Listed in: Black Studies, as BLST-241 | History, as HIST-248
Stefan Bradley (Section 01)
(Offered as HIST 248 [US/TR/TS; or may be included in AF concentration, but not AF for distribution in the History major], and BLST 241[US]) This course surveys African-American history from Emancipation through the Trump presidency, exploring topics such as Reconstruction, the age of Jim Crow, the Great Migration and Harlem Renaissance, and the Civil Rights and Black Lives Matter movements. Major questions to be addressed include the following: What visions for freedom did African Americans hold in the aftermath of slavery? How have black Americans fought to secure social, economic, and political rights? How has government both supported and subverted black people’s efforts to lay claim to citizenship? How have gender and capitalism shaped the lives and labors of black Americans? What have been the afterlives of slavery and segregation in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, particularly in the areas of voting rights, housing, mass incarceration, policing, and health outcomes? Students will use both primary and secondary sources to investigate how—in the face of numerous challenges—African Americans created vibrant new cultures, accumulated property, built strong communities, and challenged the United States to live up to its founding ideals. Readings include foundational texts in modern African-American history, including writings by Ida B. Wells, W.E.B. Du Bois, Zora Neale Hurston, Richard Wright, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Michelle Obama, among others. Two meetings per week. Limited to 25 students.
Fall semester. Professor Bradley.
How to handle overenrollment: Priority will be given to students with a demonstrated interest in Black Studies and History. Afterwards, the instructor will prioritize students at the beginning of their college careers.
Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Close analysis of historical evidence, which may include written documents, images, music, films, or statistics from the historical period under study. Exploration of scholarly, methodological, and theoretical debates about historical topics. Extensive reading, varying forms of written work, and intensive in-class discussions.
Section 01
Tu 2:30 PM - 3:50 PM CHAP 203
Th 2:30 PM - 3:50 PM CHAP 203
| ISBN | Title | Publisher | Author(s) | Comment | Book Store | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide | 2017 | Anderson, Carol | Amherst Books | TBD | ||
| When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America | 1984 | Giddings, Paula | Amherst Books | TBD | ||
| Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership | 2021 | Taylor, Keeanga-Yamahtta | Amherst Books | TBD | ||
| The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. | 2021 | Joseph, Peniel | Amherst Books | TBD | ||
| A More Beautiful and Terrible History: The Uses and Misuses of Civil Rights History | 2019 | Theoharis, Jeanne | Amherst Books | TBD |
These books are available locally at Amherst Books.