INTRODUCTION TO THE AFRICA & AFRICA AMERICAN STUDIES AAF201                                                                                              Dr. Hamilton TR 11-12:15                                                                                      Forum Room-Multicultural Center                                                  Office Hours: MW 12:00-1:30pm and by appointment (Roosevelt 318) TEXT Michael Conniff & Thomas Davis, Africans in the Americas: A History of the Black        Diaspora   (St. Martin’s Press, NY)   ISBN 0-312-04254-x *Manning Marable, Race, Reform, and Rebellion  (University of Mississippi Press, Jackson) Robin Kelley, Race Rebels, Culture, Politics, and the Black Working Class (The Free Press, Macmillan) All other readings on reserve in library PURPOSE AND OVERVIEW Our primary objective this semester is to identify the global character of the Black Diaspora in such a way that we move beyond the myopia imposed by nation state formations. We will look at the economic, political, and social developments which shaped the Black Diaspora and analyze the culture and institutional arrangements shared by people of African descent in different parts of the world. It is important that we understand the role of race and class in our effort to assess similarities and differences in the Black experience throughout the Diaspora. REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING There will be three exams this semester. Students will also be asked to          form groups at the beginning of the semester. Each group is responsible for      completing a project for final presentation to the class. Groups will also                be required to facilitate one discussion of the assigned written material.             (25% final project, 20% each exam, 15% discussion and facilitation).         September 9, 14, 16 I.     Defining the Black Experience The systematic study of Black life, politics and culture is grounded in a number of basic concepts. Among the most outstanding is historical legacy and within that the role of slavery. We have become comfortable with the discussion of slavery in the eighteenth century but what about the twentieth century? We will look briefly at the case of Haitian laborers in the Dominican Republic to explore the role of race and class in analysis of the Black experience.  Readings:   *Kevin Bales, “The New Slavery,” “Mauritania: Old Times There         Are Not Forgotten,”    Disposable People (ch. 1,3) Robin Kelley, Race Rebels, “ Introduction”   Film:   Faces of Slavery”   September 21, 23, 28 II.      The Making of the Black Diaspora The dispersal of people of African descent around the world is largely a result of slavery however modern colonialism/imperialism and             migration have played a role. But the earliest encounter of Europeans and Africans was a result of economic exchange in the global market             of the 1500’s (and earlier).   Readings:   Conniff & Davis, Africans in the Americas, Part 1 “Africa, Europe,       and the Americans”         chapters 1, 2, 3) Film:    -    “Caravans of Gold”   September 30, October 5, 7 III.               Capitalism and Slavery It has been argued that without slavery the economic development of Europe (and the Americas) would have looked very different. Slavery, it is said, was an economic prerequisite of capitalism. Readings: *Eric Williams, Capitalism and Slavery, chapter 2 Conniff & Davis, Africans in the Americas, chapter 4.5.6 Film:   “Quilombo”             October 12, 14 IV.              Slavery and Emancipation in the United States Resistance was an integral part of the institution of slavery; slaves        were the originators of their emancipation.   Readings:   Conniff & Davis, Africans in the Americas, chapters 7, 8, 9, 10 *Marable, Race, Reform, and Rebellion, chapter 1 Film:   “Burn”   EXAM – October 19  October 21, 26, 28 V.                 Reconstruction/Post Reconstruction The years following the Civil War marked a Constitutional Revolution in the U.S. However, 1877-1898 witnessed a return for the Black population to an earlier position. Internationally, U.S. foreign policy was marked by the policies of domestic racism.   Readings: Conniff & Davis, Africans in the Americas, chapters 12, 13 Joseph, Black Mondays, “American Apartheid” *Weston, Racism in U.S. Imperialism, chapter 2, “Racism and the Imperialist Campaign” Kelly, Race Rebels, chapters 5,6   November 2, 4 VI.      Black Women and the Challenge of Race   Black women lead the fight against lynchings and the struggle to          maintain community as Blacks moved from rural spaces to cities.   Reading: *Paula Giddings, When and Where I Enter, chapter 1   November 9, 11 VII.            Pan Africanism Black resistance has always been influenced by a concern for an even an effort to reconnect with Africa. The movement in the twentieth century became more sophisticated in its language and vision.   Reading: *Ron Walters, “The Pan African Movement in the U.S.”   EXAM – November 16         November 18, 23, 26 VIII.         Culture and Politics Resistance did not stop with protest in the street. Writers and artists throughout the Diaspora laid the intellectual basis for the opposition to imperialism, colonialism, and domestic racism in their writings which blossomed in the 1920’s.   Readings:   *Mercer Cook, “African Voices of Protest” *Higgins, “Introduction,” Voices from the Harlem Renaissance Film:    “I Remember Harlem”   November 30, December 2 IX.              The Second Reconstruction The Civil Rights Movement ushered in a second constitutional revolution in the U.S. and echoes were heard around the Black world. But like its predecessor the Second Reconstruction came to an end.   Reading: Kelley, Race Rebels, chapters 1,2,3,4   December 7, 9 X.                 Where Are We Today? Reading: Kelley, Race Rebels, chapter 7, 8 Presentations of Final Group Project