University Bulletin
Undergraduate Degree Programs
AAA S 100
(GS;US)
Evolving Status of Blacks in the Twentieth Century: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (3) An interdisciplinary, team-taught exploration of the evolving status of Black Americans in the twentieth century. Emphasis on the civil rights movement.
AAA S 100 Evolving Status of Blacks in the 20th Century: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (3)
(GS;US)
(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements.
This course examines the African American conditions, community institutions and consciousness in the United States during the twentieth century. It is a chronological survey of the shifts in the social, economic, and political realities faced by African Americans. Also examined are changes in, and the creation of, African American cultural, and intellectual traditions. Major social movements will be analyzed as will key debates over gender, class, ethnicity, community, and public policy. Issues of national and international identity will be addressed as will major changes in international relations and the response of African Americans to them. Topics will be explored using original documents, recent interpretations, class discussions, group presentations, film, music, etc. Although the core periods and themes will be covered in each class, depending upon the instructor, different emphases will be placed on the core topics.
Students will be introduced to key events, processes, movements, and leaders which have shaped African American life in the twentieth century. In addition to refining general research skills, there will be a focus on developing systematic approaches to the study of African Americans and U.S. history through the examination and uses of methods derived from the social sciences and the humanities. Students will also be expected to become familiar with central historiographical debates in the study of African Americans. They will be required to both critique and use these approaches in their research papers. Social sciences methods will be discussed and used to understand economic, social and political conditions and change. Finally, they will be asked to study and apply methods derived from the critical cultural studies in literature in order to examine cultural practices and movements. The students' grasp of history and methodology will be evaluated in two short papers and a final fifteen to twenty page research paper. Short tests, group projects, individual presentations, and class discussions are also central features of the evaluation process.
This course should also be considered directly related to all courses in the social sciences and the humanities that address the United States in the twentieth century. It is required of all African and African American Studies majors and minors. The course will be offered at least three times a year with an enrollment limit of 40 students per class. The three active learning elements covered in the course are active use of writing, speaking, and other forms of self-expression, application of intercultural and international competence, and dialogue pertaining to social behavior, community, and scholarly conduct.