A356

African-American History II

Section 25603

Tues. - Thurs. 9:30 A.M. – 10:45 A.M.

Cavanaugh Hall -- Room 219

Instructor:  M. H. Little

Office:  Cavanaugh Hall (CA 503C)

Telephone:  (317) 274-0098

E-mail:  mlittle@iupui.edu                                                                          

 

Introduction

 

Welcome to Afro-American History II.  This course is designed as the second half of a two course sequence dealing with the history of citizens of African descent in the United States.  This particular course examines the history of Africans in the U. S. from approximately 1863 to the present.  The course is topical within a chronological framework.  Emphasis is placed on the struggle of Africans in the United States to achieve autonomy and self-determination during the Civil War and beyond, although additional issues related to the development of African Americans as a people in a Herrenvolk democracy will also be examined.

 

Course Requirements

 

Course work involves attending weekly lectures and participating in weekly class discussions, three 3-5 page book review essays and a take-home midterm and final examinations.  Regular and prompt attendance at all class meetings is absolutely essential for successful completion of the course.  A detailed explanation of policies concerning class absences and tardiness can be consulted at the Student Responsibilities link on the Indiana University web site.  Students’ course grades will be determined on the basis of their performance in the areas of: (a) class attendance and participation--30%; (c) book review essays--30%; and (d) and examinations--40%.

 

 

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 on papers/essays as well as downloading papers from the internet or submitting the same paper for credit in more than one course without the prior approval of the instructor(s).  Any student who is found guilty of such misconduct will receive an “F” on that particular assignment as well as an “F” in the course and possible expulsion from the University.  In addition, a student’s dishonesty will be recorded as a permanent part of their academic record.  For a more detailed explanation of the different forms of academic dishonesty, please consult the IU Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct handbook online.

 

Required Readings

 

The following books are required reading for the course.  They may be purchased at the IUPUI Bookstore as well as online at either Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.com.

 

Joe William Trotter, Jr., The African American Experience Vol. II

Thomas Holt et al. (eds.) Major Problems in African American History Vol. II

A’Lelia Bundles, On Her Own Ground

Anne Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi

Carter G. Woodson, The Mis-Education of the Negro

 

Weekly assignments are as follows:

 

Week of:

 

Jan. 9th    -  Introduction to the Course

                    Read:  Holt, pp. 1-34

 

Jan.  16th  -  The Civil War and Emancipation

                      Lecture: Emancipation, the Freedmen and the Meaning of Freedom

                      Read:  Trotter, pp. 270-292; Holt, pp. 36-85; Eric Foner, “The Meaning of  

                      Freedom in the Age of Emancipation,” Journal of American History. Vol.

                      81 (Sept. 1994), pp. 435-460*

 

Jan.  23rd   -  The Struggle for Freedom and Economic Well-Being

                       Lecture: Efforts at Self-Betterment Among Blacks from 1879 to WWI

                       Read:  Trotter, pp. 293-320; Anne R. Hornsby, “The Accumulation of

                      Wealth by Black Georgians, 1890-1915,” Journal of Negro History. Vol. 74

                       Issue 1/4 (Winter-Autumn), pp. 11-30*; Bundles, all

        

 Bundles Book Review Essay due

 

 Jan. 30th    -  African Americans and the Re-emergence of White Supremacy

                       Lecture:  Jim Crow’s Domestic and Foreign Policy Implications

                       Read:  Trotter, pp. 321-342; Holt, pp. 87-124; Leon Litwack,

           “The White Man’s Fear of the Educated Negro:  How the Negro Was

           Fitted for His Natural and Logical Calling,” The Journal of Black in Higher

           Education.  Vol. 0  Issue 20 (Summer, 1998), pp. 100-108*

                                   

The Wilmington Race Riot of 1898

 

Feb.  6th     -  Black Institutional and Community Development after Emancipation

                       Lecture:  African Americans, Industrialization and the American West

                       Read:   Trotter, pp. 343-372; Robert E. Weems, Jr. “Robert A. Cole and the  

                       Metropolitan Funeral System Association,” Journal of Negro  History. Vol.

                       78 (Winter, 1993), pp. 1-15*

 

Feb. 13th   -    African Americans, the Great Migration and World War I

                        Lecture:  World War I’s Impact on Africa and African Americans

                        Read:   Trotter, pp. 374-401; Holt, 126-154; W. E. B. DuBois, “The Negro

Soldier in Service Abroad During the First World War.” Journal of Negro

Education Vol. 12 (Summer, 1943), pp. 324-334*

 

                                    Take-home midterm examination due

 

Feb. 20th    -    The 1920s and the Birth of Modern Black America

             Lecture:  The Harlem Renaissance and the Rise of the New Negro

             Read:  Trotter, pp. 402-410; Holt, pp. 186-218

 

Harlem:  Mecca of the New Negro

 

 Feb.27th     -    Modern African American Political and Social Trends

             Lecture:  Garvey, DuBois and Modern Pan-Africanism

                          Read:   Trotter, pp. 411-433; Holt, pp. 156-183; Woodson, all

                       

                                     Woodson Book Review Essay due

Mar. 6th       -    African Americans, the Great Depression and the New Deal

              Lecture:  African Americans, the Great Depression and the New Deal

                         Read:  Trotter, pp. 434-489; Holt, pp. 220-249

 

Mar. 13th     -    Spring Break--No Class

 

Mar. 20th      -   African Americans and World War II

  Lecture:  The African American Response to World War II
              Read:   Trotter, pp. 490-516; Bill Mullen, “Popular Fronts: 

             Negro Story Magazine and the African American Literary Response to

             World War II.” African American Review. Vol. 30 (Spring, 1996), pp. 5-

              15*

 

                                    African Americans in World War II

 

Mar. 27th    -     The Post-WWII Human Rights Struggle and Anti-Communism

  Lecture:  African Americans, McCarthyism and the Cold War 

                           Read:   Trotter, pp. 518-545; Holt, pp. 251-280; John D. Skrentny, “The

   Effect of the Cold War On African American Civil Rights:  America and

   the World Audience, 1945-1968.” Theory and Society Vol. 27 (April,

   1998), pp. 237-285*; Mary L. Dudziak, “Josephine Baker, Racial Protest

    and the Cold War.” Journal of American History. Vol. 81 (Sept., 1994),

    pp. 543-570*

 

April  3rd     -   African Americans and the Modern Civil Rights Struggle, I

  Lecture: Black Political Activism and the Rise of the Welfare State

                          Read:   Trotter, pp. 546-572; Holt, pp. 282-311; Donald Spivey, “The

                          Black Athlete in Big-Time Intercollegiate Sports, 1941-1968.” Phylon.

                          Vol. 44 (2nd Qtr., 1983), pp. 116-125* Moody, all

 

           Moody Book Review Essay due

 

April 10th     -    African Americans and the Modern Human Rights Struggle, II

               Lecture:  From Civil Rights to Black Power

               Read:   Trotter, pp. 573-603; Holt, pp. 313-337

 

April  17th     -   African Americans in the Post-Civil Rights Era

                           Video:  “Eyes on the Prize:  Back to the Movement”

                            Read:  Trotter, pp. 604-638; Holt, pp. 338-388

 

April 24th      -     Open date

 

May 1st          -    Take-home Final Examination due Tuesday, May 2nd, 10:30-12:30

                 P.M. CA 503C

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last revised 1/4/06