Toni Morrison’s Paradise, her first novel published after she received the Nobel Prize in Literature, is well worth the reader’s time and intellectual energy. It contains many familiar Morrison hallmarks: compelling characters; unexpected plot twists; historical analogues; the importance of community; the redemptive power of love; and questions about the past, race, gender, and violence that remain relevant today. Beginning with its provocative opening sentence “They shoot the white girl first,” Paradise explores the ways fear—of the Other, the unknown, and powerlessness--can lead to discrimination, sexism, exclusion, and terrorism. Morrison’s belief that literature is a collaboration between writer and reader is the bedrock of this discussion-based class that will consider Morrison’s powerful writing and the complex issues she raises in this novel. Note: Please sign up for this course only if you are able to read 60 pages of text each week and participate fully in discussion. 

Required Reading: Paradise, Toni Morrison

Registration deadline: Jan. 14