The Intercollegiate Department of Black Studies
The Claremont Colleges
Wednesdays
2:45 – 5:30 p.m.
Professors Dipa Basu (Dbasu@Pitzer.edu)
and Halford Fairchild (Hfairchild@Pitzer.edu)
Office Hours:
Basu – 215 Broad Center. Tu-Th 2:00 – 3:00 and by appointment. X
7-2833
Fairchild – 203 Scott Hall. Tu-Th 10:00 – 11:00 and by appointment. X 7-3056
Course Web Page: http://bernard.pitzer.edu/~hfairchi/courses/id10sylf2001
Texts: Basu, D., & Fairchild, H.H. (Eds.). (2001). Introduction to Africana Studies: An Interdisciplinary Chronology (Revised Edition). Claremont, CA: The Intercollegiate Department of Black Studies. [Numbers in brackets and bold, refer to stamped page numbers in the Basu & Fairchild reader.]
Synopsis and Objectives: This course provides a broad introduction to the field of Africana Studies (also known as Black Studies, Pan-African Studies, African American Studies, etc.). It does so by organizing the material chronologically (beginning in ancient African history) and seeks a "trans-disciplinary" approach in the presentation. Within each historical epoch, contributions from literature, the arts, philosophy, social science, and other disciplines are incorporated. Our objective is to demonstrate the breadth and depth of Africana Studies and to provide the historical underpinnings of the field so that we can understand its past and chart a direction for its future. The course is writing (with weekly papers) and speaking intensive. Attendance is required.
Week 1: September 5: Introduction
Fairchild, H.H. (1995). Why Black history is not just for Blacks. Los Angeles Times, February 5, Page M6. [handout]
Chideya, Farai. (1995). Chapters 1 (pp. 3+ in Don’t Believe the Hype. NY: Penguin. [handout]
Film: Sankofa: 3:30 p.m., Avery Auditorium
Week 2: September 12: What is Black Studies: Origins, Scope, Subsequent Developments
Hine, Darlene Clark (1997) Black Studies: An overview Chapter 1 (pp. 7-15) in Conyers, James L., Jr. (Ed.), Africana Studies: A disciplinary quest for both theory and method. London: McFarland and company. [2-6]
Swindell, Warren. (1997). Notes on Administration of Africana Studies Departments and programs. Chapter 2 (pp. 16-29) in Conyers, James L., Jr. (Ed.), Africana Studies: A disciplinary quest for both theory and method. London: McFarland and company. [7-13]
Baker, Houston A. Black Studies: A new story. Chapter 3 (pp. 29-44) in Conyers, James L., Jr. (Ed.), Africana Studies: A disciplinary quest for both theory and Method. London: McFarland and company. [13-21]
Week 3: September 19: Precolonial African history; Enslavement
Davidson, Basil. (1969). The African Genius: An introduction to African social and cultural history (Part 1, Pp. 23-41). Boston: Little, Brown & Company. [34-44]
Williams, Eric. (1994).
The origin of Negro slavery. Chapter 1 of Capitalism and Slavery.
Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. [83-96]
Magnis, Nicholas E. (1999). Thomas Jefferson and slavery: an analysis of his racist thinking as revealed by his writings and political behavior. Journal of Black Studies, 29(4), 491-509. [124-133]
Douglass, Frederick. (1845/1960/1988). Chapters 1 and 2 (pp. 23-38) of Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, An American slave: Written by himself. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. [134-142]
Truth, Sojouner. (1996, reprinted). ‘Address to the first annual meeting of the American Equal Rights Association.’ Pp. 28-30 in Donalson, Melvin (Ed.), Cornerstones: An Anthology of African American Literature. New York: St. Martin's Press. [143-144]
Douglass, Frederick. (1852/1996). ‘What to the slave is the fourth of July.’ Pp 30-34 in Donalson, Melvin (Ed.), Cornerstones: An Anthology of African American Literature. New York: St. Martin's Press. [144-146]
Bellegarde-Smith, Patrick. (1999/2000). Haiti. http://www.africana.com/articles/tt_386.htm
DuBois, W.E.B. (1920/1996). The Souls of White folk. Pp 578-588 in Donalson, Melvin (Ed.), Cornerstones: An Anthology of African American Literature (1996) New York: St. Martin's Press. [208-213]
Washington, Booker T. (1996). Up from slavery (excerpts). Pp. 632-648 in Donalson, Melvin (Ed.), Cornerstones: An Anthology of African American Literature (1996) New York: St. Martin's Press. [214-222]
Langston Hughes. (1965). Not colored. Pp. 121-123 in Simple’s Uncle Sam. NY: Hill & Wang. [256-257]
Humanities
Auditorium, Scripps College
(Attendance
is required)
Week 6:
October 10: Black Nationalism/Marxism
Wilson, Amos N. (1999). Historical overview of Marcus Garvey. Introduction (pp. 13-40) in Afrikan-centered consciousness versus the new world order: Garveyism in the age of globalism. NY: Afrikan World InfoSystems. [270-284]
Lubiano, Wahneema. (1997). Black nationalism and Black common sense: Policing ourselves and others. Pp. 232-252 in Wahneema Lubiano (Ed.), The house that race built: Black Americans, U.S. terrain. NY: Pantheon Books. [306-316]
Alkalimat, Abdul. (1986). Marxism and black liberation, chapter 16 pp. 319 – 343 in Abdul Alkalimat & Associates, Introduction to Afro-American Studies: A Peoples College primer. Chicago: Twenty-first Century Books and Publications. [293-305]
Week 7:
October 17: Resistance in the Black Diaspora
Sivanandan, A. (1982). A Different hunger: Writings on Black Resistance, ‘Black power and Black culture’ (Part 2 pp55-96) London: Pluto Press. [317-338]
Fanon, Frantz. (1999, reprinted). The wretched of the Earth. Pp. 116-120 in Martin Bulmer & John Solomos (Eds.), Racism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [339-341]
Rawlings, J.J. (2000). Sankofa, the Healers’ Journey. Psych Discourse, 31(8), 4-7. [378-381]
Week 8: October 24: Civil Rights and Black Power
Klinkner, Philip,A. and Smith, Rogers, M. (1999). ‘There comes a time’ (chapter 8, pp. 242 –287), in The Unsteady March: The Rise and Decline of Racial Equality in America Chicago; Chicago University Press. [355-377]
X, Malcolm.(1964/1995).Speech
on “Black Revolution [NY, April 8, 1964].Pp.
272-284 in F. L. Hoard & J. S. Lee (Eds.), I am because we are:
Readings in Black philosophy.Amherst,
MA:University of Massachusetts Press.
King, M.L., R.(1967/1995).Black
power [1967].Pp. 285-295 in F. L.
Hoard & J. S. Lee (Eds.), I am because we are: Readings in Black
philosophy.Amherst, MA:University
of Massachusetts Press.
Davis, Angela.(1995).Radical
perspectives on the empowerment of Afro-American women:Lessons
for the 1980s [1987[.Pp. 296-303
in F. L. Hoard & J. S. Lee (Eds.), I am because we are: Readings
in Black philosophy.Amherst,
MA:University of Massachusetts Press.
Week 9: October 24: Language and Media
Various Authors. Poetry by Countee Cullen ("Heritage," "Caprice), Etheridge Knight ("The idea of ancestry," "He sees through stone," and "For black poets who think of suicide"), Sonia Sanchez ("Indianapolis/simmer/1969/poem," "TCB," and "Right on: white america"). [382-391]
Achebe, Chinua. (1994). The African writer and the English language. Pp. 428-434 in Patrick Williams and Laura Chrisman (Eds.), Colonial discourse and Post-colonial theory: A reader. NY: Columbia University Press. [392-395]
Dyson, Michael Eric. (1995). Spike’s Malcolm. Pp. 129-134 in Making Malcolm: The myth and meaning of Malcolm X. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [396-404]
Turner, Patricia A. (1994). Of primates, porters and potables: images of Africa on screen. Pp. 182-205 in Ceramic uncles and celluloid mammies: Black images and their influence on culture. NY: Bantam. [405-416]
Week 10: October 31: Social Institutions and structures: The family and the church
Reynolds, Tracey. (1997). (mis)Representing the black (super) women. Pp 97-112 in Heidi Safia Mirza (Ed.), Black British feminism: A reader. London: Routledge. [440-448]
Billingsley, Andrew.(1968/1997).Historical backgrounds of the Negro family.Pp 339-363 in Floyd W. Hayes, III (Ed.), A turbulent voyage: Readings in African American Studies (Second edition). Collegiate Press. []
Mamiya, Lawrence. (1999/2000). The Black Church, parts I and II. Africana.com. http://www.Africana.com/tt_443.htm and http://www.Africana.com/tt_443_2.htm [449-460]
Boyd, Todd (1997) ‘True to the game: basketball as the embodiment of Blackness in contemporary popular culture. Chapter 5 (pp. 105-127) in Am I Black enough for you: popular culture from the ‘hood and beyond Bloomington: Indiana University Press. [496-507]
Cleaver, Eldridge. (1968, 1991). Lazarus, come forth. Pp. 108-121 in Soul on Ice. NY: Dell Publishing. [508-514]
Davis, Angela Y. (1998). Afro images: Politics, fashion, and nostalgia. Pp. 23-31 in Monique Guillory & Richard C. Green (Eds). Soul: Black power, politics, and pleasure. NY: New York University Press. [524-528]
Collins, Patricia Hill. (1990). The sexual politics of Black womanhood. (reprinted.) Chapter 31 (pp. 255-271) in Estelle Disch (Ed.), Reconstructing gender: A multicultural anthology (2nd edition). Mountainview, CA: Mayfield Publishing Co. [552-560]
Mama, Amina. (1993). Black women and the police: A place where law is not upheld. Pp. 135-151 in Winston James & Clive Harris (Ed.), Inside Babylon: The Caribbean diaspora in Britain. London: Verso. [561-569]
Kelley, Robin (1998) Confessions of a nice negro, or why I shaved my head.’ Pp. 337-344 in Naomi Zack, Laurie Shrage, & Crispin Sartwell (Eds.), Race, class, gender and sexuality: The big questions. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers. [583-587]
Hughes, Langston. (1965). Haircuts and Paris. Pp. 63-65 in Simple’s Uncle Sam. NY: Hill & Wang [588-589]
Week 13: November 21: Contemporary Debates in Black Studies.
Out
of Class Assignment:Review and critique
a contemporary motion picture that prominently portrays African American
actors/actresses.Assignment:Produce
a critical movie review.
Week 14: November 28: Contemporary challenges
Gordon, Lewis. (1997). Racist ideology Pp 532 – 536 in Floyd W. Hayes, III (Ed.), A turbulent voyage: Readings in African American Studies (Second edition). Collegiate Press. [633-635]
Hutchinson, Earl Ofari. (1994). Black capitalism: Self-help or self delusion? Chapter 24 Pp 264-271 in Fred Pincus and Howard Ehrlich (Eds.), Race and ethnic conflict: contending views on prejudice, discrimination and ethnoviolence. Boulder: Westview press. [636-639]
Graham, Otis Lawrence. (1992/). Invisible Man : Why this Harvard Trained lawyer went undercover as a busboy at an all-white Connecticut Country Club. Pp. 283-294 in David M. Newman (Ed.), Sociology: Exploring the architecture of everyday life. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press. [640-646]
Fairchild, Halford H. (1997). The problem of the 21st century. Psych Discourse, 28(7&8), 3-4. [711-712]
Fairchild, H.H. &
Cowan, G.(1997).The
O.J. Simpson trial:Challenges to
science and society. Journal
of Social Issues 53(3), 583-591.
Collins, Patricia Hill. (2000). U.S. Black feminism in transnational context. (Chapter 10, pp. 227-249 Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness and the politics of empowerment. NY: Routledge. [687-698]
Hooks, bell.(1989/1995).
Feminism:A transformational
politic.Pp. 329-337 in F. L. Hoard
& J. S. Lee (Eds.), I am because we are: Readings in Black philosophy.Amherst,
MA:University of Massachusetts Press.
Asante, Molefi K.(1991/1995).The Afrocentric idea in education.Pp. 338-349 in F. L. Hoard & J. S. Lee (Eds.), I am because we are: Readings in Black philosophy.Amherst, MA:University of Massachusetts Press.
Week 16: December 12: Student Presentations
Requirements/Grading: Attendance and active participation is required; students prepare weekly papers that integrate the week’s reading material (papers should be analytical, assume a point-of-view, and integrate mention of each reading in the context of that essay; when applicable, inclusion of films and lecture material should be incorporated into the essay; each paper should be between 4.5 and 5 pages in length, double spaced, have one inch margins, be properly referenced, and typed in 12 point type and are due at the beginning of class).The film review (November 21) is due November 28th.A Final Term Paper or Project is required that integrates all of the course material within a contemporary social issue. The paper or project (written, poetic, film/video) should address the following question: "How does the Black Studies’ perspective illuminate your chosen topic?” Final papers or projects must be presented on December 12.Final grades are to be subjectively determined by the instructors.
Readings and assignments are subject to change.