Rescuing the Literary in Black Studies

In: Journal of black studies, Band 36, Heft 5, S. 764-785

Abstract

Maulana Karenga ends the "Creative Production" chapter in Introduction to Black Studieswith a justifiable, negative critique of literature's modern lapse into types of detachment and personal gratification that are antithetical to the Black studies enterprise. Scholars have embraced this negative critique of the possibilities of literature to contribute to the problem-solving activities of the discipline. Karenga's critique is required study for the discipline as he issues a call for discourse "to provoke and expand the discussion, not to close or avoid it." This essay is a response, provoked by Karenga, that evaluates axiological and epistemological variables of the academy, the discipline of Black studies, and African culture that support the rescue of the literary in Black studies.