Common Course
Syllabus Elements for: HIST 2232— African American History (Updated—April 2003)
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Instructor:
Douglas Thomas
Office Location:
Building 100 Room 113
Office Telephone
Number: 404 756 4715
Email Address:
dthomas@atlm.edu
Office
Hours: MW 2-4pm
Website: www.thomashistory.lycos.com
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AMC Course
Number and Title: HIST
2232—African American History
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Current Catalog
Course Description: AMC
Catalog, 2001-2003, p. 238: This course surveys the history of African
Americans in the United States from the period of colonization to the present.
Prerequisite: Exit or exemption from Learning Support Reading.
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AMC Social
Sciences Division History Unit Mandated Course Outcomes--
Upon completion
of the course students should be able to:
1. Demonstrate
knowledge of the basic themes associated with the time period and subject
matter of the course.
2. Demonstrate
an understanding of different historical interpretations and some of the
reasons for the differences.
3. Gather,
organize, and interpret historical information in a logical fashion and express
themselves better in formal modes of communication.
4. Demonstrate
knowledge of significant historical material and major questions associated
with history--including evolution versus revolution, continuity and change, the
hero in history and the influence of the environment and conditions, the
complexity of events (such as the interaction of government, society and
culture, religion, values, economic, class, the arts, etc.), cause and effect,
long and short term causation, comparison and contrast, and inter-group
relations.
5. Relate
historical information to the present and recognize the problems associated
with such analogies.
6. Utilize
critical thinking skills in analyzing historical problems.
7. Gain an
understanding and appreciation of the relevance of history to their life.
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Expected
Results--Students should demonstrate a critical knowledge of the following
general developments in the history of African Americans in the United States
from the colonization period to the present, as reflected in their attainment
of an end of term grade of “C” or better:
1. African origins
2. Atlantic slave trade
3. Evolution of slavery
in English Colonial America
4. Revolutionary Era
impact on African American life
5. Status and
contributions of African Americans during the Early National period
6. Antebellum Slave and
Free Black life
7. Role of slavery in
Sectional conflict
8. Causes and
consequences of the American Civil War
9. Reconstruction,
Redemption, and Reconciliation
10. Gilded status of
African Americans
11. Populism and
Progressivism
12. Post-First World War
racial conservatism
13. Harlem Renaissance
14. Great Depression and
New Deal Era
15. Second World War
impact on black status and black wartime contributions
16. Post-Second World
War Civil Rights movement
17. Black Power movement
18. Governmental
responses to black rights movement
19. Conservative
reactions to black progress
20. Recent trends in
race relations
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Methods of
assessment/evaluation, grading standards, and criteria: Grading standards and
criteria are determined by each individual instructor. Methods of assessment or
evaluation of academic performance are selected by each individual instructor
and may include: examinations (analytical essay,
multiple-choice, true-false, sentence completion, elimination, and matching items), research papers, reports, oral
presentations, critical analyses, quizzes, book reports, and simulations.
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1. AMC Social
Sciences Division History Unit Mandated Required Textbook: See Full-Time
History Faculty for Current Textbook.
2. Supplemental
Resources: Handouts in the library and a book of your choice for your book
review. The book review book must be a
non-fiction work pertaining to African-American life, culture, or history or
Africans in the Diaspora and their life, culture, or history. Some suggested books are:
DuBois, WEB The Souls of Black Folk
Baldwin, James The Devil Finds Work
West, Cornel Race Matters
Fanon, Franz Black Skin, White Masks
Ball, Edward Sweet Hell Inside
Taylor Haizlip,
Shirlee The Sweeter the Juice
Mills, Kay This
Little Light of Mine: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer
Clegg, Claude An Original Man: The Life and
Times of Elijah Muhammad
Woodson, Carter
G. The Mis-education of
the Negro
Douglass,
Fredrick The
Autobiography of Fredrick Douglass
Lewis, David L. The biography of Dubois, either
volume I or II
Anything by bell
hooks
There are other
books that I would approve, but please ask me before you buy them. I suggest Afro-Books in the West End Mall.
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Attendance
Policies: You will be given a grade for
attendance. Perfect attendance will get
you 100 pts. I will start counting
attendance on June. 14. Each day will
count 8 points. Points will be deducted
if you leave early without approval from the professor. Come to class!
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Course Outline:
African origins
origins and development
of American slavery
origins and development
of the Free Black population
Revolutionary War
Philosophy/African American status
national era racial
policies and attitudes
Antebellum Free Black
and black slave life
African colonization and
back to Africa movements
antislavery and
abolition movements
convention movement
slavery and intersectional
conflict
American Civil War and
abolition of slavery
reconstruction,
redemption, reconciliation
origins and development
of segregation
African American
self-help and philanthropy
Gilded Age protest
movement
Progressive Era reform
and race relations
great northern
migrations
Harlem Renaissance
post-First World War
conservatism
Great Depression
black progress
origins and development
of Second World War black military service policies
civil rights
movement
desegregation and
integration
black militancy and black power
conservative reactions
to black progress
contemporary
developments
contributions to society
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Class Calendar—Schedule
of Assignments and/or Exams
Lecture Schedule
Week One African Origins and
African-Americans in early America
Week Two African-Americans and the
Revolutionary War Era and Free Blacks during Slavery
Week Three The Civil War and Reconstruction
Week Four Building the Jim Crow Society
and African-American Response
Week Five World War I and the Depression
and World War II
Week Six Civil
Rights Era, Black Power, Backlash, and the Present
Week Seven Book Review Presentations
There will be 3
exams and your final will be a book review and oral presentation.
Exam I Africa to the Revolutionary War June
16
Exam II Free Blacks, Civil War, and
Reconstruction, Jim Crow Society, etc. June 30
Exam III World War I to the Present July 14
Your oral
Presentations will be given July 20 and 22. A schedule of order will be given later. Each presentation should not exceed 3
minutes.
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Methods of
Subject-Matter Delivery and Related Activities—This is a lecture/discussion
class. There are assigned readings that
I will pass out to you which will supplement your textbook. The schedule for
the extra readings are below
“The Mariner Prince of Mali” taken from They
Came Before Columbus by Ivan Van Sertima
“The King of
Sedo,” and “Samba Gana” both taken from Anthology of African Folklore
“The Middle Passage” taken from The
Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa
“Jacob Manson”
taken from Bullwhip Days: The Slaves Remember edited by James Mellon
“Women and
Slavery” taken from Major Problems in the History of the American South,
Volume I eds. P.D. Escott and D. R. Goldfield
“African
Fundamentalism” taken from Marcus Garvey: Life and Lessons eds. Robert
Hill and Barbara Bair
“All the Lies fit to Print: NY Times concoted ‘darkest Africa’ “ found in the World Net Daily Dec. 31, 2003 by Shayla Bennet
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Because many
people don’t remember to put their pagers and cell phones on vibrate, I would
prefer that you just turn them off upon entering the class. If your situation necessitates people being
in touch with you, please remember to set these devices to “discreet” or
“vibrate.” Do not bring radios or CD players.
Tape recording of lectures is permitted. Don’t cheat because it’s wrong and I will know!