900 requirement for the major. Prerequisite: junior standing or ENGL 103 or 104. Offered every year.
ENGL 391
ST: What's So Funny?
ENGL 391
ENGL 491
ST: Ralph Ellison
ENGL 491