Exploration of August Wilson's Play, Fences
8-weeks | Available (Membership Required)
The textbook for this session is Fences by August Wilson. We will watch the movie in the first two sessions; then we will analyze the text, paying close attention to the specific elements of African American literature. Wilson’s play addresses the role of Black men in American society and the many barriers, real and imagined, to their upward mobility. The relationship between fathers and sons, the exclusion of Black men from sports in the early history of America and the impact of the prison system on the life of the Black man are the surface issues immediately seen in the play.
Jaqueline Goffe-McNish
Dr. Jacqueline Goffe-McNish was a professor of English and Humanities at Dutchess Community College for thirty-two years. She completed a doctorate in education at St. John Fisher University. Her dissertation research topic was “The Retention of Faculty of Color at Community Colleges.” She has written two textbooks: Composition in Fifteen Weeks and Analysis, Approaches and Appeals in Introductory Literature. She was awarded the SUNY Chancellor Award for Excellence in Teaching. She is the superintendent of Sunday school at Bethel Missionary Baptist Church and teaches the adult Sunday school class.