Solange’s ‘A Seat at the Table’ Serves as Syllabus Inspiration
Solange’s 2016 album A Seat at the Table is serving as the basis and inspiration for a forthcoming course syllabus. According to a post on Solange’s Saint Heron website via Pitchfork, the project is helmed by a team that includes writer Melissa Harris-Perry, Wake Forest University students and scholars. The aforementioned syllabus curators are calling for young women of color to contribute submissions to help build the syllabus via the Seatsyllabus website.
“Solange Knowles’ A Seat at the Table has been one of the most reflective and popular albums produced by a young black woman that speaks to issues of race, womanhood and equality,” a statement on the website reads. “At the beginning [of] this new year, and as we witness the inauguration of a new president, we invite young women of color, ages 16-30, to have a seat at the table by helping us collect the texts, music and visual art that speak to our experiences. If we are to have a democracy in which all of us have a seat at the table, we know that these experiences should be central to the development of America’s practices and policies.”
The A Seat at the Table-inspired syllabus is based on the album’s themes and will address five topics, including Resisting Racism, Understanding Gender and Sexuality, the Role of Relationships and Nurturing Ourselves. The fifth theme, A Seat at the Lunch Table, is geared towards elementary and middle school aged girls.
Seatsyllabus‘ call for submissions deadline is January 31st.