Catalog Description

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)

Course Student Learning Outcomes

  • CSLO #1: Deconstruct the social, economic, political, psychological and cultural factors that have influenced and shaped the African American experience.
  • CSLO #2: Explain the extensive contributions that African Americans have made to the formation of the U.S.
  • CSLO #3: Analyze and investigate the diversity within the African American experience.
  • CSLO #4: 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.

Effective Term

Fall 2023

Course Type

Credit - Degree-applicable

Contact Hours

54

Outside of Class Hours

108

Total Student Learning Hours

162

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.

General Education Information

  • Approved College Associate Degree GE Applicability
    • AA/AS - Ethnic Studies
    • AA/AS - Multicultural Studies
    • AA/AS - Social Sciences
  • CSU GE Applicability (Recommended-requires CSU approval)
    • CSUGE - D3 Ethnic Studies
    • CSUGE - F Ethnic Studies
  • Cal-GETC Applicability (Recommended - Requires External Approval)
    • IGETC Applicability (Recommended-requires CSU/UC approval)
      • IGETC - 4C Ethnic Studies
      • IGETC - 7 Ethnic Studies

    Articulation Information

    • CSU Transferable
    • UC Transferable

    Methods of Evaluation

    • Objective Examinations
      • Example: Students will take four objective exams that include multiple choice and short answer questions that apply to the content of the course. Example: Identify one of the European colonizing countries that were in South Africa? (Objectives 1, 2 and 7)
    • Projects
      • Example: Students will identify and investigate the life of a notable African American whose family was a part of the great migration from the south. Students will create a presentation that focuses on the individual selected. Rubric Grading. (Objective 7)
    • Reports
      • Example: Students write critiques of two cultural/social/political movements from the perspective of Critical Race Theory, Identity Theory, Standpoint Theory, and Conflict Theory that are studied during the semester. The paper will be assessed on a three-level system: outstanding, competent and unacceptable. A rubric describing each of the three categories will be included in the course syllabi. (Objectives 5 and 10)

    Repeatable

    No

    Methods of Instruction

    • Lecture/Discussion
    • Distance Learning

    Lecture:

    1. Using contemporary films and current events (for example, Gangs of New York, Boyz in the Hood, Miss Representation, Anatomy of Hate), instructor will introduce Critical Race Theory and facilitate a student discussion about its application to an African American experience.

    Distance Learning

    1. Instructor will post a lecture slide presentation on related course theories (for example, Conflict Theory). Students will read/watch the lecture along with related film clips that demonstrate theory. Students will compare and contrast course theories in discussion board interactions with classmates. Instructor will facilitate online discussions on the history and methods of dissent using activities such as the 'Drawbridge' that illuminates structural power dynamics.

    Typical Out of Class Assignments

    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)

    Required Materials

    • The Warmth of Other Suns
      • Author: Wilkerson, Isabelle
      • Publisher: Vintage
      • Publication Date: 2011
      • Text Edition: 1st
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:
    • How to be an Anti-Racist
      • Author: Kendi
      • Publisher: One World
      • Publication Date: 2019
      • Text Edition: 1st
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:
    • The African-American Odyssey, Combined Volume
      • Author: Clark-Hine, Darlene; Hine, William C.; Harrold, Stanley
      • Publisher: Pearson
      • Publication Date: 2018
      • Text Edition: 7th
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:
    • The New Jim Crow
      • Author: Alexander, Michelle
      • Publisher: The New Press
      • Publication Date: 2012
      • Text Edition: 1st
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:
    • Racial Formation in the United States
      • Author: Omi and Winant
      • Publisher: Routledge
      • Publication Date: 2014
      • Text Edition: 3rd
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:

    Other materials and-or supplies required of students that contribute to the cost of the course.