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Afro-American Studies
Courses
101 Introduction to Black Studies Interdisciplinary introduction to the basic concepts and literature in the disciplines covered by Black Studies. Includes history, the social sciences, and humanities as well as conceptual framework for investigation and analysis of Black history and culture. 111 Survey of African Art (ATD) Major traditions in African art from prehistoric times to present. Allied disciplines of history and archaelogy used to recover the early history of certain art cultures. The aesthetics in African art and the contributions they have made to the development of world art in modern times. 112 Introduction to Clay and Plaster Workshop. Basic techniques and con- ceptualizations in traditional African and Afro-American sculpture forms, e.g., masks. Relation of clay and plaster to metal sculpture. Projects in plaster. No experience required. 113 Aesthetics of Pan-African Art Visual expression in the Black Diaspora (United States, Caribbean, and Latin America) from the early slave era to the present. 132 Afro-American History, 1619-1860 (HSD) (1st sem) Overview of the history of African-Americans from the development of colonial slavery and the rise of African-American communities and culture. African background; Black protest tradition including abolitionism; the distinct experience of Black women. 133 Afro-American History, Civil War to 1954 (HSD) (2nd sem) Major issues and actions from the beginning of the Civil War to the 1954 Supreme Court decision. Focus on political and social history: transition from slavery to emancipation and Reconstruction; the Age of Booker T. Washington; urban migrations, rise of the ghettoes; the ideologies and movements from intergrationism to black nationalism. 151 Culture and Literature (ALD) Relevant forms of Black cultural expressions contributing to the shape and character of contemporary Black culture; the application of these in traditional Black writers. Includes: West African cultural patterns and the Black past; the transition-slavery, the culture of survival; the cultural patterns through literature; and Black perceptions versus white perceptions. 155 Revolutionary Concepts in Afro-American Music I (ATD) Introduction to history of Black music from its African origins to the end of the 19th century. 156 Revolutionary Concepts in Afro-American Music II (ATD) African-American music from the beginning of the 20th century to the present. 161 Introduction to Afro-American Political Science (SBD) Survey of the politics of the Black community in the U.S. The history of Black political development, major theories which explain Black political life, social, economic, psychological and institutional environment from which Black politics flows. Attention paid to 1988 presidential campaign and the rise of Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow Coalition. 190G Racism and the American Experience Some present-day examples of racism in the workplace and criminal justice system. The roots of racism in North America. Examination of the various uses and purposes of racism as they developed over the course of the nation's history. The World War II incarceration of Japanese-Americans and the FBI's suborning of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. The investigation and analysis of contempory racism as expressed in, and revealed by, the print media of today. 191 Seminar: Examines African-American short stories to define, discover, and analyze perspectives with the goal of ascertaining commonality, uniqueness of vision, tension, and artistry. Attempt to place the African-American perspective within the framework of American culture. 211 Textile Design and Fabric Printing Workshop. To produce repeat and non-repeat designs for furnishing or dress fabric. Each design printed on cloth using conventional silkscreening techniques and the direct method. Emphasizes use of lacquer stencil or the direct photographic emulsion technique for making screens. Pigment and fiber reactive dyes used for printing the designs on cloth. 212 Sculpture: Welded Sheet Metal Workshop. Forms and techniques of African masters and Afro-American adaptations in metal sculpture. Attention to aesthetic and conceptual problems. Work primarily in steel. Individual projects. 222 The Black Church in America Survey of West African religions. The development of the Black Christian Church in its visible and "invisible" institutional forms during the colonial period, and the merging of these two branches, free and slave, following the Civil War. Also the emergence of Holiness and Pentecostal sects, the impact of urban migrations on black spiritual expression, the Black Church and civil rights, gender issues, and the recent challenge of Islam. 232 History of Black Nationalism Black nationalism in the United States, beginning with voluntary associations developed by free blacks in the late 19th century up to the Afrocentric "hiphop" expressions of the 1990s. The interrelationships between the economic, political, and cultural forms of African American nationalism analyzed along with its secular and religious expressions. The intimate connections between nationalist and assimilationist tendencies in African American life. 234 Literature of the Harlem Renaissance (ALD) Exploration of the cultural explosion also termed the New Negro movement, from W.E.B. Du Bois through the early work of Richard Wright. Essays, poetry, and fiction, and the blues, jazz, and folklore of the time examined in terms of how Harlem Renaissance artists explored their spiritual and cultural roots, dealt with gender issues, sought artistic aesthetic and style adequate to reflect such concerns. Readings supplemented by contemporary recordings, visual art, and videos. 235 Black Sociological Thought (SBD) Assessment of current sociological views of the African-American experience. 236 History of the Civil Rights Movement (HSD) Examination of the civil rights movement from the Brown v. Topeka decision to the rise of Black power. All the major organizations of the period, e.g., SCLC, SNCC, CORE, NAACP, and the Urban League. The impact on white students and the anti-war movement. 254 Introduction to African Studies (HSD) Introduction to Africa from an interdisciplinary perspective. The chronological sequence from pre-history to contemporary times. Political development and processes, the arts, ethnography, social structures, and economies. 262 The Radical Tradition in American History The rise and fall of various radical movements in the United States from the American Revolution to the 1960s. The success and limitations of ideologies and strategies adopted by American radicals to address the problems of political inequality and social injustice. Topics include abolitionism, labor movements, populism, socialism, feminism, and the civil rights movement. 290A The Afro-American Press (D) The role of minority journalism in the American past and present. Notable editors and newspapers in the 160-year history of the black press, and their contribution to the major issues of their times. The black press of today and its prospects. 290C Seminar: A comprehensive exploration of the African American musical genre known as the blues, including definitions; African and African American roots; social, psychological, and spiritual uses; common and uncommon themes and images; music and lyric structures; regional and chronological stylistic variations; and employment in African American literature. Includes live performances and a wide variety of recordings, films, and videos. No prior knowledge of the blues or reading knowledge of music required. 318 Black Music and Theater Performance class; improvisation with internationally acclaimed saxophonist. Opportunity to learn to improvise by playing compositions of professional artists. Knowledge of chords and scales prerequisite; intermediate students invited to participate. The musical repertory will include works of Parker, Monk, Ellington, etc. 326 Black Women in U.S. History (HSD) The history of African American women from the experience of slavery to the present. Emphasis on the effect of racist institutions and practices on women. The ways in which women organized themselves to address the needs of African Americans in general and their own in particular. The achievements of such leaders as Mary Church Terrell, Harriet Tubman, Ella Baker, and Mary McLeod Bethune as well as lesser known women. 331 Life and Writings of W.E.B. Du Bois (D) Examination of the life and thought of perhaps America's greatest intellectual activist and one of Massachusetts' native sons. Microfilm research in the Du Bois archives in the Tower Library. 345 Southern Literature (ALD) Southern literature by African Americans, including slave narratives, autobiography, fiction and poetry. Concepts and issues of time, oppression and violence, culture and tradition, family and community, roots of social change as they impact factors of identity, race, class, and gender. 361 Revolution in the Third World Changing nature of revolution in the Third World, from the "classical" revolutions in Cuba, China, Algeria and Vietnam to the popular insurgencies of Grenada, Iran, the Philippines and Haiti. Internal and external factors which have contributed to the fall from grace of many of these once popularly supported struggles. 365 Composition: Style and Organization Expository writing focusing primarily on argumentative and narrative essays. Discussion and practice of logic-inductive and deductive reasoningas it relates to the argumentative essay form. Topics as thesis on main idea, organization, style, unity, supporting evidence, avoiding logical fallacies, and basic writing mechanics, including constructing sentences, paragraphing, transitions, and correct grammar. 390E Race, Ethnicity and Gender in U.S. History (HSD) Examination of situations which illuminate intersection of race, ethnicity, and gender in antebellum U.S.: contact and interaction between American Indians, African-Americans and European-Americans in colonial New England; relationship between white and black womenboth slave and freein the South; and the development of racist ideologies and behavior in the white working classes. 391 - 395 Seminars The Political Thought of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. The contrasting philosophies of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. on race and racism, non-violence and self-defense, integration and separatism, Christianity and Islam; their interaction and involvement with the Civil Rights Movement; the northern and southern political and social culture that shaped their thoughts and world-views; and their changing conceptions of the appropriate tactics and strategy for the black freedom struggle in America. Creative Writing Techniques, strategies, and craft of writing short fiction. Format includes class analysis of student's work, exercises in specific techniques such as narrative, description, dialogue, etc. The Political Economy of Class and Race Analysis of foundations of political economy, with special reference to nature of capitalism, and an application of this analysis to role of race in capitalist economy and society. The theoretical framework drawn from the writings of Karl Marx and the classical political economists; the applications based on contemporary materials. Seminar in African Art Reliable chronology for African art history of placing of the art forms of some of the ethnic cultural groups, associations or countries in Africa in historical perspective. Allied disciplines of anthropology and archaeology used to recover early history of certain cultures. Related oral sources discussed. The Writings of Chinua Achebe Review of Achebe's writings, concentrating on his five novels and his writings on culture, literature, and politics. Achebe's contribution to the literature of the modern world. Works read in the context of tradition of modern African literature, of which Achebe is a seminal figure. Black Philosophy Examination of the possibility and nature of a distinctively black philosophy, exploring African philosophers and African-American contributions; a systematic investigation of ways in which reflection upon African-American experience questions the presuppositions of Western philosophical tradition. 491 Seminar: Students having a basic knowledge of metal sculpture further develop their artistic abilities. Work in bronze, using the lost-wax method. Prerequisite: AFRO-AM 212 or ART 360. Afro-American
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