Black Studies

This course chronologically explores the Black experience from a number of perspectives. Students study the progression of Black political and social thought, engagement and protest, and the struggle to enact change. Students gain a comprehensive introduction to the social, political, legal, and economic roots of the contemporary challenges faced by Blacks, with applications to the lives of other racial and ethnic groups in the United States and in other societies.

This course examines the origins, evolution, and outcomes of the Black freedom struggle, focusing on the Civil Rights and Black Power movements. The course assesses the roles played by individuals, movements, governments, and political leaders in the process of social change. Leaders such as Martin Luther King and his nonviolent protest during the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the 1963 March on Washington, Malcolm X and his call for Black pride, economic uplift, and self-determination, as well as the Black Panther movement and their fight against police repression will be discussed. Close attention is paid to the roles of organizations, resources, leadership, recruitment, commitment, values, ideology, political culture, gender, and counter-movements.