HIST 615: Problems in American History

HIST 615-008: African American Politics: Nineteenth Century to the Present
(Spring 2012)

07:20 PM to 10:00 PM R

Section Information for Spring 2012

This course explores the political world of African Americans from the beginning of the nineteenth century until the present. In class we will question previously held notions of what politics is and where it happens. We will look at the political activity of free and enslaved black men and women and discuss how these political traditions were transformed following emancipation, the great migration, and the civil rights movement. During this course we will analyze the influence of social class, gender, and ideas of nationalism on African American politics and political culture. We will examine the diverse political concepts expressed by African Americans such as: integration, assimilation, respectability, accommodation, and racial nationalism. We will also examine various tactics used to achieve their goals, like: petitioning, voting, writing, non-violent direct action, and armed self-defense. We will also interrogate how historians have attempted to understand African American politics and how these interpretations have changed over time. This is a reading seminar and the course meetings will focus on in depth discussions of historians’ interpretations of periods in the history of African American politics. This course fulfills the “1861-1914” or the “1914-Present” distribution requirement in U.S. History, but not both.

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Course Information from the University Catalog

Credits: 1-6

Readings and discussion of bibliographies, interpretations, and research trends in topics selected by instructor. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
Specialized Designation: Green Leaf Related Course, Topic Varies
Registration Restrictions:

Enrollment limited to students with a class of Advanced to Candidacy, Graduate, Junior Plus, Non-Degree or Senior Plus.

Enrollment is limited to Graduate, Non-Degree or Undergraduate level students.

Students in a Non-Degree Undergraduate degree may not enroll.

Schedule Type: Lec/Sem #1, Lec/Sem #2, Lec/Sem #3, Lec/Sem #4, Lec/Sem #5, Lec/Sem #6, Lec/Sem #7, Lec/Sem #8, Lec/Sem #9, Lecture, Sem/Lec #10, Sem/Lec #11, Sem/Lec #12, Sem/Lec #13, Sem/Lec #14, Sem/Lec #15, Sem/Lec #16, Sem/Lec #17, Sem/Lec #18
Grading:
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.

The University Catalog is the authoritative source for information on courses. The Schedule of Classes is the authoritative source for information on classes scheduled for this semester. See the Schedule for the most up-to-date information and see Patriot web to register for classes.