What do Kendrick Lamar, Ida B. Wells, Marcus Garvey, James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison have in common? Each of these figures are thought leaders about the condition of Black life in the United States of America. What can we learn from understanding the lives, experiences, and histories of Black Americans from enslavement to the present? This course provides an interdisciplinary introduction to the field of African American Studies through careful attention to the social, cultural, political, economic and historical realities of Black life in the U.S. In addition to providing a strong foundation in African American Studies as a disciplinary field, students will examine how Black communities have affected, and been affected by, the development and growth of the United States as a democratic, social, and cultural project. Topics covered will include antiblack racism, enslavement, citizenship, voting, policing, gender and sexuality, civil rights, Black expressive and lived cultures, and racial discourse in the digital age. Check out this link for an example of the layered work we will examine in this course: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQZc8SH6EFk

Class Format:

My online class will include both synchronous and asynchronous elements, but I will generally expect students to “attend” my class at its currently scheduled time.