This course provides an interdisciplinary introduction to vital historical, social, economic, and cultural issues associated with people of African descent in the United States and their rich cultural legacy. Students will explore African Americans’ historical and cultural roots from their African beginnings to the emergence of the modern fight for social and economic equality. Through assigned readings, class discussions, writing assignments, and documentaries, the course examines how African Americans develop distinctive social and cultural responses to chart an independent course and resist oppression in their struggle for equality.

This course offers junior/senior-level African American Studies students an opportunity to engage in original research and examine many of the foundational works used to underpin African American Studies. Students will demonstrate the skills necessary to produce a research paper, demonstrating mastery of the research techniques and resources presented during the semester. Students will: examine African American Studies foundational texts, frame an argument, and recognize the developing features of African American resistance and liberation.

An introduction to an emergent or historical literature that considers the relationship between important social categories such as class, race, nationality and sexuality in imaginative works of any genre, written by marginalized or oppressed authors, that represent these categories. The course is designed to develop critical thinking habits, and the student may be required to make analyses and value judgments based on critical thought.

A general survey of race, ethnic, and minority relations in the United States. Emphasis is placed on theories of prejudice/discrimination and institutional racism in education, politics, and economics.