Badmen and Blues Women Explorations in African American Culture

This course is designed to demonstrate to students the importance of Black interiority and the interpersonal in the struggle for Black liberation in America. It will offer students an opportunity to familiarize themselves with a variety of texts from across the Black radical tradition. What makes this course unique, however, is the parts of these texts that will be emphasized. Where others might prioritize politics and public spectacle, this course will direct students towards the personal – love lives, childhoods, personal awakenings, etc. – to show how these parts of the Black lived experience informs the development of politics and consciousness.