When Rosa Parks refused to leave her seat on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama one fateful afternoon in December 1955, the stage was set for what would later become the modern Civil Rights Movement, launching the public careers of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and other civil rights leaders and organizations. What is less widely known, however, is how Black and white activists in the American South during the 1950s and 1960s have come to inspire nonviolent political and social movements, worldwide, to the present day. Utilizing historical literature, biography, and documentary film, this course will feature both an in-depth study of the origins, structure, and development of the American Civil Rights Movement, as well as focus on the success, and failings, of a select number of nonviolent struggles worldwide.

Course Requirements:

Regular attendance, active participation in class discussions, and keeping up with the reading for the course are all both expected and essential. Students will also write essays, undertake group projects, and take a final examination.

Intended Audience:

This class is open to all first year students.

Class Format:

First Year Humanities Seminar, encompassing both lectures and class discussions.