GLOBAL LIVES OF BLACKNESS

Credit Hours: 3 · Graduate

This course examines the relationship between Black populations and the modern nation-state, using a ten-category global typology of Blackness as the organizing framework. We will explore how states name, protect, erase, exploit, or criminalize Blackness, and how these dynamics vary worldwide. Readings blend sociology, political theory, history, ethnography, and cultural production (film, literature). Students will engage with foundational and contemporary thought, then apply the typology through comparative analysis of texts, films, and case studies. Each week features a scholar from a country in that category and an artist, public figure, or activist whose work embodies the category’s lived realities. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: SOCI 419 . Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for SOCI 519 if student has credit for SOCI 419 .