Write an inventively interpretative essay on the film Daughters of the Dust to highlight an innovative,
compelling, or important aspect of gender and/or sexuality. Focus on one aspect of gender and/or sexuality,
use key terms, use the textbook and one or both articles listed below, and use 1-3 scenes from the film to
interpret in detail. Use MLA style and include a Works Cited. Follow the prompts below and refer to the rubric
as you prepare your thesis, outline, and drafts.
Possible topics: same-sex relationships among women; gender norms and African Americans; African
American masculinity; sexual violence and whiteness; monogamy; gender across generations (reflections or
differences?); traditional notions of gender and modern ones; postcolonial feminism and/or womanism
Beyond these sources, this is not a research paper. Develop the rest of your ideas by interpreting the film and
reflecting on and applying ideas from your readings and class discussions.
Cucinella, Catherine, and Renée R. Curry. “Exiled at Home: Daughters of the Dust and the Many Post-Colonial
Conditions.”
Streeter, Caroline A. “Was Your Mama Mulatto?: Notes toward a Theory of Racialized Sexuality in Gayl Jones’s
Corregidora and and Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust.” Callaloo, vol. 27, no. 3, Summer, 2004, pp. 768-87.