TEXTS: A. Floyd W. Hayes, III: A Turbulent
Voyage: Readings in African American Studies.
B. Kim Marie Vaz: Black Women in America
OFFICE & HOURS: 203 Scott Hall ; Tue – Thur 7:30 a.m. – 8:15 a.m.; 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. and by appointment. Phone: Ext. 7-3056. E-mail: Hfairchild@pitzer.edu or E2e4mate@aol.com (home e-mail). Website: http://bernard.pitzer.edu/~hfairchi (go to courses link).
| Date | Topic/Readings |
| 1-18 | Introduction and Course Overview |
| 1-20 | Meet Reverend Jim Lawson |
| 1-25 | Trends and Developments |
| A. Carter G. Woodson. The study of the Negro. | |
| A. James B. Stewart. The legacy of W.E.B. DuBois for contemporary Black Studies | |
| A. Molefi K. Asante. The search for an Afrocentric method. | |
| B. Barbara A. Moss. African women’s legacy: Ambiguity, autonomy, and empowerment | |
| 1-27 | LIBRARY RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT |
| 2-1 | The African Background |
| A. John Henrik Clarke. Africa and world history in perspective. | |
| A. John G. Jackson. Egypt and the evolution of civilization. | |
| A. Edward L. Jones. Lucius Septimius Sverus: The Black emperor of the world. | |
| B. Shirley J. Yee: Organizing for racial justice. . . | |
| 2-3 | Film; Guest Lecture; Discussion (TBA) |
| 2-8 | Europe & the Culture of Domination |
| A. Adu Boahen. The Sudanese states and empires. | |
| A. Donna Richards. European mythology: The ideology of "Progress" | |
| A. Cheikh Anta Diop. Modern falsification of history. | |
| B. Dorothy C. Salem: Black women and the NAACP, 1909-1922 | |
| 2-10 | Film; Guest Lecture; Discussion (TBA) |
| 2-15 | Enslavement and Resistance |
| A. LeGrand Clegg. The Black origin of "American" civilization: A bicentennial revelation. | |
| A. C.L.R. James. The Atlantic slave trade and slavery: Some interpretations of their significance in the development of the United States and the Western world. | |
| A. Vincent Harding. Symptoms of liberty and Blackhead signposts: David Walker and Nat Turner | |
| B. Mary C. Pruitt: Racial justice in Minnesota… | |
| 2-17 | Film; Guest Lecture; Discussion (TBA) |
| 2-22 | Music and the Arts |
| A. Portia K. Maultsby. Africanisms in African-American music. | |
| A. Sterling Brown. Negro folk expression: Spirituals, seculars, ballads and work songs. | |
| A. Nelson George. Black beauty, Black confusion (1965-70). | |
| B. Deborah Brown Carter: The impact of the civil rights movement on the unionization of African American women | |
| 2-24 | Film; Guest Lecture; Discussion (TBA) |
| 2-29 | Literature |
| A. Richard Wright. Blueprint for Negro writing. | |
| A. Bernard W. Bell. The contemporary Afro-American novel 1:Neorealism. | |
| B. M. Rivka Polatnick: Poor Black sisters decided for themselves… | |
| 3-2 | Film; Guest Lecture; Discussion (TBA) |
| 3-7 | Sociology: The African American Family |
| A. Andrew Billingsley. Historical backgrounds of the Negro family. | |
| A. E. Franklin Frazier. The Negro family. | |
| A. Glenn C. Loury. The Black family: A critical challenge. | |
| A. William Darity; Jr.; & Samuel L. Myers; Jr. Public policy trends and the fate of the Black family | |
| B. Joy James: Searching for tradition: African American women writers… | |
| 3-9 | Film; Guest Lecture; Discussion (TBA) |
| 3-14 | SPRING BREAK |
| 3-16 | SPRING BREAK |
| 3-21 | Psychology |
| Halford H. Fairchild. Placing Blacks at Center of Psychology. (handout) | |
| Wade W. Nobles. Western psychology: Its inadequacies and views of African people. (handout) | |
| Na'im Akbar. Breaking the Chains of Psychological Slavery. (handout) | |
| B. Baltasar Fra-Molinero: The condition of Black women in Spain during the renaissance | |
| 3-23 | Film; Guest Lecture; Discussion (TBA) |
| 3-28 | Literacy & Education\ |
| A. Frederick Douglass. Learning to read and growing in knowledge. | |
| A. Jewell R.C. Mazique. Betrayal in the schools. | |
| A. Floyd W. Hayes; III. Race, urban politics, and educational policy-making in Washington D.C.: A community's struggle for quality education. | |
| A. John Matlock. The effect of desegregation policies on historically Black colleges and universities | |
| B. Madelin Joan Olds: The rape complex in the postbellum South | |
| 3-30 | Film; Guest Lecture; Discussion (TBA) |
| 4-4 | Political Economy & History |
| A. Harold M. Baron. The demand for Black labor: Historical notes on the political economy of racism | |
| A. Daniel R. Fusfeld & Timothy Bates. Black economic well-being since the 1950s. | |
| B. Bridget A. Aldaraca: On the use of medical diagnosis as name-calling… | |
| 4-6 | Film; Guest Lecture; Discussion (TBA) |
| 4-11 | Politics |
| A. Milton D. Morris. Democratic politics and Black subordination. | |
| A. Mary F. Berry & John W. Blassingame. Blacks and the politics of redemption. | |
| B. Elizabeth Hadley Freydberg: Sapphires, Spitfires, sluts, and super bitches… | |
| 4-13 | Film: Adam Clayton Powell |
| 4-18 | Ideology & Culture |
| A. W.E.B. Du Bois. Of our spiritual strivings. | |
| A. Cornel West. Assessing Black neoconservatism. | |
| A. Patricia Hill Collins. The social construction of Black feminist thought. | |
| B. Shirley M. Geiger: African American single mothers: Public perceptions | |
| 4-20 | Film; Guest Lecture; Discussion (TBA) |
| 4-25 | B. Charles I. Nero: “Oh; what I think I must tell this world!” |
| B. Linda D. Williams: Before Althea and Wilma: African-American women in Sports; 1924-1948 | |
| B. Melanye White-Dixon: Black women in concert dance: The Philadelphia divas | |
| 4-27 | Film; Guest Lecture; Discussion (TBA) |
| 5-2 | B. Robin Roberts: Sisters in the name of rap: Rapping for women’s lives |
| B. Bernita C. Berry: Life satisfaction and the older African-American woman | |
| B. Aaron A. Smith: Sisterhood among African-American mothers of daughters addicted… | |
| 5-4 | Course review and evaluation |
Weekly Writing Assignments - Writing Intensive. This course is writing intensive and requires weekly thumbnail sketches and reaction papers. For each of the assigned readings, provide a brief "thumbnail sketch" of the reading (in one page or less), and a brief "reaction statement" that provides your personal reaction to an aspect of the material in the article (in one or two paragraphs). For example, the readings for January 25 include three articles (by Woodson, Stewart and Asante). For each of these articles, write a brief "thumbnail sketch" and "reaction statement." Include the preceding Thursday’s film or guest lecture as appropriate. Students will share their reaction statements in class as a stimulus to class discussion. These writing assignments will be graded on a 100-point scale (subjectively determined by the instructors on the basis of thoroughness, originality, effort, appearance and writing quality). Papers are due at the beginning of class on Tuesday but are collected on Thursday). Late papers receive 1/2 credit. All papers may be re-written and re-submitted for re-grading within one week of their return to the student (late papers will still receive 1/2 credit).
Term Project/Paper: The term project is a paper that seeks an integration and/or synthesis of all of the reading material and class presentations. Students should strive to incorporate as much of the material as feasible. This paper should strive to answer the following exemplary questions: What is Black Studies? What are the special challenges to Black Studies? What are its limitations? What are its past, present and future? (Students are free to be creative in their approach to this assignment.) The final paper should be about 10 to 20 pages in length (typed, double spaced). Due Date: May 4, 2000 (beginning of class). (Late final papers receive 75% credit.)
Final Grading: Grades are determined on a point basis.
Weekly papers (thumbnail sketch & reaction statements) are worth up
to 100 points for a total of 1500 points. (Each week’s paper will be graded
on a 70-100 point scale.) The final term paper is worth 1000 points. Contribution
to the class discussion is worth up to 500 points (Each absence, regardless
of excuse, subtracts 25 points from the total). (Class discussion will
be subjectively graded on a 70 to 100 point scale, and that total will
be multiplied by 5. Subtractions for absences are then taken from the grand
total.) The grand total, therefore, is 3000 possible points. Final grades
will be determined according to the following formula: A (92%+); A/B (88%-91.9%);
B (82%-79.9%); B/C (78%-81.9%); C (72%+); C/D (68%+, etc. Additional reading
assignments will be made on a regular basis. The requirements and grading
formula are subject to change.