Pan African Studies 100

“Introduction to African American Culture”

Pan African Studies Department

California State University, Northridge

Ticket No. 11528

Fall Semester 2009-20010

MW, 11:00am-12:15pm Johnie H. Scott, M.A., M.F.A.

Sierra Hall 287, Ticket #11528 Associate Professor

GE: F3 – Intra-National Cross Cultural Studies (818) 677-2289

3.0 Units Office Hours: MW, 1:00pm-2:30pm or By Appointment

Home Webpage: "Safe Haven" Office: Faculty Office Building, Room 210

Email

Description:

An overview of the basic areas of African American culture including history, religion, social organization, politics, economics, psychology and creative production with a survey of the key concepts and fundamental literature in each area. Students in this media-intensive section will make extensive use of Information Age technology to include the Internet (i.e., email, WorldWideWeb, etcetera). Available for General Education, Comparative Cultural Studies.

Required Texts:

1. Hine, Darlene Clark/Hine, William C./Harrold, Stanley, editors, The African American Odyssey/Combined Volume/Fourth Edition/Special Edition, Pearson/Prentice Hall Publishers, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: 2010; and;

2. Whittaker, Robert, On the Laps of Gods: The Red Summer of 1919 and the Struggle for Justice that Remade a Nation, Crown Publishers, 2008.

Recommended Texts:

1. Gibaldi, Joseph, The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers/Seventh Edition, The Modern Language Association of America, New York, NY, © 2007.

Department and Course SLOs and How They Are Measured:

The Student Learning Outcomes will be assessed through the production of formal student essays included in a final student portfolio and a series of holistically scored timed essay examination.

1) Department SLO#1 -- Gain an understanding of the political, social, historical, and cultural perspectives of the African American Experience in Africa and the African Diaspora. This includes students having obtained an informed historical overview of African American culture from root beginnings in ancient Africa up through 21^st century.

This PAS 100 Introduction to African American Culture course requires students to read and critically analyze multicultural texts of various genres with an emphasis upon works written by African American authors addressing the African American Experience in Africa and the African American Diaspora. Formal written evaluations of films and documentaries addressing various issues in African American Culture with students utilizing in-depth critical analysis and sound command of grammar and mechanics. Said evaluations written using Microsoft Word or equivalent software and submitted through electronic mail as an attachment within stated deadlines.

2) Department SLO #2 -- Gain broad knowledge of the cultural, political and historical contexts in which the African and African American Experience took place.

To acquire this broad knowledge, students then write formal expository responses and summaries of those chapters and assigned readings from the course textbook measured on a 4.0 grading scale. In addition, participation in an assigned formal Collaborative Oral Presentation on a assigned chapter from the course textbook wherein each group is to do so interactively using Power Point and preparing formal study guides for the class, with said presentation being made within a 60-minute time period to include Q&A from the class itself. Integrated within this pedagogical approach are Midterm and Exit Essay Examinations requiring scholarly, documented responses to key issues discussed within the class.

3) Department SLO #3 -- Develop appropriate skills in research design and methodology used to examine the various interdisciplinary areas of the PAS curriculum. This includes, but is not limited to, the student having developed an informed overview of African American culture from varying perspectives including religion, psychology, social organization, economics and the Black Aesthetic.

Skills in research design and methodology are developed as a result of students writing formal essays in a variety of formats allowing students to put diverse rhetorical strategies into practice as well as learning to use of library and online databases, academic journals, and other academic resources with the purpose of documenting their arguments effectively. Furthermore, participation in a series of four (4) Internet Discussion Room Forums (i.e., “Let’s Rap”) on various topics with students doing background reading and also debating with classmates using logical, well-constructed arguments based upon evidence and sound reasoning develops those Information competencies. Lastly, there is the research and writing of a “Capstone” paper based upon reading Robert Whittaker’s On the Laps of Gods: The Red Summer of 1919 and the Struggle for Justice That Remade a Nation (2008) with the student using Modern Language Association guidelines in the writing and formatting of the paper.

Requirements:

The students enrolled in this course have the following as primary factors in grading requirements:

Ø Let's Rap (WebCT Discussion Forum): For each week of the course up through “Review Week,” students will have the opportunity to “rap” with one another in this setting which is much like a Chat Room. The instructor will post one topic session taken from today’s headlines where Black America is concerned for dialogue that the students in the course can respond directly to every 5-7 days during this 6-week summer. There are four (4) such “Let's Rap” forums during the semester. Each “Let's Rap” provides the student with an opportunity to post a first response to a discussion prompt provided by the course instructor. This first posting to in response to the instructor’s query is valued at up to 2.0 points. The student then receives up to 1.0 points per reply to the postings made on the same prompt by two other students for a total of 2.0 points -- and a cumulative 4.0 points per “Let's Rap forum.” As noted earlier, students have 3 days in which to make that initial posting and the remaining 2-4 days to reply to the postings made by others in the class. The four Let's Rap forums are then averaged together in comprising the first primary grade component in the course;

Ø Black Culture Midterm and Final Course Examinations: These examinations are based upon those lectures, presentations, films, readings and other course-related activities. They are both essay examinations. The Midterm Examination employs a “Take-Home” format and is due as noted by the course instructor. The examinations are averaged together in forming the second primary grade requirement for the course. These examinations are written using large (i.e., 8 ½”x11”) Blue Books. No student will receive a grade higher than “B” who fails to take either of these examinations and, under no circumstances, shall any student receive a grade of “C” or higher who misses and fails to makeup up both examinations (No exceptions!);

Ø African American Collaborative Culture Presentations: Each student is assigned to a group which makes a formal, 60-minute oral class presentation based upon one of the chapters from the course textbook The African American Odyssey. That presentation is to include a formal Study Guide of the assigned chapter for each member of the class. These groups are expected to make use of Power Point with the presentation. They may also bring in video, film and other media as part of the overall presentation. The Culture Presentation constitutes the third primary grade component. No student will receive a grade higher than “B” who fails to participate in the assigned African American Culture Presentation (No exceptions!);

Paul Robeson, “The Black Colossus”

Ø African American Culture Film Evaluations: There will be a total of nine (9) formal written evaluations of films screened and/or assigned in the class. These evaluations must be written according to the format described by the course instructor. They must be submitted via email on the date and time assigned. No “late” film evaluations will be accepted for grading. These film evaluations represent the fourth primary grade component for the class and are graded on a 4.0 scale. In order to qualify for an “Honor Grade” of “B” or higher in this course, students must maintain a grade point average of 2.30 (i.e., “C+”) or higher on the film evaluations (No exception!);

Ø African American Odyssey Chapter Reviews: There will be a total of ten (10) formal chapter reviews (i.e., based upon the Reviews Questions at the end of each chapter) done by students enrolled in this course. These Chapter Reviews, all coming from The African American Odyssey required textbook, must be submitted via email on the date and time assigned. No “late” reviews will be accepted for grading for these Chapter Reviews which represent the fifth primary grade requirement. In order to qualify for an “Honor Grade” of “B” or higher in this course, students must maintain a grade point average of 2.30 (i.e., “C+”) or higher on the chapter reviews (No exception!);

From Gov. Charles Brough Scrapbook, Arkansas History Commission, via Associated Press

The “Elaine Riot” killed 4 whites and well over 100 blacks. The defendants above were sentenced to die in trials lasting as little as an hour. All of this is part of what makes On the Laps of Gods: The Red Summer of 1919 and the Struggle for Justice that Remade a Nation the core work that it is in this Introduction to Black Culture course.

Ø African American Culture Research Paper: Each student is to prepare a critical analysis of Robert Whittaker’s On the Laps of Gods: The Red Summer of 1919 and the Struggle for Justice that Remade a Nation for this course as the capstone “Term Paper” requirement. That paper is to be written according to MLA guidelines. The paper must be at least seven (7) typewritten, double-spaced pages with no less than (1) 1,500 words, (2) no less than twelve (12) formal citations, and (3) no less than three citations taken from sources other than the assigned On the Laps of Gods itself. Capstone papers that fall short in measuring up to these “minimum” requirements will automatically be judged as “Fail.” The Capstone Paper constitutes the seventh and final primary grade factor for this PAS 100 Introduction to Black Culture course. No student will receive a grade higher than “B” who fails to meet this core requirement.

Grading Scale:

The grading for this course is done on a “Plus/Minus” basis according to the system and scale described in the CSUN Undergraduate Catalogue 2000/2002. Each of the primary grade factors is averaged as a single component by computer, with the Bonus points as an extra factor. The cumulative grade point average is then as follows:

“A” = 3.7 – above

“A-“= 3.5–3.69;

“B+” = 3.3 - 3.49;

“B” = 3.0 - 3.29;

“B-“= 2.7 – 2.99;

“C+” = 2.3 – 2.69;

“C” = 2.0 – 2.29;

“C-“= 1.7 – 1.99;

“D+” = 1.3 – 1.69;

“D” = 1.0 – 1.29;

D-“= .7 - .99;

And

“Fail” = 0.0 - .69

African American Odyssey Cultural Bonuses: Students are able to supplement and enhance their grade standing in the class in a number of ways. Those students with perfect course attendance (i.e., no absences and no tardies) will receive .25 bonus points at the end of term; students who do not miss submitting a single assignment (i.e., film evaluations and chapter reviews) on time as noted will receive .25 bonus points at end of term; students whose Culture Group Presentations make use of Power Point will receive .25 bonus points at the time of presentation; and students who commit to memory and then present to the class any one of the following poems from African American culture shall receive bonuses at the time of presentation – Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise” (1.5 bonus points); Nikki Giovanni’s “Ego-Tripping” (1.5 bonus points); Langston Hughes’ “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” (1.0 bonus points); Claude McKay’s “If We Must Die” (1.5 bonus points); and Margaret Walker’s epic “For My People” (2.0 bonus points).

Students are to make special note that final cumulative grade point averages are not “rounded off.” The final gpa, which is the mean average of the seven primary grade factors and the earned bonus points, is what the student developed as his/her body of work in the course and is that grade the student will receive. The grade of “Incomplete” will only be awarded to those students with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher who, due to unforeseen and fully verifiable circumstances, are unable to complete one or more of the final course requirements (i.e., the Term Paper and/or Final Course Examination).

Course Syllabus

“HEREIN lie buried many things which if read with patience may show the strange meaning of being black here at the dawning of the Twentieth Century. This meaning is not without interest to you, Gentle Reader; for the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line.

I pray you, then. receive my little book in all charity, studying my words with me, forgiving mistake and foible for sake of the faith and passion that is in me, and seeking the grain of truth hidden there.” – W.E.B. DuBois, from “The Forethought,” The Souls of Black Folk

Week 1 (August 22^nd-28^th) The Great and Mighty Walk Begins

“One feels his two-ness – an American, a Negro, two souls,

two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings, two warring

ideals in one dark body.”

-- W. E. B. DuBois

-- The Souls of Black Folks (1897)

Dr. John Henrik Clarke

o Theme: “The African Diaspora: "I've Known Rivers"”

o Course Orientation (Monday): “Challenge to Excellence”

o Presentation/Discussion (Wednesday): African American Culture Presentation Assignments (Based upon the following chapters from The African American: Chapter 6, “Life in the Cotton Kingdom;” Chapter 9, “Let Your Motto Be Resistance Be Resistance, 1833-1850;” Chapter 13, “The Meaning of Freedom: The Failure of Reconstruction, 1865-1868;” Chapter 15, “Black Southerners Challenge White Supremacy, 1867-1917;” Chapter 18, “Black Protest, The Great Depression and the New Deal, 1920-1941;” Chapter 21, “The Freedom Movement, 1954-1965;” and Chapter 24, “African Americans at the Dawn of a New Millennium.”

o Lecture/Discussion (Wednesday): “Writing the Film Evaluation”

o Screening (Note: All films on reserve at the Oviatt Media Center): John Henrik Clarke – A Great and Mighty Walk (1996)

o Email Assignment: To send Course Check-In via Email with preferred email address (Due by or before Friday, August 28^th)

o Reading: Chapter 1, “Africa,” from The African American, pgs. 2-23; On The Laps of Gods, Chapters 1-2; and “Writing the Film Evaluation” by Johnie Scott.

o Black Culture HW#1: MyHistoryLab Review Questions 1-5 from The African American, pgs. 24-25.

o Living Word CD: “Ghana: Ewe-Atsiabeko” from Roots of Black Music in America and “I Just Came from the Fountain” by Michael LaRue

Week 2 (August 29^th-September 4^th) Ancient Africa

“They felt the sea-wind tying them into one nation

of eyes and shadows and groans, in the one pain

that is inconsolable, the loss of one’s shore.”

-- Derek Walcott

-- Omeros

“Maafa” is a Kiswahili word used to describe tremendous calamity, catastrophe, tragedy or disaster. Dr. Marimba Ani introduced it into contemporary African-American scholarship as a preferred reference to the period in world history, identified as the Middle Passage or Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

o Theme: “The Door of No Return”

o BCHW#1 Due -- Chapter 1 Review (Via email as of 10:00am, September 2^nd)

o BCFE#1 Due (Via email as of 8:00pm, Friday, September 4^th)

· Course Lecture (Monday, August 31^st)): Rap Time Discussion Forum with Special Guest, Ms. Kate Berggren, Coordinator, CSUN Office of On-Line Instruction

o Special Presentation (Wednesday, September 2^nd)): “Research Navigator and MyHistoryLab” (Kristina Gong, Guest Lecturer)

o Screening (Note: All films on reserve at the Oviatt Media Center): Ethnic Notions: Profiles in Prejudice (1987)

o Reading: Chapter 2, “Middle Passage,” from The African American, pgs. 26-49; On The Laps of Gods, Chapter 3.

· Black Culture HW #2: MyHistoryLab Review Questions 1-5 from The African American, pg. 50.

· Let's Rap No. 1: “What Was I Taught About Black Culture in High School?” (Opens for posting on Wednesday, September 2^nd with responses to writing prompt due by 8:00pm Thursday, September 10^th. Subsequent postings to classmates to be made up through 8:00pm, Wednesday, September 23^rd)

o Living Word CD: “Bars Fight” (poem by Lucy Terry; read by Arna Bontemps) and “Go Down Moses” (sung by Bill McAdoo)

Week 3 (September 5^th-11^th) Maafa: The African Holocaust

“Anytime, anytime while I was a slave, if one minute’s freedom

had been offered to me, and I had been told I must die at the

end of that minute, I would have taken it – just to stand one

minute on God’s earth a free woman – I would..”

n Elizabeth Freeman

o Theme: “The Rape of Africa”

o Presentation (Wednesday, September 9^th): “Writing the Film Evaluation”

o Screening (Note: All films on reserve at the Oviatt Media Center):: Amistad

o BCHW#2: Chapter 2 Review Due (Via email as of 10:00am, Wednesday, September 9^th)

o Black Culture FE#2 Due – Ethnic Notions: Profiles in Prejudice (Via email as of 8:00pm, Friday, September 11^th)

o Reading: Chapter 4, “Rising Expectations – African Americans and the Struggle for Independence,” from The African American, pgs. 80-100; On The Laps of Gods, Chapters 4-5.

o Black Culture HW #3: Chapter 4, Review Questions 1-5 from The African American, pg. 102.

o Living Word CD: “Bars Fight” (poem by Lucy Terry; read by Arna Bontemps) and “Go Down Moses” (sung by Bill McAdoo)

Note: Monday is official national holiday – LABOR DAY. Campus is closed with no classes.

Week 4 (September 12^th-18^th) The Freedom Struggle Begins (1783-1820)

“My feet have felt the sands

of many nations,

I have drunk the water

Of many springs.

I am old.

Older than the pyramids,

I am older than the race

That oppresses me,

I will live on…

I will out-live oppression.

I will out-live oppressors.”

-- John Henrik Clarke

-- “Determination,” July 16, 1998

o Theme: “Death or Liberty” (Proposed inscription for a flag to be used in Gabriel’s planned rebellion of 1800)

o Guest Presentation (Monday, September 14^th): “For My People” (Guest Speaker, Ms. Rachael Johnson)

o Lecture/Discussion (Monday, September 14^th): “Dominant Images of the Black Community: Black Men, Black Women and Black Children”

o Course Lecture (Wednesday, September 16^th)): “The Door of No Return: The Transatlantic Slave Trade”

o Black Culture HW#3 -- Chapter 4 -- Due (Via email as of 10:00am, Monday, September 14th)

o Black Culture FE#3 -- Amistad -- Due (Via email as of 8:00pm, Wednesday, September 16th)

o Reading: Chapter 5, “African Americans in the New Nation, 1783-1820,” from The African American, pgs. 104-127; On The Laps of Gods, Chapter 6.

o Black Culture HW #4: Chapter 5, Review Questions 1-5 from The African American, pg. 130

o Living Word CD: “Remembering Slavery”: Interviews 1-2.

Marlon Riggs’ documentary Ethnic Notions is Emmy Award-winning documentary tracing for the

First time the deep-rooted stereotypes which have fueled anti-black prejudice.

Week 5 (September 19^th-25^th) Behind the Cotton Curtain

“The beginning of Wisdom is knowing who you are.

Draw near and listen.”

-- Swahili Proverb

“When the European emerged in the world in the 15^th and 16^th centuries,

for the second time, they not only colonized most of the world, they

colonized information about the world, and they also colonized images,

including the image of God, thereby putting us into a trap, for we are

the only people who worship a God whose image we did not choose!”

-- John Henrik Clarke

“From SBA to SIA: A Great and Mighty Walk”

o Theme: “Behind the Cotton Curtain”

o Chapter 4 Review Due (Via email as of 10:00am, Monday, September 21^st)

o Lecture/Discussion: “Of Uncle Toms, Mammies and Coons” (Monday, September 21^st)

o African American Culture Presentation Group #1: “Life in the Cotton Kingdom,” Chapter 6 from The African American, Wednesday, September 23^rd, 2009.

o Black Culture HW#4 Due (Via email as of 10:00am, Monday)

o Reading: Chapter 7, “Free Black People in Antebellum America,” from The African American, pgs. 164-188; On The Laps of Gods, Chapter 8.

o Black Culture HW #5: MyHistoryLab Review Questions 1-5 from The African American, pg. 190;

o Let's Rap #2: “The Legacy of Michael Jackson: The Moonwalker’s Contribution to Black Culture” (Opens as of 8:00pm, Wednesday, September 23^rd and students have through Wednesday, September 30^th in which to respond to original Writing Prompt. This second Let’s Rap closes Monday, October 12^th )

o Living Word CD: “What If I Am a Woman” (speech by Maria W. Stewart; read by Ruby Dee”) and “If There Is No Struggle, There Is No Progress” (excerpt; speech by Frederick Douglass, read by Ossie Davis).

Week 6 (September 26^th-October 2^nd) Quest for Freedom

“It is in your power to torment the God-cursed slaveholders, that they

would be glad to let you go free…But you are a patient people. You

act as though you were made for the special use of these devils.

You act as though your daughters were born to pamper the lusts

Of your masters and overseers. And worse than all, you tamely submit,

While your lords tear your wives from your embraces, and defile them

Before your eyes. In the name of God we ask, are you men?…

Heaven, as with a voice of thunder, calls on you to arise from

The dust. Let your motto be RESISTANCE! RESISTANCE! RESISTANCE!

No oppressed people have ever secured their Liberty without resistance.”

-- Henry Highland Garnet

“Address to the Slaves of the United States of America”

o Theme: “There Is No Freedom Without Struggle”

o Black Culture HW#5 Due (Via email by or before 10:00am, Monday)

o Course Lecture/Discussion: “Voices of Freedom” (Monday)

o African American Culture Presentation Group #2: “Let Your Motto Be Resistance,” Chapter 9 from The African American, Wednesday, September 30^th, 2008.

o Screening (Note: All films on reserve at the Oviatt Media Center):: Sankofa

o Reading: “The Meaning of Freedom: The Promise of Reconstruction, 1865-1868,” Chapter 12 from The African American pgs. 296-318; On The Laps of Gods, Chapters 9-10.

o Black Culture HW #6: Review Questions 1-9 from The African American, pg. 320

o Living Word CD: “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” (traditional: sung by Paul Robeson).

Week 7 (October 3^rd-9^th) The American Civil War

“And their deeds shall find a record

In the registry of Fame;

For their blood has cleansed completely

Every blot of Slavery’s shame.

So all honor and all glory

To those noble sons of Ham –

The gallant colored soldiers

Who fought for Uncle Sam!”

-- Paul Laurence Dunbar

from “The Colored Soldiers,” 1895

This portrait of Dred Scott, painted by Louis Schultze, was commissioned by a "group of Negro citizens" and presented to the Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis, in 1882.

o Theme: “A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand” (Abraham Lincoln)

o Black Culture HW#6 Due (Via email by or before 10:00am, Monday)

o Library Study/Research Question (Monday, October 5^th, 2009): “The Dred Scott Decision” (Chapter 10, African American Odyssey, pgs. 248-249)

o African American Culture Presentation Group #3: “The Meaning of Freedom: The Failure of Reconstruction, 1868-1877,” Chapter 13 from The African American, Wednesday, October 7^th, 2009.

o Black Culture FE #4 Due – Sankofa (Via email by or before 8:00pm, Wednesday)

o Screening (Note: All films on reserve at the Oviatt Media Center): Glory (1989)

o Black Culture Bonus Film Evaluation #1 – Good Hair (2009)

Chris Rock observes a stylist's work during a visit to a beauty salon in Good Hair (Roadside Attractions)

o Reading: On The Laps of Gods, Chapters 11-12.

o Living Word CD: “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” (traditional: sung by Paul Robeson).

Week 8 (October 10^th-16^th) The 2^nd American Revolution

“As the great day drew nearer, there was more singing in the

slave quarters than usual. It was bolder, had more ring, and

lasted later into the night. Most of the verses of the plantation

songs had some references to freedom. True, they had sung these

same verses before, but they had been careful to explain that

‘freedom’ in these songs referred to the next word, and had no

connections with life in this world. Now they gradually threw

off the mask, and were not afraid to let it be known that ‘freedom’

in their songs meant freedom of the body in this world.”

-- Booker T. Washington

Up From Slavery

Photograph of African American troops during American Civil War

o Theme: “The Civil War as a Cleansing of the American Soul”

o African American Culture Midterm Examination: (Take-Home, Instructions to be read and Exam disseminated on Monday, October 12^th, with Due Date two weeks hence on Monday, October 26^th, at start of class)

o African American Culture Presentation Group #4: “White Supremacy Triumphant: African Americans in the South in the Late Nineteenth Century, 1875-1900,” Chapter 14,Wednesday, October 14^th, 2009..

o Black Culture Film Evaluation #5 Due – Glory (Via email as Microsoft Word attachment by or before 8:00pm Wednesday, October 14^th, 2009)

o Reading: On The Laps of Gods, Chapters 13.

o Living Word CD: “Address at the Atlanta Exposition” (Booker T. Washington).

Week 9 (October 17^th-23^rd) Black Reconstruction

“The arm of the Federal government is long, but it is far too short

to protect the rights of individuals in the interior of distant States.

They must have the power to protect themselves, or they will go

Unprotected, spite of all the laws the Federal government can put

Upon the national statute-book.”

-- Frederick Douglass

“Reconstruction,” 2^nd Session of the 39^th Congress

“The supremacy of the white race of the South must be maintained forever,

and the domination of the Negro race resisted at all points and at all

hazards – because the white race is the superior race. It has abided forever

in the marrow of our bones, and shall run forever with the blood that feeds

Anglo-Saxon hearts.”

n Henry Grady, Editor of the Atlanta Constitution, 1887

o Theme: “Black Reparations: ‘I Want My 40 Acres and My Mule!’”

o Black Culture Bonus Film Evaluation #1 Due – Good Hair (2009) via email by 6:00pm Saturday, October 17^th

o Screening (Monday, October 19^th, 2009): Ida B. Wells – A Passion for Justice (Note: Students to view film at the Oviatt Media Center)

o Peer Critiques and Discussion (Wednesday, October 21^st): Selected Rap Time Postings

o Black Culture Film Evaluation #6 Due – A Passion for Justice (Via email as Microsoft Word attachment by or before 8:00pm Wednesday, October 21^st, 2009)

o Living Word CD: “Crisis Magazine” (W.E.B. DuBois) and “The Creation” (poem by James Weldon Johnson; read by Arna Bontemps).

Week 10 (October 24^th-October 30^th) The Hey Day of White Supremacy

“The wisest of my race understand that the agitation of questions

of social equality is of the extremest folly…”

-- Booker T. Washington

“Atlanta Compromise Address,” September 18, 1895

“Mr. Washington distinctly asks that black people give up,

at least for the present three things, --

First, political power,

Second, insistence on civil rights,

Third, higher education of Negro youth…”

--W. E. B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folks, 1903

o Theme: “The Road to Phillips County, Arkansas”

o African American Culture Midterm Examinations Due (At start of class on Monday, October 26^th, as noted by instructor – no “late” exams will be accepted)

o Screening (Note: All films on reserve at the Oviatt Media Center): Rosewood (1997)

o Black Culture Bonus Film Evaluation #2 – Storm at Valley State (Available on reserve at Oviatt Media Library)

o Reading: “Black Southerners Challenge White Supremacy,” Chapter 15 from The African American Odyssey pgs. 378-497; On The Laps of Gods, Chapters 14-15.

o BCHW #6: MyHistoryLab Review Questions 1-8 from The African American, pg. 408 (Due via email as of Friday, October 30th, 2009, at 7:30pm)

o Living Word CD: “If We Must Die” (poem and reading by Claude McKay)

Week 11 (October 31^st- November 6^th) A New Negro

Mary McLeod Bethune, “From the first, I made my learning, what little it was, useful every way I could.”

o Theme: “The New Negro” (Term first developed by Alain Locke, the first Black Rhodes Scholar)

o BCFE #7 Due – Rosewood (Via email as Microsoft Word attachment by or before 7:00pm Monday, November 2^nd, 2009)

o BCFE Bonus #2 Due – Storm at Valley State (By or before 9:00pm Friday, November 6^th)

o African American Culture Presentation Group #5: "Conciliation, Agitation, and Migration: African Americans in the Early Twentieth Century," Chapter 16 from The African American, Wednesday, November 4^th, 2009.

o Reading: On The Laps of Gods, Chapters 16-17.

o Let's Rap #3: "Commentary: Of Hip Hop and Its Influence on Black Culture vs. Black Street Culture" (Opens as of 4:00pm, Friday, November 6^th with students having through 10:00pm Friday, November 13^th, in which to post response to original writing prompt. Students then have up through 10:00pm, Friday, November 27^th, in which to respond to postings made by any two other classmates)

o Living Word CD: “I’ve Known Rivers” (poem and reading by Langston Hughes) and “I, Too” (poem and reading by Langston Hughes).

Given the placement of the Pan African Studies Department in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Northridge, those students in the PAS Writing Program are immersed as well in the social sciences (e.g., History, Psychology, Anthropology, Sociology, Political Science and Urban Studies among others) as well as the arts and humanities. What this means is that those students in the Introduction to African American Culture courses are afforded a truly interdisciplinary approach in the teaching of criticial thinking, research and writing with a focus on the African American Experience and, in this instance, the Red Summer of 1919 so named by James Weldon Johnson when more than 25 American cities experienced race riots costing hundreds of lives.

Week 12 (November 7^th-13^th) The Black Colossus

“I have sown beside all waters in my day.

I planted deep, within my heart the fear

That wind or fowl would take the grain away.

I planted safe against this stark, lean year.

I scattered seed enough to plant the land

In rows from Canada to Mexico,

But for my reaping only the hand

Can hold at once is all that I can show.

Yet what I sowed and what the orchard yields

My brother’s sons are gathering stalk and root,

Small wonder then my children glean infields

They have not sown, and feed on bitter fruit.”

-- Arna Bontemps

“A Black Man Talks of Reaping,” Crisis Magazine 1^st Prize Winner, 1927

Paul Robeson (1898-1976): American actor, singer and social activist.

o Theme: “Black Culture and Society in the 1930s and 1940s”

o Presentation (Monday, November 9^th): The Black Colossus

o Screening (Note: All films on reserve at the Oviatt Media Center): Paul Robeson: The Tallest Tree in the Forest (1977)

o Reading: “Black Protest, The Great Depression and the New Deal, 1921-1941” Chapter 18 from The African American Odyssey, pgs. 478-503; On The Laps of Gods, Chapters 18.

o BCHW#7: MyHistoryLab Review Questions 1-6, pg. 506 from The African American (Due via email on Friday,November 13th, 2009, as of 7:30pm)

o Living Word CD: “Song of the Front Yard” (poem and reading by Gwendolyn Brooks) and “I Sing Because I’m Happy” (sung by Mahalia Jackson).

Note: Wednesday, November 11^th, Veterans Day, is a legal holiday. No classes scheduled. Campus is closed.

Week 13 (November 14^th-20^th) No Turning Back

“And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march

ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking

the devotees of civil rights, ‘When will you be satisfied?’ We

can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the

unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied

as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot

gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of

the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic

mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one…No, no

we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice

rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

-- Martin Luther King, Jr.

“I Have a Dream,” 1963

It has been said that the ultimate sacrifice paid by these four little girls while

attending Sunday School spelled the end of Jim Crow terrorism.

o Theme: “The Civil Rights Movement: the 3^rd American Revolution”

o Black Culture Film Evaluation #8 Due – The Tallest Tree in the Forest (Via email as Microsoft Word attachment by or before 9:00pm Monday, November 16^th, 2009)

o African American Culture Midterm Examinations Report (Monday, November 16^th): Midterm Examination Review with selected student readings

o Screening (Note: All films on reserve at the Oviatt Media Center): 4 Little Girls (1997)

o BCFE Bonus #3: The Angry Voices of Watts (1966) (On reserve at the Oviatt Media Center)

o Special Guest Lecture: "Reflections: A Look at the Steps Hollywood Has Taken to Advance the Black Image on the Silver Screen" (Guest Lecturer: Mr. Wendell Younkins, Vice President, NBC Universal Pictures and Chief Financial Officer, Geneon Universal Entertainment,Wednesday, November 18^th):

o Reading: “The Freedom Movement, 1954-1965,” Chapter 22 from The African American, pgs. 570-603; On The Laps of Gods, Epilogue and Appendix.

o BCHW#8: Review Questions 1-5, pg. 602 from The African American (Due via email on Friday, November 20th, 2009, as of 7:30pm)

o Living Word CD: “Mass Meeting” (speech by Martin Luther King, Jr.).

Week 14 (November 21^st-27^th) The Long, Hot Summers

Actual cover of Time Magazine from August, 1967

“You said that your people

Never knew the full spirit of

Western Civilization.

To be born unnoticed

Is to be born black,

And left out of the grand adventure.

Miseducation, denial,

Are lost in the cruelty of oppression.

And the faint cool kiss of sensuality

Lingers on our cheeks.

The quiet terror brings on silent night.

They are driving us crazy. And our father’s

Religion warps his life.

To live day by day

Is not to live at all.”

-- Conrad Kent Rivers

“To Richard Wright”

o Theme: “From Black Power to Black Studies to the ‘Cities of Destruction’”

o Final BCFE #9 Due – 4 Little Girls (Via email as Microsoft Word attachment by or before 7:00pm Monday, November 23^rd, 2009)

o African American Culture Presentation Group #6: "African Americans and the 1920s," Chapter 17 from The African American, Monday, November 23^rd, 2009.

o African American Culture Presentation Group #7: "Meanings of Freedom, Culture and Society in the 1930s and 1940s," Chapter 19 from The African American, Wednesday, November 25^th, 2008.

o Rap Time #3 Closes (As of 10:00pm, Friday, November 28^th)

o Final Let's Rap #4: "Barack Obama: America's First Black President" (Opens as of 10:00pm Friday, November 28^th with students having through 10:00pm Friday, December 4^th, in which to post response to original writing prompt. This 4^th and final Rap Time will close as of 10:00pm Friday, December 11^th.)

o BCFE Bonus #3 Due – The Angry Voices of Watts (Via email as Microsoft Word attachment by 3:00pm Wednesday, November 25^th)

o Reading: “African Americans at the Dawn of a New Millennium,” Chapter 24 from The African American, pgs. 668-691

o Final BCHW#9: Review Questions 1-7, pg. 694 from The African American Odyssey (Due via email on Monday, November 30^th, as of 7:30pm)

o Living Word CD: Angela Davis; “liberation/poem” (poem and reading by Sonia Sanchez).

Note: Thursday, November 26^th, Thanksgiving Day and Friday, November 27^th, Admissions Day, are both legal holidays. No classes scheduled. Campus is closed.

Week 15 (November 28^th- December 4^th) Black America

“And by examining (rap culture’s) weaknesses and blindnesses,

we are encouraged to critically confront our similar shortcomings,

which do not often receive the controversial media coverage

given to rap culture. In so doing, we may discover that many

of the values that are openly despised in rap culture are more

deeply rooted and widely shared than most of us would

care to admit.”

-- Michael Eric Dyson

“Rap, Church, and the American Society,” from

Reflecting Black: African American Cultural Criticism

o Theme: “The Voices of Young Black America: Generation Y ”

o African American Culture Presentation Group #8: "The Struggle Continues, 1965-1980" Chapter 22 from The African American, Monday, November 30^th.

o African American Culture Presentation Group #9: “African Americans at the Dawn of a New Millennium,” Chapter 24 from The African American Odyssey, Wednesday, December 2^nd, 2009.

o Reading: “Epilogue: ‘A Nation Within a Nation,’” from The African American Odyssey, pgs. 591-592

o Living Word CD: “Woman” (poem and reading by Nikki Giovanni).

Week 16 (December 5^th-11^th) The Mighty Walk Continues

“My feet have felt the sands

Of many nations,

I have drunk the water

Of many springs.

I am old.

Older than the pyramids,

I am older than the race

That oppresses me,

I will live on…

I will out-live oppression.

I will out-live oppressors.”

-- John Henrik Clarke

“Determination,” July 16, 1998

o Theme: “To Out-live Oppression and Oppressors: Moving Forward into the 21^st Century and Beyond”

o Guest Lecture: "Hip Hop and the Future of Black Culture in the 21st Century (Guest Lecturer, Dr. Anthony Ratcliff, Assistant Professor of Pan African Studies, CSU Northridge, Monday, December 7^th): Selected Rap Time Postings and Film Evaluations

o "Writing the Capstone Paper; Guidelines and Further Notes" (Wednesday, December 9^th)

o Final Rap Time #4 Closes (As of 4:00pm, Friday, December 11^th)

Week 17 (December 12^th-18^th) The End of the Road

"Behold, the only thing greater than yourself!" This travel through time, through history, through actions and reactions, through poetry, dance and song, through hard times, painful times, through highlights and low points has all all been part of what makes the walk so mighty, some memorable, most of all, instructive.

o Final Examinations (Wednesday, December 16th, 2009, from 10:15am-12:15pm, Large Green Book Required)

o Return of Black Culture Portfolio (i.e., Midterm Examination, African American Culture Journal, etcetera, Wednesday, December 16th, 2009)

o African American Culture Term Paper Due (Via email as a Microsoft Word attachment as of Wednesday, December 16^th, 6:00pm – No “Late” papers accepted!)

Final Notes