In closing, I would like to say that this was one of the most enjoyable classes I have had the pleasure of taking. It seemed that most everyone in the class had something to contribute to the discussion, and it was hardly ever just a few people leading the discussion during the class period. It was also a great relief to not just hear the literary analysis of the novels, poetry, short stories, and speeches that we read in class. Yes, the literary analysis and close readings are greatly important in writing papers and being an English major, but it was a relief to be able to have the casual discussions permitted in this class. It sparked ideas in my mind for later discussion and taught me a bit more about the personalities of those who spoke.
It was also a relief to study works that were not either white Americans or Europeans. There are more types of literature than this in the world and, unfortunately, most students will not have the chance in high school to read writers that are not white or European. Even in college, some of these students may never be exposed to the kind of literature we read in class. This whole experience opened my mind up to a wider variety of literature that I had no knowledge of, for the most part, beforehand. Now, I look to a future where writers do not have to be labeled based upon their race or ethnicity. It will be acceptable for writers to write about characters outside of their race and have their novels read in all types of classrooms. They will not have to be considered just African American writers; they can be placed alongside the greatest writers of the known world and have their works read outside of a class entitled African American Literature II.
Above all, I wish good luck to those of us who are sticking around for a semester or more and hope that those of you who are graduating have a wonderful and joyous life ahead of you. I hope that each of you was left with the positive memories of an experience and a class just as I was.
