04:30 PM to 07:10 PM M
Thompson Hall 2021
Section Information for Fall 2012
“Stories can save us. Stories can bind us, can break us upon, can make us human to each other. But there’s also the politics of storytelling. Who decides which stories are told, and which are buried?” –Valerie Kaur Our goal is to examine historical and contemporary issues that shape the social and political fabric of African American neighborhoods and communities in Virginia. In this course, we will do this by listening to the voices and perspectives of people who have lived, experienced, and “made” this history firsthand. We will focus on the history of African American communities in Virginia from the end of Reconstruction to the contemporary era, focusing especially on the decades of legal segregation. We will critically assess, through oral history, readings, archival documents, and documentary films how major forces of social change—Jim Crow laws, migration, the Civil Rights Movement, urban renewal, etc.—have affected the struggle for dignity and rights in African American neighborhoods and communities. This course seeks to challenge college students to think about the relationships between community and history, and between past and present and between “race” and “place.” No matter what you already know about African American history and culture, or contemporary race relations, “In Search of Memory” will greatly expand your intellectual horizons. This seminar will encourage students to develop a number of important skills. It combines assigned readings with intensive primary-source research but it is also an exercise in storytelling. African American Communities asks you to interpret your findings and translate your conclusions into a well-research final paper. There are four primary requirements in the course. The class sessions will include a combination of seminar lectures, reading discussions, fieldwork, individual and group work sessions and reviews.View 4 Other Sections of this Course in this Semester »
Credits: 3
Enrollment is limited to students with a major in History.
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