Black Radical Thought

3 credits · Undergraduate

The course is designed to familiarize students with the influential thinkers and movements that emerged in the 20th and 21st centuries in response to various struggles such as conquest, slavery, colonialism, patriarchy, neocolonialism, and Imperialism. The course focuses primarily on Canada, the United States, Africa, and the Caribbean, and is taught from an interdisciplinary perspective that incorporates theories from Black studies, anti-racist feminism, and critical race theory. It examines primary texts, autobiographical and biographical writings, and critiques to contextualize individual thinkers. Students will explore the works of intellectuals such as Frantz Fanon, W.E.B. DuBois, Claudia Jones, C.L.R. James, Angela Davis, and Walter Rodney to gain a deep insight into the scope of their ideas and the broader social movements they were part of, including Pan-Africanism, anti-colonialism, Black Power, and Black feminism. Additionally, students will explore the impact of black radical and postcolonial theorizing on contemporary society, and will be encouraged to pursue their own research in the field of Black and African Diaspora Studies. CROSSLISTED: BAFD 3600.03 FORMATS: Lecture