People of African descent through history. Archeology, geography, literature. Migrations/activities in the Atlantic world. African history in the New World. Transfer of African rice growing technology and other skills. Development of African American society in the United States.

The development of jazz in America and in the world, with special emphasis given to the roots or jazz in the African American experience.

Contemporary African American poetry as expressed by popular culture contributors. Students analyze/evaluate poems used in rap, in context of African American literature, American culture, and aesthetics.

Course on the critical thought of Black intellectual-activists and others enmeshed in the struggles for the radical transformation of U.S. democracy. Introduces the following three leaders and activists--Ella Baker, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X--whose work in the building of the Black freedom movement spanned the period from the 1930s to the late 1960s. Course proposition is that their life and times in the struggle for liberation offer important insights into the transformation of the U.S. political economy from the welfare/warfare state to the neoliberal state. These intellectual-activists, as well as others who translate their radical traditions through Black-Brown and Afro-Asian solidarity projects (e.g. Grace Lee Boggs of Detroit) have responded to racial formation in the U.S. and presented not just visions of liberation but concrete alternatives at the grassroots to usher in a more just, egalitarian, and ethical society.

Who wields political power? Who challenges those in power? And how do they legitimize their claims and go about enforcing them? These are the core questions that will guide our exploration of the political dynamics in the Horn of Africa. Just like most regions in Africa, the Horn is home to diverse cultures and languages. What distinguishes it, however, is the contested nature of state borders, which have been redrawn in ways not observed anywhere else in Africa since the end of European colonialism. The purpose of this class is to delve deeper into these conflicts, to examine the interactions between incumbent governments, armed rebel groups and international actors in shaping war and peace in the Horn. Throughout this journey, we will pay special attention to ideas of sovereignty, identity and violence and draw on literature outside of the Horn to help us better dissect what is going on within it.

This course examines the variety of ways African and African Americans express social history through music. It will consider the union of African elements and European elements that combined to present a new syncretized African-American product. To do this it is imperative that we explore the diversity of musical ?voices? found within the African American culture. This diversity can be seen in the struggles to retain African cultural effects and the desire to be eclectic, creative, and contemporary. Such an approach to the study of the place of Black music in American music corresponds with the criteria of Diversity and Social Justice in the United States Liberal Education. The ?multi-layered operation of power, prestige, and privilege? can be understood through an examination of the music of African Americans, which represents both a Free African voice and an enslaved African voice; the western-trained Black performer/composer and the self-taught performer/composer. It also represents the habits of well-to-do African Americans and the poor African Americans. Students will examine the complexities of the history of African Americans and how this is played out in the development of musical styles and genres. From this, students will then begin to understand how this unique diversity within a community affects those outside of those communities. Such an approach to the study of the place of Black music in American music corresponds with the criteria of Diversity and Social Justice in the United States Liberal Education. We will follow elements found in West African culture and music such as "call and response" and the "2nd Line" as they travel to the "New World" and expressed through Spirituals, Symphonies, Gospel Music, Jazz, Rock and Roll, Step Bands and more. Through lectures, readings, discussion, audiovisual examples, and homework assignments student can expect to gain a deeper understanding of the ways music both reflects and influences the social history of all Americans.

Period between New Deal (1930s) and present. History/impact of federal policy (presidential, congressional, judicial) and race on African Americans. Politics of allocation of insurance versus relief in Social Security Act of 1935. Race and expansion of social benefits after World War II. School desegregation. Kennedy¿s civil rights policy, LBJ¿s War on Poverty. Affirmative Action. Warren court. Busing. Conservative retreat from welfare state under Ronald Reagan and George Bush.

The globalized present has witnessed increased mobility as economic, political, and social unrest intensify, forcing mass migration of populations across scorching deserts, treacherous mountains and perilous seas. In the United States and in Western Europe specifically, the consequence of this mobility?immigration?remains the single most cross-cutting issue and the most vexed political challenge of the day. Defined as threatening and intrusive, frequently criminalized in discourse and in action, immigrants have become scapegoats for a wide range of problems that bedevil every aspect of life in every country. Blamed for everything from taking jobs from locals to rising crime and the spread of communicable diseases, immigrants have become victims of xenophobic violence and repositories for the routine fear-mongering prevalent in post-9/11 global terror and counter-terror climate. This course addresses the keys issues that arise in contemporary immigration and global security debates. Throughout the course of the semester, we will interrogate the literary and audio-visual arts as a mirror of the times, reflecting socio-political conditions. In a bid to place the current ?crisis? in a historical perspective, we will examine select works by African writers, filmmakers and artists, which provide examples that enable us to move beyond stereotypes and common assumptions.

This course introduces you to films written and directed by African filmmakers beginning the 2nd part of the 20th Century. Through an exploration of the stylistic and thematic issues raised by each film, it is expected that students will gain a broad understanding of how African filmmakers portray African social and cultural life, including the artistic and political contexts within which they work. In this way, students will gain an historical perspective on the origins of African filmmaking, confront the basic social, cultural and aesthetic questions raised by African filmmakers and critics, and consider how questions raised by African filmmakers and their films fit into the larger context of world cinema. We will contrast postcolonial African films with Hollywood jungle epics, settler/adventure romances in safari paradise, and colonial movies about Africa. Moving beyond strict categories and standards we will also examine the role of documentary films in shaping our understanding of African people's lives and the social construction of reality. We will review the place of documentary film in the current media-scape and discuss its functions and limitations. Most films will be screened in original languages with English subtitles.

What is black life? And what does it mean to talk about black life in the context of the push toward the liberation of black lives? In recent years we have become accustomed to hearing about and debating the efficacy of the term and movement "Black Lives Matter," but what, other than precarity, constitutes these lives that matter? How have black people collectively thrived even under conditions that would assume otherwise? In this course we will consider the myriad ways black people have gone about creating, dreaming, struggling, building, educating, loving, and living, even in the midst of all that works to bring death near. We will explore a range of cultural forms, including stand-up comedy, hip hop and R&B music, reality television, social media, and film, in order to contemplate the urgency and necessity of black social life, or, what it means to be with and for black people.

This course will explore the lived reality of black men in the United States. Ranging historically-far and thematically-wide, this course will introduce students to the experience of black male labor force participation and employment outcomes; deconstruct representations of black masculinity in popular culture; explore academic dilemmas associated with primary and secondary educational pursuits; and uncover issues connected with law, incarceration, and criminal justice. In addition, this course will examine relationship complexities involving black men and black women, black men and white women, and black men and black men, looking closely at the African-American role in traditional and non-traditional family structures. The course will also address the most central of questions: What is the black male experience, given the growing diversity of black maleness in Minnesota, the United States, and the Diaspora. At the center of the course is not only what other people have said about the black male historical and contemporary experience, but also how black men have imagined and constructed their own experience over time.

Topics specified in Class Schedule.

Guided individual research and study. Prereq-instr consent, dept consent, college consent.

Impact of European knowledge systems on African world. How peoples on African continent and across African diaspora have produced/defined knowledge. Continuity/change in the way African peoples have thought about and left their epistemological imprints upon the world.

Comparative frameworks, related theories, and pivotal texts in study of Africa and African Diaspora.

Ideological, political, religious, and cultural ties that have informed African American and black South African relations from late 18th century to present.

Topics vary by instructor.

Guided individual reading/study for qualified seniors and graduate students. prereq: instr consent

West Africa from late early times to establishment/histories of states. Relations with North African, Mediterranean, Asian, American worlds. Non-centralized political authority.

West African history from late 18th century to present. Past/profound changes including new 19th century state formation, European colonialism, post-colonial issues.

West African history from late-18th century to present. Themes include study of continuities with past. Profound changes including new 19th century state formation, European colonialism, post-colonial issues.

This course is an interdisciplinary survey of the history of the African continent. It examines the social, cultural, economic and political transformations that shaped varied African communities from prehistory to the present. Focusing primarily on the intricate intersection of culture, society, economics, and politics, the course examines the concept of ?world history? and Africa?s location in the production of this history as theoretical and analytical lenses. It puts particular emphasis on the social, cultural and political developments that informed individual and collective experiences of various African peoples and societies, including the historical narratives and scholarly discourses associated with them.

Contributions of African American thinkers to making of African history/strategies to rework theoretical/analytical foundations of world history. Writings/intellectual networks of major thinkers whose historical/ethnographic works on Africa spanning nineteenth to twentieth century. prereq: Grad student or instr consent

Political, cultural, historical linkages between Africans, African-Americans, African-Caribbean. Black socio-political movements/radical intellectual trends in late 19th/20th centuries. Colonialism/racism. Protest organizations, radical movements in United States/Europe.

Political, cultural, historical linkages between Africans, African-Americans, African-Caribbean. Black socio-political movements/radical intellectual trends in late 19th/20th centuries. Colonialism/racism. Protest organizations, radical movements in United States/Europe. prereq: Grad student or instr consent

Political, cultural, historical linkages between Africans, African-Americans, African-Caribbeans. Socio-political movements/radical intellectual trends in late 19th/20th centuries within African Diaspora. Resistance in Suriname, Guyana, Caribbean. Protest organizations, intellectual discourses, radical movements in United States/Europe.

We are all living in extraordinary times. But what does that mean? In South Africa, we have seen the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures implemented to control it causing massive social upheaval and personal distress. It has forced the people in the country to confront issues that life prior to the pandemic had made easy to turn away from. Misogyny, gender based violence, and sexual violence, a long-standing emergency in the south of Africa, have been forced into our vision once again. It was not the pandemic that created this violence. Nor was it the first time people had been outraged by a lack of action to address it. In the years approaching 2020, calls, protests and demonstrations were increasingly demanding the culture of impunity in gender based violence be ended; sometime with violent outcomes against the protestors themselves. Over those same years, nationwide protests have rocked South Africa's university campuses. The student movements known as #RhodesMustFall, #FeesMustFall and #RUReferenceList highlight the contrasts and disappointments of the recent past in South Africa, confront the legacy of racism and misogyny in its institutions and knowledge systems, and resonate with a history of anti-racism and struggle that now, in turn, similarly fuel the on-going Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements worldwide.

We are all living in extraordinary times. But what does that mean? In South Africa, we have seen the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures implemented to control it causing massive social upheaval and personal distress. It has forced the people in the country to confront issues that life prior to the pandemic had made easy to turn away from. Misogyny, gender based violence and sexual violence ? a long-standing emergency in the south of Africa ? have been forced into our vision once again. It was not the pandemic that created this violence. Nor was it the first time people had been outraged by a lack of action to address it. In the years approaching 2020, calls, protests and demonstrations were increasingly demanding the culture of impunity in gender based violence be ended; sometime with violent outcomes against the protestors themselves. Over those same years, nationwide protests have rocked South Africa?s university campuses. The student movements known as #RhodesMustFall, #FeesMustFall and #RUReferenceList highlight the contrasts and disappointments of the recent past in South Africa, confront the legacy of racism and misogyny in its institutions and knowledge systems, and resonate with a history of anti-racism and struggle that now, in turn, similarly fuel the on-going Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements worldwide.

Analytical overview of three major forms of inequalities in the United Sates today: race, class, gender. Focus on these inequalities as relatively autonomous from one another and as deeply connected/intertwined with one another. Intersectionality key to critical understanding of these social forces. Social change possibilities.

In the midst of social unrest, it is important for us to understand social inequality. In this course we will analyze the impact of three major forms of inequality in the United States: race, class, and gender. Through taking an intersectional approach at these topics, we will examine the ways these social forces work institutionally, conceptually, and in terms of our everyday realities. We will focus on these inequalities as intertwined and deeply embedded in the history of the country. Along with race, class, and gender we will focus on other axes of inequality including sexuality, citizenship, and dis/ability. We will analyze the meanings and values attached to these social categories, and the ways in which these social constructions help rationalize, justify, and reproduce social inequality.

In the midst of social unrest, it is important for us to understand social inequality. In this course we will analyze the impact of three major forms of inequality in the United States: race, class, and gender. Through taking an intersectional approach at these topics, we will examine the ways these social forces work institutionally, conceptually, and in terms of our everyday realities. We will focus on these inequalities as intertwined and deeply embedded in the history of the country. Along with race, class, and gender we will focus on other axes of inequality including sexuality, citizenship, and dis/ability. We will analyze the meanings and values attached to these social categories, and the ways in which these social constructions help rationalize, justify, and reproduce social inequality. prereq: Soc majors/minors must register A-F

Gender/sexual violence to poststructural, anti-racist theories and debates about social construction of sexuality. How intimacy and violence are co-constituted within normative frameworks of U.S. governmentality. Writings by black feminist criminologists who have linked incarceration, welfare reform, and other forms of state regulation to deeply systemic forms of violence against people of color.

Gender/sexual violence to poststructural, anti­racist theories/debates about social construction of sexuality. How intimacy/violence are co­-constituted within normative frameworks of U.S. governmentality. Writings by black feminist criminologists who have linked incarceration, welfare reform, other forms of state regulation to deeply  systemic forms of violence against people of color.

Survey of African history from earliest times to 1800. Focuses on socioeconomic, political, and cultural development in pre-colonial Africa from ancient Egypt through the era of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Survey of African history from earliest times to 1800. Focuses on socioeconomic, political, and cultural development in pre-colonial Africa from ancient Egypt through the era of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Socioeconomic, political, and cultural development in Africa, from abolition of trans-Atlantic slave trade through postcolonial era.

Survey of modern African history from early 19th century to present. Focuses on socioeconomic, political, and cultural development in Africa, from abolition of trans-Atlantic slave trade through postcolonial era.

Major socio-economic challenges that confront post-independence sub-Saharan African countries in quest for sustainable economic development/growth. Causes of persistent poverty/inequality, role of institutions/multinational agencies. Growth in 21st century. prereq: APEC 1101 or ECON 1101

Major socio-economic challenges that confront post-independence sub-Saharan African countries in quest for sustainable economic development/growth. Causes of persistent poverty/inequality, role of institutions/multinational agencies. Growth in 21st century. prereq: 1101 or ECON 1101

Open any newspaper and there is almost certain to be one or more articles about crises or chaos in Africa. Journalistic accounts highlight famines, tribalism, failed states, ethnic cleansing, the plight of refugees, and the AIDS pandemic. There rarely, if ever, is a serious discussion of the underlying causes of this instability. Instead, it is implicitly assumed that this is the natural order of events in the Dark Continent. This course challenges the racially inspired cultural arrogance which underlies assumptions about Africa and explores it with the long-term structural and historical roots of the crises which confront many parts of Africa. It is a course about Africans and how they responded to the challenges and legacies that date back to the colonial period and before. Throughout this course we will be concerned with African initiatives in a rapidly changing political, economic, social, and ideological context and the changing ways that the Global North has represented Africa. In doing so we will be fight for a more accurate history of Africa.

Open any newspaper and there is almost certain to be one or more articles about crises or chaos in Africa. Journalistic accounts highlight famines, ?tribalism,? failed states, ethnic cleansing, the plight of refugees and the AIDS pandemic. There rarely, if ever, is a serious discussion of the underlying causes of this instability. Instead, it is implicitly assumed that this is the natural order of events in the ?Dark Continent.? This course challenges the racially inspired cultural arrogance which underlies assumptions about Africa and explores it with the long-term structural and historical roots of the crises which confront many parts of Africa. It is a course about Africans and how they responded to the challenges and legacies that date back to the colonial period and before. Throughout this course we will be concerned with African initiatives in a rapidly changing political, economic, social, and ideological context and the changing ways that the Global North has represented Africa. In doing so we will be fight for a more accurate history of Africa.

This course explores popular art practices and representations ? mediated through the lens of television, radio, popular cinema, sequential art, and the internet ? as the everyday expressions of modern African identities. As sites where the tensions, frictions, collisions and notably, the productive creativities of the local and the global are circulated, negotiated and contested, African popular cultures provide insights into a unique and increasingly crucial facet of contemporary African artistic practice as critical intervention. The course is designed on the premise that Africans of all social strata and lifestyles are strategic and deliberate consumers of popular cultural forms, generated within local cultures as signifiers of larger social, political, and economic processes. In light of prevailing studies which sometimes end up naively celebrating agency and resistance, AFRO 3578 underscores the role of popular cultures as public/private sites of power's ideological and material (re-) production, contestation, or transformation. It considers creative practices as sites of both resistance and accommodation; of creative adaptation, innovation, and resilience. Through our discussion of communication technologies and their role in transmitting artistic and political ideas beyond the confines of dominant discourses and established institutions, we will evaluate the interface of technology and sociocultural shifts.

The literature of African American women writers explored in novels, short stories, essays, poetry, autobiographies, and drama from the 18th to the late-20th century.

The literature of African American women writers explored in novels, short stories, essays, poetry, autobiographies, and drama from the 18th to the late-20th century.

Explore African American novelistic traditions. Plot patterns, character types, settings, symbols, themes, mythologies. Creative perspectives of authors themselves. Analytical frameworks from contemporary literary scholarship.

Explore African American novelistic traditions. Plot patterns, character types, settings, symbols, themes, mythologies. Creative perspectives of authors themselves. Analytical frameworks from contemporary literary scholarship.

Explore African American novelistic traditions. Plot patterns, character types, settings, symbols, themes, mythologies. Creative perspectives of authors themselves. Analytical frameworks from contemporary literary scholarship.

Contextual readings of 19th-/20th-century black novelists, including Chesnutt, Hurston, Wright, Baldwin, Petry, Morrison, and Reed.

African American oral tradition, slave narrative, autobiography, poetry, essay, fiction, oratory, and drama, from colonial era through Harlem Renaissance.

African American oral tradition, slave narrative, autobiography, poetry, essay, fiction, oratory, and drama, from colonial era through Harlem Renaissance.

African American oral tradition, autobiography, poetry, essay, fiction, oratory, drama. From after Harlem Renaissance to end of 20th century.

African American oral tradition, autobiography, poetry, essay, fiction, oratory, drama. From after Harlem Renaissance to end of 20th century.

Works of black women writers from Europe, Africa, South America, and the Caribbean. Novels, drama, films, and essays.

In Coming to America, a 1988 film which blends humor and romance with some fairly pertinent observations, an African prince travels to Queens, NY, in search of a bride who will be both an equal and valued partner in life?s great adventure. In the thirty years since, the African immigrant story has become an intrinsic component of the booming canon of contemporary American immigrant literature, which includes such names as Edwidge Danticat, Jhumpa Lahiri, Junot Diaz, Chang-rae Lee, Gary Shteyngart, and others. This literary phenomenon mirrors trends identified in surveys and other similar data gathering activities. According to a 2009 study of the Migration Policy Institute, for instance, more than 75% of the foreign born African population in the United States has arrived since 1990. For these newcomers, Africa is not an imagined ancestral ?motherland? impressed in collective memory. Nor is it a faraway continent of parental origin whose negative media portrayal at times foments a problematic identification. Africa is a lived space, a home left behind, the anchor of childhood memories and?all too frequently?a horizon that perpetually beckons. As for America, it is the idealized land of freedom, prosperity, and opportunity that sometimes gives more than it promised, but oftentimes disenchants. This course situates gender squarely within the interlocking contexts of dynamic, complex and ever-changing African and American landscapes. Over the course of the semester, we will read short stories, novellas, personal narratives and essays, interspersed with visual excerpts from selected films and other representations of immigration, migration and border crossing in contemporary African and American cultural landscapes.

Review Harlem Renaissance from variety of perspectives. Literary, historical, cultural, political, international. Complex patterns of permeation/interdependency between worlds inside/outside of what W.E.B. Du Bois called "the Veil of Color." prereq: Grad student or instr consent

African American cinematic achievements from silent films of Oscar Micheaux through contemporary Hollywood and independent films. Class screenings, critical readings.

African American cinematic achievements, from silent films of Oscar Micheaux through contemporary Hollywood and independent films. Class screenings, critical readings.

Importance of dynamics of class, gender, region, and political ideology. Changing nature of race/racism.

Importance of dynamics of class, gender, region, and political ideology. Changing nature of race/racism.

History of African American men and women from the beginning of the 20th century to the present. Discussion of internal migrations, industrialization and unionization, The Great Depression, world wars, and large scale movements for social and political change.

History of African American men and women from the beginning of the 20th century to the present. Discussion of internal migrations, industrialization and unionization, The Great Depression, world wars, and large scale movements for social and political change.

Modern black civil rights struggle in the U.S., i.e., the second reconstruction. Failure of reconstruction, abdication of black civil rights in 19th century. Assault on white supremacy via courts, state, and grass roots southern movement in 1950s and 1960s. Black struggle in north and west. New emphasis on Black Power, by new organizations. Ascendancy of Ronald Reagan, conservative assault on the movement.

The "second reconstruction." Failure of Reconstruction, abdication of black civil rights in 19th century. Post-1945 assault on white supremacy via courts/state, grass-roots southern movement in 1950s/1960s. Black struggle in north and west, emphasis on Black Power by new organizations/ideologies/leaders. Ascendancy of Reagan, conservative assault on movement.

Modern black civil rights struggle in U.S. Second reconstruction. Failure of reconstruction, abdication of black civil rights in 19th century. Assault on white supremacy via courts, state, grassroots southern movement in 1950s/1960s. Black struggle in north/west.

Role that race has played in American war history. Impact that wars have had on race and race relations in the United States and the world. Literature and film.

Role that race has played in American war history. Impact that wars have had on race and race relations in the United States and the world. Literature, film.

Structural or institutional conditions through which people of color have been marginalized in public policy. Critical evaluation of social theory in addressing the problem of contemporary communities of color in the United States.

Examination of structural or institutional conditions through which people of color have been marginalized in public policy. Critical evaluation of social theory in addressing the problem of contemporary communities of color in the United States.

Structural or institutional conditions through which people of color have been marginalized in public policy. Critical evaluation of social theory in addressing the problem of contemporary communities of color in the United States.

Examination of the structural or institutional conditions through which people of color have been marginalized in public policy. Critical evaluation of social theory in addressing the problem of contemporary communities of color in the United States.

Critically examine spatiality of African descendant women in Americas/larger black diaspora. Writings from black feminist/queer geographies, history, contemporary cultural criticism. Recent black feminist theorizing.

Critically examine spatiality of African descendant women in Americas/larger black diaspora. Writings from black feminist/queer geographies, history, contemporary cultural criticism. Recent black feminist theorizing.

Critically examine spatiality of African descendant women in Americas/larger black diaspora. Writings from black feminist/queer geographies, history, contemporary cultural criticism. Recent black feminist theorizing.

Critically examines spatiality of African descendant women in Americas/larger black diaspora. Writings from black feminist/queer geographies, history, contemporary cultural criticism. Recent black feminist theorizing.

Historical survey of significant events in the development of American black theater traditions. Essays, plays, playwrights, and theaters from early colonial references to the Black Arts Movement.

Historical survey of significant events in the development of American black theatre traditions. Essays, plays, playwrights, and theatres from early colonial references to the Black Arts Movement.

This course is an exploration of the impact and evolution of Black Theatre in America, covering the period rising from the Black Arts Movement to the present. The exploration will entail an understanding of cultural and socio-political issues as they are reflected in key and significant plays written and produced from the late 1950's to the present. The plays and essays will be read against the background of significant cultural, social and literary movements - the Civil Rights Movement, Cold War politics, the Women's Movement, Gay Liberation, the Culture Wars, post-modernism, deconstruction, multiculturalism, afro-futurism, etc. as well as the evolution of identity nomenclature and racial classification from Colored to Negro to Black to African American. In addition to play analysis and criticism, students will garner a knowledge of significant Black cultural institutions and their impact on the ever-changing American theatre landscape.

This course is an exploration of the impact and evolution of Black Theatre in America, covering the period rising from the Black Arts Movement to the present. The exploration will entail an understanding of cultural and socio-political issues as they are reflected in key and significant plays written and produced from the late 1950?s to the present. The plays and essays will be read against the background of significant cultural, social and literary movements - the Civil Rights Movement, Cold War politics, the Women?s Movement, Gay Liberation, the Culture Wars, post-modernism, deconstruction, multiculturalism, afro-futurism, etc. as well as the evolution of identity nomenclature and racial classification from Colored to Negro to Black to African American. In addition to play analysis and criticism, students will garner a knowledge of significant Black cultural institutions and their impact on the ever-changing American theatre landscape.

Recent scholarship on social history of Africa. Focuses on new literature on daily lives of ordinary people in their workplaces, communities, households. prereq: Grad student or instr consent

Recent scholarship on social history of Africa. Focuses on new literature on daily lives of ordinary people in their workplaces, communities, households.