A355 Afro-American History I
(3 cr.)
Section C435
Mon. – Wed. 2:30-3:45 P.M.
Instructor: M. H. Little
Office: CA 503C
Telephone: (317)274-0098
E-mail: mlittle@iupui.edu
Introduction
Welcome to Afro-American History I. Prior enrollment in either A150 Survey
of the Culture of Black Americans or H105 American History I
is desirable, but not required for enrollment.
This course is designed as part one of a two course sequence dealing
with the history of Africans in the United States. This particular segment of the course examines the history of
Africans in the U. S. from approximately 1619 to 1863, with some sessions
devoted to earlier and later periods as well.
The course is topical within a chronological framework. Emphasis is placed on the various ways in
which Africans Americans remade themselves over time as the principal
architects of their own group struggle for freedom within the United
States. At the same time some attention
is devoted to the various ways in which Europeans attempted to hinder and/or
restrict the choices of African people within the U. S. in an ongoing effort to
maintain a herrenvolk democracy.
Course Requirements
Course work involves attending weekly lectures and participating in weekly discussions, two 5-7 page book review essays, a midterm and final examinations. Regular and prompt attendance at all class meetings as well as submitting all assignments on-time is absolutely essential for successful completion of the course. Requirements for this course also conform to IUPUI’s Principles of Undergraduate Learning, which can be consulted by clicking the link below on this web page. Students’ course grades will be determined on the basis of their performance in the areas of (a) attendance--15%; (b) participation in discussions--15% ( c) written assignments--30%; and (d) examinations--40%. Note that the information contained in this syllabus is tentative and subject to change.
Academic Dishonesty
It should be noted that any form of academic
dishonesty committed in the course will not be tolerated. This includes obvious types of dishonesty
such cheating on examinations and plagiarism as well as submitting the same
paper for credit in two different courses.
Any student who is found guilty of such criminal behavior by the instructor
will be awarded an F for the course as well as having his/her dishonesty
recorded as a permanent part of his/her student record. For a more detailed explanation of the
different types of academic dishonesty, please consult the IUPUI Student Responsibilities
and the Student Rights and Responsibilities handbooks.
The following books are
required reading for the course. They
may be purchased at the IUPUI Bookstore, Follet’s Bookstore or online at 
Barnes & Noble.com.
Colin Palmer, Passageways Vol. I.
Thomas Holt et al., Major Problems in
African American History, Vol. I
Wilma King, Stolen Childhood: Slave Youth in Nineteenth Century America
James O. Horton and Lois Horton, In Hope of
Liberty: Culture, Community
and Protest Among Northern Free Blacks, 1700-1860
Weekly assignments are as follows:
Week of:
Aug.
19 - Introduction to the
Course
Welcome
Purpose of the course
Objectives of the course
Click here
for IUPUI’s Principles of Undergraduate Learning
Aug. 26 - Western Perceptions of Africans and
African Americans
Lecture: Africa and
the Origins of European Racism
Read: Palmer, pp. 1-27 ; Holt, pp. 38-81
Sept.
2 -
The Cultural Foundations of African Americans
Lecture: Africa, America and the
Origins of an African Identity
Read: Palmer, pp. 29-50
; Holt, pp. 82-108
Sept.
9 - Africans in America: The Creation of the African American
Diaspora
Lecture: Africans, Europeans and
New World Slavery
Read: Holt, pp. 110-156
Sept.
16 - The Changing Structure of African American Society
Lecture: African America and Ante-bellum Slavery
Read: Palmer, pp. 52-90;
Holt, pp. 157-194; King all
Written assignment #1 due
Sept.
23 - In–class Review and
Midterm Examination
Sept.
30 – African American Slave Culture and Community
Lecture: The African American
Family--Slave and Free
Read: Palmer, pp.
95-123; Holt, pp. 195-244
Oct.
7 - African American Religion
Lecture: The Origins of the
Black Church
Read: Palmer, pp.
126-155
Oct.
14 - African American Social and
Cultural Life
Lecture: Ante-bellum African American Society and
Culture
Read: Palmer, pp. 158-182; Holt, pp. 245-292
Oct.
21 - Towards Freedom
Lecture: The Free Black Community in Ante-bellum
America
Read: Palmer, pp.
185-222; Horton and Horton, all
Written
assignment #2 due
Oct.
28 - African Americans and
Opposition to Slavery
Lecture: Black Abolitionists
and Slave Revolts
Read: Palmer, pp.
225-253; Holt, pp. 294-332
Nov.
4 - African Americans and
Abolitionism
Lecture: White
Abolitionists, African Americans and Abolitionism
Read: Palmer, pp.
255-282
Nov.
11 - The Emancipation Struggle and
African Americans, I
Lecture: The Civil War--From Saving the Union to Emancipation
Read: Harvey Wish, “Slave Disloyalty Under the Confederacy,” Journal
of
Negro
History,
Vol. 23 (Oct., 1938), pp. 435-450; Herbert Aptheker, “Negro
Casualties in the Civil
War,” Journal of Negro History, Vol. 32 (Jan.,
1947),pp. 10-80; Gerald Gunderson, “The Origin of the Civil War,” Journal
of
Economic History, Vol. 34 (Dec., 1974), pp. pp. 915-950; Claudia Goldin and
Frank D. Lewis, “The
Economic Cost of the Civil War:
Estimates and
Implications,” Journal of Economic History, Vol. 35(June, 1975),
pp. 299-326
NOTE: All of the preceding articles may be
accessed thru JSTOR
Nov.
18 - The Emancipation Struggle and African Americans, II
Lecture: The Emancipation
Proclamation
Read: Palmer, pp. 284-312;
Click here 
to read John Hope Franklin, “The
Emancipation Proclamation: An
Act of Justice;” Click here 
for additional
info. on Abraham Lincoln’s
Emancipation Proclamation
Nov.
25 -
Thanksgiving Holiday—No Class
Dec.
2 - Emancipation and the African American Community
Lecture:
African Americans and the Meaning of Freedom
Read: Holt, pp. 368-417; Eric Foner, “The Meaning of Freedom in the Age
of
Emancipation,” Journal of American History, Vol. 81 (1994), pp. 435-460
Dec. 9 - Take-home Final Examination due