First-Year Studies: “In the Tradition”: An Introduction to African American History and Black Cultural Renaissance

African American history is an important window into the history of the United States and the rise of the modern world. Using African American history, culture, and consciousness as the focus, this course will introduce students to American history and world history. Students will begin with classics such as The Souls of Black Folk and Up from Slavery, as well as Coming of Age in Mississippi and Down These Mean Streets. We will explore where writers such as St. Augustine, Aleksandr Pushkin, and Alexandre Dumas fit into the traditions of the African diaspora and Africana studies. The course will also examine major developments such as the Atlantic slave trade in the making of the modern world; comparative slavery and emancipation; the classic slave narratives; the Civil War and Reconstruction; the Great Migration and Harlem Renaissance; making race and nation in the United States, Brazil, and South Africa; the racial politics of New Deal citizenship; African Americans in the city; the rise of blues and jazz; women in the black revolt; civil rights and black power; and the black arts movement.