Introduction to African-American Studies

5-None

Explores historical and current social conditions of Black people in the United States. Topics include the following: origins of Black Studies; chattel slavery and resistance; Reconstruction; Jim Crow segregation; Harlem Renaissance; Black Nationalism; structural racism and anti-Blackness; Civil Rights and Black Power Movements; racial wealth gap; critical race theory and Neo-liberalism; carcerality and the prison industrial complex; white privilege and rage; and the intersection of race, gender, class, and sexuality in shaping Black identity and life chances. As a 5 unit course, BLST 1 is reading and writing intensive, with a focus on developing research skills through a Black Studies lens.