CCOG for ES 250 archive revision 202104

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Effective Term:
Fall 2021 through Summer 2022

Course Number:
ES 250
Course Title:
Introduction to Black (Africana) Studies
Credit Hours:
4
Lecture Hours:
40
Lecture/Lab Hours:
0
Lab Hours:
0

Course Description

Provides an interdisciplinary survey of Black (Africana) Studies by exploring the culture, politics, societies, economies, history, philosophies, arts, and literature of the African Diaspora. Places the experience of African Americans within the larger context of the African Diaspora. Audit available.

Addendum to Course Description

This course will examine the history of Black Studies as a discipline including its origin as the academic arm of the Civil Rights Movement.  By exploring the history of the course and the discipline, the course will examine (but not be grounded in) some of the ideologies that have driven the history of Black Studies.

Intended Outcomes for the course

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

  1. Examine the African American experience as part of the larger context of the African Diaspora.
  2. Analyze intersections of economics, history, culture, literature, region, politics, religion, gender, and sexuality in relation to the African Diaspora.
  3. Identify the major practitioners and influences of Black Studies as a discipline.
  4. Articulate the history of Black Studies as a discipline and its roots in activism and the community.

Aspirational Goals

To engage in critical self-reflection regarding students' personal relationships to Black Studies and the African Diaspora.

To investigate the institutional and cultural forces that affect Black Studies.

To prepare students to function effectively in a racially and culturally diverse community, and to contribute to a campus culture that respects and values diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Course Activities and Design

Students read, discuss, write and perform research on related topics and events presented in the literature. Class activities may include instructor lecture, whole class discussion, small group work, student presentations and guest lectures.

Outcome Assessment Strategies

Students will complete a term project, typically a research paper of 1500-2000 words in length, pertinent to scholarship of the field.  Instructors may also permit alternatives to the traditional research paper.  Such alternatives include the following possibilities:  PowerPoint presentations, multimedia presentations, and community service reports .  Instructors who permit such alternatives will ensure that students also write substantive analytical pieces in the form of journal, examination, or other appropriate format.  Students should be strongly encouraged to engage in critical self reflection during the course through that can be assessed through activities such as papers, journals, etc. Additionally, instructors may use a variety of other assessment tools such as quizzes, participation, etc.

Course Content (Themes, Concepts, Issues and Skills)

From Black Studies to Africana Studies

Black People or Black Studies?

Representations of Blackness

Slavery and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

Pan-Africanism

Black Internationalism

Womanism and Black Feminism

Racism, Anti-Colonialism, and Resistance

Civil Rights and Black Power

Contemporary Debates in 21st Century Black Identity