AFAM 100 Black Freedom Struggles
Description
This course focuses on Black freedom struggles in the United States and in international contexts. Themes addressed may include enslaved Africans’ resistance to capture and enslavement as well as post-Emancipation attempts to combat white supremacy, racial and gender inequality, labor and sexual exploitation, and political disenfranchisement. Resistance strategies include but are not limited to the forging of a prophetic religious tradition, marching, boycotting, forming strong families and communities, collective organizing, making art, and serving in the military in the late 19th through 21st centuries. This course will address key moments, movements, and texts in the history of Black struggles for freedom in various realms including the legal, political, religious, literary, and educational. It will also cover major (as well as lesser-known) artists, activists, writers, orators, scholars, community organizers and teachers involved in Black struggles for freedom. Students will acquire a strong basic knowledge of freedom struggles in the United States, the Caribbean, and across Africa. They will also begin to understand the relationship of Black resistance to broader anti-racist, anti-colonial and anti-imperialist struggles. Assigned readings, films, and lectures will foster critical thinking, speaking, and writing skills.
Objectives
At the end of this course, you will be able to:
1. Students will interrogate the similarities and differences between Black freedom struggles across time an in different geographies.
2. Students will be introduced to various theories and philosophies of dissent and resistance in order to demonstrate the varied approaches Black people have taken to combating racial oppression in the US and in international contexts);
3. Students will investigate the modes and operations of unfreedom at various levels-- societal, institutional, etc.--and movements for freedom engaged in by African Diasporans--individually and collectively--since the beginnings of the Transatlantic Slave Trade).
Organization
This course is made up of 9 lessons, several spanning multiple weeks.
For a typical lesson, you will complete the following activities and assignments:
· Explore online course content.
· Read a few assigned readings.
· Participate in a discussion, write an essay, complete a quiz.
In addition, you will complete several ArcGIS StoryMap assignments.
Online Learning and Attendance
This course has been developed to promote asynchronous learning. The instructor and students do NOT meet on a designated day and time each week. For each lesson, there is a timeframe to complete all activities and assignments, and you may work at your own pace within that timeframe. However, you must adhere to the due dates outlined on the Calendar. (Due dates can also be viewed under the Syllabus tab.) You should log into the course daily to check for updates, review lessons, and participate in activities.