ETHN 0020. Introduction to African American Studies
Units: 3
Formerly known as SSCI 20
Hours: 54 lecture
Introduces students to Ethnic Studies and the diverse institutional, cultural, and historical issues relating to the present life circumstances of African Americans in the United States. The course is interdisciplinary in nature and presents an overview of the cultural, economic, historic, social, and political issues in the life of African Americans in the United States centering African American voices. It will expose students of all ethnic backgrounds to the issues pertinent to the experience of African Americans. (CSU, UC)
ETHN 0020 - Introduction to African American Studies
http://catalog.sierracollege.edu/course-outlines/ethn-0020/
Catalog Description DESCRIPTION IS HERE: Formerly known as SSCI 20 Hours: 54 lecture Description: Introduces students to Ethnic Studies and the diverse institutional, cultural, and historical issues relating to the present life circumstances of African Americans in the United States. The course is interdisciplinary in nature and presents an overview of the cultural, economic, historic, social, and political issues in the life of African Americans in the United States centering African American voices. It will expose students of all ethnic backgrounds to the issues pertinent to the experience of African Americans. (CSU, UC) Units 3 Lecture-Discussion 54 Laboratory By Arrangement Contact Hours 54 Outside of Class Hours Course Student Learning Outcomes Deconstruct the social, economic, political, psychological and cultural factors that have influenced and shaped the African American experience. Explain the extensive contributions that African Americans have made to the formation of the U.S. Analyze and investigate the diversity within the African American experience. Describe how struggle, resistance, the history of dissent, social justice, solidarity and liberation as experienced by African Americans are relevant to current issues and anti-racist practices. Course Content Outline I. Foundations of the field – What is Ethnic Studies/African American and Black Studies? a. Race and racism b. Racialization c. Ethnicity d. Equity e. Ethnocentrism/Eurocentrism f. White Supremacy g. Self-determination and Liberation h. Decolonization/Sovereignty i. Imperialism and Settler Colonialism j. Anti-racism II. Black History a. African origins and forced migration b. African resistance and the Atlantic Slave Trade c. Slavery and the origins of racism (oppression and intergenerational trauma) d. Colonial American White Patriarchy and slavery e. Social construction of race in the colonies f. The Black Atlantic and African Diaspora (Middle passage, the Caribbean, Brazil, South America, North America) g. Independence and the New Republic – free and unfree Black communities in Antebellum America, abolitionism) h. Black American Past Centered – the Underground Railroad, Black Abolitionism, Self-emancipation during the Civil War, race and law. i. Reconstruction and its failures j. Jim Crow in the 20th Century - The Great Migration and the Harlem Renaissance k. Early Civil Rights Strategies and the “Double V” - 1939-1948 l. Beginning of the Modern Civil Rights Movement – Comparative perspectives between Civil Rights and Black Power including student activism m. Post-Civil Rights Movement Era – economic justice, Urban crisis and white flight n. The 1980s – Reagan and Bush – the War on Drugs and the criminalization of Black Youth – 1992 Los Angeles Uprising o. The Carceral State p. The Obama Presidency and “Post Racial” America – Black Lives Matter q. Growth of White Supremacy – the pandemic, state violence and protest III. Systemic Racism and Inequality a. Prejudice, ethnic conflict, and antagonism b. Social discrimination and inequality c. Political discrimination and inequality d. Legal discrimination and inequality e. Economic discrimination and inequality f. Ideas of racial caste and institutionalized prejudice g. Systemic and institutional disenfranchisement h. Upward mobility i. Black agency and activism j. Interethnic alliances k. White privilege IV. Intersectionality and Black Experiences a. The Black Diaspora – Pan Africanism b. Black internationalism c. Gender d. Class e. Ethnicity, National Origin f. Immigration g. Spirituality h. Language V. Afro pessimism and Afrofuturism VI. Knowledge Production by Black Activists and Theorists a. Critical events/histories b. Cultures/Intellectual traditions c. Contributions d. Social Struggles e. Black agency and group affirmation f. 21st century Activism and resistance Course Objectives Course Objectives 1. Analyze and articulate concepts such as race and racism, racialization, ethnicity, equity, ethno-centrism, eurocentrism, white supremacy, self determination, liberation, decolonization, imperialism, and anti-racism as analyzed in African American Studies. 2. Contrast and compare the diversity within the African American experience, and the relationship between African ethnicity and racism in the formation of African America. 3. Identify the social, economic, political and cultural factors that have influenced and shaped the African American experience. 4. Assess the cultural practices and changing social transformations that compelled African Americans to face adversity while maintaining and redefining identity and social structures. 5. Apply theory and knowledge produced by African American communities to describe the critical events, histories, cultures, intellectual traditions, contributions, lived experiences, and social struggles with special emphasis on agency and group affirmation. 6. Critically review how struggle, resistance, racial and social justice, solidarity, and liberation, as experienced and enacted by African Americans is relevant to current issues such as national politics as, for example, reparations. 7. Assess the extensive contributions that African Americans have made (and make) to the formation of the United States. 8. Differentiate and analyze the concepts of individual and institutional racism, cycles of oppression, color-blind society/color-conscious society, matrix of domination and politics/policies of exclusion. 9. Describe how struggle, resistance, the history of dissent, social justice, solidarity and liberation as experienced by African Americans are relevant to current issues. 10. Describe and actively engage with anti-racist and anti-colonial issues and the practices and movements in African American communities for a just and equitable society. Methods of Evaluation Objective Examinations Projects Reports Reading Assignments 1. The Great Migration, The Harlem Renaissance and The Civil Rights Movement Readings: The Great Migration-- The Long-Lasting Legacy of the Great Migration, Smithsonian Magazine by Isabelle Wilkerson, September 2016; The New Negro (ed), Art and Activism, Harvard Magazine by Adam Kirsch, March-April 2018; Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color, Jstor, by Kimberle Williams Crenshaw, 1993 Upon completion of the identified readings, students will construct a research project that traces the life of an African American individual whose origins were a part of the Great Migration. Individuals such as those that participated in the Harlem Renaissance are prime candidates for the assignment. (Objective 5) 2. Slavery and Religion Readings: The Great Stain-- How Christian Slaveholders Used the Bible to Justify Slavery, Time.com, February 2018 by Noel Rae Quakers and Slavery: Some Considerations on the Keeping of Negroes, Early Protests, Radical Quaker Women, Bryn Mawr College African Americans noted the hypocrisy that characterized white Christianity, pointing out the contradiction between God's Word and slaveholders' cruelty and inhumanity. "Slaveholders hide themselves behind the Church. . . . A more praying, preaching, psalm-singing people cannot be found than the slave holders of the South," declared William Wells Brown (1814-1884). The Reverend William H. Robinson (b. 1848) offered mock family prayers: "grant us all a large increase of slaves . . ." and a mock sermon to slaves: "God's wisdom is displayed in the system of slavery." Many objected to the oft-repeated recommendations of obedience to the established order. Assignment: Read The Great Stain. Also read the Quakers position on slavery and their anti-slavery movement. Watch the video (below), The Bible and the Gun, to understand the political use of religion as a tool for enslavement. Write a letter to Rev. William H. Robinson explaining the contradictions of Christian's support of slavery. Cite historical references from the video and the readings to support your claim. (Objective 1, 2, ,3) Writing, Problem Solving or Performance 1. Post at least one full comment and two responses to the comments of other students on the Discussion Board that analyzes the five rationales for the continued military participation of African Americans in spite of the long history of marginalization and brutalization within the U.S. For the principles of democracy, African Americans have fought and died in every U.S. war without exception. The following quote is from Representative Ron Dellums regarding the Vietnam War. There are currently similar comparisons being made regarding the Iraq War. The latest polls indicate that 72% of Americans disapproved of U.S. presence in Iraq and felt betrayed by the reasons originally given for the invasion. The Iraq War has lasted longer than both WWI and WWII. Identify three similarities and three differences between the Iraq War and the Vietnam War. Does Rep. Dellums comment, "understand the connection between waging war and spending billions of dollars on military apparati that detracted from the priorities of this country" apply to today's conflict? How? Or why not? "And a number of people said to me, well, you know, the black community's not interested in the Vietnam War. And my response was that black people in America, historically, carried the burden of racial and economic oppression, they do not have to carry the burden of ignorance. And to be in public life, you have to be part of the educative process and my job is to go out there and help people understand the connection between waging war and spending billions of dollars on military apparati that detracted from the priorities of this country." — Ron Dellums, 1994 (Objective 6,7,8) 2. Read the assigned articles that details the plight of the Katrina survivors and respond to the following question: Did race and/or socio-economic class play a role in the disastrous response to Hurricane Katrina and the similar response in Puerto Rico? Why/why not? While your opinion can be incorporated in the response, it is crucial to site evidence to support your assessment of the situations. (Objective 1, 10) Other (Term projects, research papers, portfolios, etc.) Students are required to attend two cultural events that can be Field Trips, Cultural Excursions, Guest Speakers, etc. A two-page reflection paper is a requirement for the assignment. (Objectives 4, 5, 7, 10) Methods of Instruction Lecture/Discussion Distance Learning Other materials and-or supplies required of students that contribute to the cost of the course.
Humanities
http://catalog.sierracollege.edu/departments/humanities/
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