The Routledge Introduction to African American Literature considers the key literary, political, historical and intellectual contexts of African American literature from its origins to the present, and also provides students with an analysis of the most up-to-date literary trends and debates in African American literature. This accessible and engaging guide covers a variety of essential topics such as:Vernacular, Oral, and Blues Traditions in LiteratureSlave Narratives and Their InfluenceThe Harlem RenaissanceMid-twentieth century black American LiteratureLiterature of the civil rights and Black Power eraContemporary African American WritingKey thematic and theoretical debates within the fieldExamining the relationship between the literature and its historical and sociopolitical contexts, D. Quentin Miller covers key authors and works as well as less canonical writers and themes, including literature and music, female authors, intersectionality and transnational black writing.