Course Descriptions

BKST 101 Introduction to Black Studies (1)
An interdisciplinary broad survey of the experience of people of African descent. Although focus is on the African American facet, the African and Black Caribbean experiences are examined, especially where they connect with the African American dimension. Disciplines explored include history, religion, sociology, political science, economics, art, music, literature, and psychology. HSS; DV; F.Hord;

BKST 140 The Art of Rock & Roll (1)
A chronological survey of American popular music styles that led to the development of rock 'n' roll, beginning with the blues styles of the late 1800s. Historical, social, cultural, and aesthetic issues are explored. Cross Listing : MUS 140; Staff

BKST 145 Introduction to African Studies (1)
An interdisciplinary introduction to African history and culture, with consideration given to the philosophies, religions, politics, economics, social life, education, and the arts of African peoples. Beginning with African classical civilization, the course explores the early African presence in Asia, Europe, and the Americas, traditional African philosophies and religions, the impact of Islamic and European slavery, the experiences of colonialism, neo-colonialism and apartheid, and the ideas of twentieth-century leaders. We also explore the major problems of contemporary African development. Alternate years. HSS; Cross Listing : HIST 145; F.Hord;

BKST 205 Race and Ethnic Relations (1)
The course examines the development and role of race and ethnicity in comparative perspective. HSS; DV; Cross Listing : ANSO 205; W.Hunigan;

BKST 206 Theory in the Flesh: Writings by Feminists of Color (1)
This course is an introduction to the rich and diverse contributions of women of color to feminist theory. We investigate the question of why many non-white, non-middle class women have challenged the claims and practices of Euro-American feminism. Black, Chicana, Asian-American and Native American feminists address race and racism as it affects their lives, and invite white feminists to do the same. The goal is to renegotiate a basis for feminist solidarity. HUM; DV; Cross Listing : GWST 206; M.Roy-Fequiere;

BKST 207 Black Women in the Civil Rights Movement (1)
An historical survey of Black women in the modern Civil Rights Movement, especially of their significant contributions. We shall explore the virtual silence regarding those contributions for almost a quarter of a century and how that silence was broken. The most prominent organizations will be examined and the gender and class issues that evolved. Finally, the sexism of Black men in the movement will be assessed, along with interracial relationships. Cross Listing : GWST 207; F.Hord;

BKST 210 Jazz History (1)
Survey course and topical seminar designed to broaden student's knowledge of the spectrum of recorded jazz with a heavy emphasis on listening, primary source readings, speaking, and critical writing. The course examines the basic musical elements that define jazz as a unique musical idiom by examining stylistic periods, major innovators, performers and composers, issues of improvisation, and musical practices. Primary source readings contextualize music through discussions of the complex relationships between jazz, ethnicity, gender economics, politics and social history.HUM; DV; Cross Listing : MUS 210; N.Malley;

BKST 215 Black Psychology (1)
Since the beginning of the American film industry, white, black and other filmmakers have used the black image to interrogate American identity. This course focuses upon the often contentious dialog between white and black filmmakers, critics, and activists over the creation and control of the black image - a struggle that has been a fundamental component of the American film industry since its creation. Examination of this artistic conflict helps students to explore the larger social struggles and issues surrounding race in American society, as well as to experience the richness of African American culture and the vibrant history of American film and criticism. Above all, students learn to see the political, social and economic context in which film is created, viewed, and understuodd. Some of the issues to be discussed include: the black aesthetic; representations of the black family, religion, and gender/sexuality by Hollywood vs. independent black films; the changing black image in film over time; the business and economics of filmmaking. Cross Listing : PSYC 215; F.Hord;

BKST 220 Francophone African Literature (1)
An introduction to African authors who write in French. The texts exist in an underlying conflict between two cultures: African and European. The course emphasizes the relationship between the texts and the socio-economic and political structures. HUM; Prereq : FREN 210 or FREN 211; Cross Listing : FREN 220; C.Akuetey;

BKST 227 The Black Image in American Film (1)
Since the beginning of the American film industry, white, black and other filmmakers have used the black image to interrogate American identity. This course focuses upon the often contentious dialog between white and black filmmakers, critics, and activitists over the creation and control of the black image - a struggle that has been a fundamental component of the American film industry since its creation. Examination of this artistic conflict helps students to explore the larger social struggles and issues surrounding race in American society, as well as to experience the richness of African American culture and the vibrant history of American film and criticism. Above all, students learn to see the political, social and economic context in which film is created, viewed, and understood. Some of the issues to be discussed include: the black aesthetic; representations of the black family, religion, and gender/sexuality by Hollywood vs. independent black films; the changing black image in film over time; the business and econimics of filmmaking. Cross Listing : AMST 227; M.Roy-Fequiere; K.Hamilton;

BKST 228 Environmental Racism (1)
This course focuses upon issues of environmental quality, and how the cost to human health and access to environmental benefits is often distributed according to race and poverty. Proposals devised by environmental and civil rights groups working within the growing environmental justice movement are also explored. The goal of this course is to help students understand more fully how decisions affecting the health of neighborhoods, regions, and groups of people are made, and what individuals can do about it. The link between evrironmental issues and past and present discrimination is examined from an interdisciplinary perspective, requiring students to do work in both the natural and social sciences. Fieldwork will also be required.DV; Cross Listing : ENVS 228; P.Schwartzman; K.Hamilton;

BKST 231 African Art History (1)
Traces the history of African art from ancient Nubia to contemporary work from the Ivory Coast. Encompasses as well the study of ritual, African and western aesthetics and the contributions of African art to that of the West. HUM; DV; Cross Listing : ART 231; T.Gant;

BKST 233 African American Literature (1)
A survey of African American literature from the mid-eighteenth century to the present. Major literary movements, major writers, and folk literature are studied in historical, cultural, and purposive context. Consideration is given to the form and language of the literature, as well as to the dynamics of cultural repression. Alternate years. HUM; Cross Listing : ENG 233; F.Hord;

BKST 234 African and Black Caribbean Literature (1)
A survey of twentieth-century African and Black Caribbean literature. After tracing the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century backgrounds of that literature, we explore the Indigenism, Negritude, and Negrista movements, including the interaction between African and Black Caribbean writers. Post-World War II writing includes emphasis on its increased visibility in the 1950s; the art, nationalism/Pan-Africanism, and orality orientations since 1960; and the question of language. Alternate years. HUM; Cross Listing : ENG 234; F.Hord;

BKST 235 African American Women Writers (1)
A broad survey of the poetry, fiction, autobiographies and literary criticism of African American women. Beginning with late eighteenth-century poetry, we explore the themes and images of black women and men, language, settings, and form of that literature. With African American women at the center of discourse speaking as subjects, we further examine the interlocking of gender, race, and class and the uniqueness of their experience as reflected in their literature, as well as how the historical context of internal colonialism has affected their voices. Alternate years. HUM; DV; Cross Listing : ENG 235; M.Roy-Fequiere;

BKST 240 Caribbean Literature and Culture (1)
The course surveys literary, historical and political works that have shaped ideas on race and culture in the Caribbean context. Special attention is given to critical readings of such texts as Columbus' letters to the Spanish crown; the 19th century Cuban anti-slavery narrative; and to the highly original literature of the Negritude movement. In addition we reflect on the significance of popular culture as a creative response to racial and social oppression. Prereq : sophomore standing or permission of the instructor; Cross Listing : LAST 240; M.Roy-Fequiere;

BKST 248 Teaching Assistant (1/2 or 1)
Prereq : Permission of instructor; May be graded S/U at instructor's discretion; Staff

BKST 250 Independent Study (1/2 or 1)
Staff

BKST 251 History of Modern Africa (1)
This course examines Africa's history and social political development since colonization (1900-). Beginning with the Berlin Conference, we focus on colonial policies, nationalism and nation-building, and Africa's international affairs. Prereq : BKST/HIST 145 recommended; Cross Listing : HIST 251; E.Edi;

BKST 252 West African Politics and Globalization (1)
This course examines the economic, social, and political impact of globalization in West Africa (ECOWAS countries). Emphasis is laid on how West African leadership and masses respond to neoliberalism. Prereq : Sophomore standing or permission of the instructor; Cross Listing : IIS 252; E.Edi;

BKST 254 Music of the African Diaspora (1)
This course examines the transmission of music from Africa throughout Europe, South America, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the U.S. We examine the ways in which African musical systems have traveled, changed, and incorporated new sounds, how the African experience differs around the globe and how displaced communities share core social processes and characteristics. Students examine the concept of blackness as a broad and heterogeneous set of qualities that extend beyond the boundaries of Africanism and African-Americanism. Music studied includes West, North and South Africa, Reggae, Jazz, Blues, Afro-Cuban Santeria, Samba, Candomble, Copeira, Merengue, and World Beat. Prereq : Sophomore standing or permission of the instructor; Cross Listing : MUS 254; N.Malley;

BKST 260 African Dimensions of the Latin American Experience (1)
A survey of the African relationships with the Latin American peoples in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Beginning with the Pre-Columbian contacts, we focus on Mexico, Brazil, Haiti, Puerto Rico, and Cuba, with some attention given to Guatemala, Argentina, Costa Rica, Panama, and the Dominican Republic. Alternate years. Prereq : sophomore standing or permission of the instructor; Cross Listing : LAST 260; F.Hord;

BKST 263 Slavery in the Americas (1)
This course surveys the experiences of Africans enslaved in the Caribbean, Latin America, and the United States. It is designed to introduce students to the complex history and issues of slavery, and to help them understand the origins, nature and impact of this institution. Slavery is examined both as an international system with global impact, and as a comparison of the smaller local systems of individual slave societies. Some of the subjects addressed include: European economic motivation and gain; capture and enslavement in Africa; differences between slave systems in the Americas; comparisons of slave revolts and abolition movements; African cultural retention in different slave populations; comparison of racist ideology and race relations in different slave societies. This course serves as the first half of the African-American history series, and as a required course for the major in Black Studies. HSS; DV; Cross Listing : HIST 263; K.Hamilton;

BKST 264 African American History Since the Civil War (1)
This course surveys the development of African American society from the end of slavery through the Bush administrations. Lectures and reading assignments focus upon the struggle of Americans of African descent to shape their own identity and destiny, and the social, political and economic forces that have both encouraged and constrained these efforts. Some of the topics discussed include: Reconstruction; the development of Black ghettos; the effects of wars and foreign policy upon American race relations; Black separatism; the Civil Rights Movement; and the significance of African American leaders and institutions. Readings are taken from a mixture of secondary and published primary sources. HSS; DV; Cross Listing : HIST 264; K.Hamilton;

BKST 278 Stereotypes and Prejudice (1)
This course is an introduction to the psychological literature on stereotypes and prejudice. We study general concepts and theories, as well as examine stereotypes and prejudice directed at particular groups. Emphasis is placed on the evaluation and discussion of this material. Prereq : PSYC 100; DV; Cross Listing : PSYC 278; K.Shaw;

BKST 285 Black Philosophy (1)
An introduction to the black philosophical tradition of self in community from its origins in ancient Egyptian myth and ritual to contemporary African American thinkers. Authors read include, among others, W.E.B. Du Bois, C.L.R. James, bell hooks, Kwame Nkrumah, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., Angela Davis and Cornel West. Alternate years. HUM; Prereq : one course in Black Studies, one course in philosophy, or permission of the instructor; DV; Cross Listing : PHIL 285; F.Hord;

BKST 295 Special Topics (1/2 or 1)
Courses offered occasionally to students in special areas of Black Studies not covered in the usual curriculum.Staff

BKST 322 Black Religion (1)
An interdisciplinary approach to African American religion, focusing on its history and sociology, but also including its social psychology and how it has affected politics, economics, music, theology and biblical scholarship. It begins with a consideration of the invisible slave church as the first instance of collective black self-determination in America, and continues to examine black religious ideas as the independent black church expanded in the 1800s and 1900s within the wider context of race discrimination and white-over-black social and economic oppression. We analyze ways in which the black church as an institution has responded to the various conditions of African American life, and how it has shaped those conditions. Alternate years. Cross Listing : ANSO 322; F.Hord;

BKST 335 "Afridentity" and "Hispanity" in Caribbean Literature from the 19th Century to the Present (1)
This course examines the representation of race, class and color in the literatures of Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic from the 19th century to the present. The course emphasizes the relationship between literary texts and the socio-historical context with special attention given to political ideologies in these post-colonial societies. The images of blacks and mulattoes and also the conceptualization of identity in these countries are explored. Prereq : SPAN 235 or equivalent; or permission of instructor; Cross Listing : LAST 335; J.Dixon;

BKST 336 Science and the Social Construction of Race and Gender (1)
We will examine the social construction of race and gender and how social constructs influence scientific knowledge. We will use the social constructs of the past and present to discuss the following: (a) How does science define and how does it examine issues related to gender and race? (b) How do societal attitudes about race and gender influence scientific knowledge and scientific access?DV; Cross Listing : PREC 336; M.Crawford; D.Cermak;

BKST 348 Teaching Assistant (1/2 or 1)
Prereq : Permission of instructor; May be graded S/U at instructor's discretion; Staff

BKST 350 Independent Study (1/2 or 1)
Staff

BKST 362 Themes in African-American Political Thought Since Emancipation (1)
This course is about how fundamental themes in black political thought recur, overlap and intertwine. Among the themes, we consider how the accommodationism of Booker T. Washington, the Pan-Africanism of Marcus Garvey, the Islamic Fundamentalism of Malcolm X and the Afrocentricity of Haki Madhubuti are all connected by a fundamental negotiation of black capitalism. By contrast, the theme of Marxist influence is studied through the careers and writings of socialist labor leader A. Phillip Randolph, entertainer and activist Paul Robeson, Black Panther founder Huey Newton and Communist and political prisoner Angela Davis. The themes of assimilation, acculturation and African American citizenship are linked through the writings of W.E.B. DuBois and James Baldwin, the direct action protest movement of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the presidential campaigns of Jesse Jackson. Additional themes are suggested by the writings of Alexander Crummell, Anna Julia Cooper, Mary Church Terrell, bell hooks and Molefi Asante. Alternate years. Prereq : junior standing and prior work in Black Studies or U.S. History; or consent of the instructors; Cross Listing : AMST 362; F.Hord; K.Hamilton;

BKST 366 The American Civil Rights Movement (1)
See description for HIST 366. Prereq : sophomore standing; also HIST 161 or HIST 264, or permission of the instructor; DV; Cross Listing : HIST 366; K.Hamilton;

BKST 377 Women Playwrights: The Search for the Female Voice in Contemporary World Theatre (1)
Analysis of the works of female playwrights who represent diversity in race, nationality, perspective, and style. A brief review of the evolution of feminisms is traced in order to identify the areas of thought and conflict that most influence the condition of the female writer and specifically the playwright. Prereq : junior standing or permission of the instructor; DV; Cross Listing : ENG 377; E.Metz;

BKST 389 Theory and Method (1)
This course primarily seeks to familiarize students with the range of theoretical paradigms and research methodologies applied within the field of Black/Africana Studies in preparation for the Advanced Seminar (BKST 399). The paradigms include Afrocentric, Feminist/Womanist, Nationalistic, Negritude, Pan-African and other related perspectives. Significant attention is also given to various mainstream paradigms in the social sciences and humanities which students can expect to encounter in other disciplines. Through the vehicle of these paradigms, the course provides a rigorous examination of the historical construction, political uses, and social meanings of race as a determinant factor in the distribution of power, status and resources throughout the African Diaspora. This course provides students adequate preparation to conduct supervised research on a wide range of topics within the field of Black Studies. F.Hord;

BKST 390 Research Paper (.0)
Students enroll for BKST 390 in conjunction with a research project done for BKST 350, 366, 399, 400, or other appropriate course as approved by the program chair.W; Staff

BKST 392 Oral Presentation (.0)
Students enroll for BKST 392 and do a presentation outside of formal coursework, as approved by the program chair. Suitable examples could include the successful completion of honors in Black Studies, or a process consisting of an oral practice, instructor critique, and public oral presentation of work done for BKST 350, 366, or 399.O; Staff

BKST 395 Special Topics (1/2 or 1)
Courses offered occasionally to students in special areas of Black Studies not covered in the usual curriculum.Staff

BKST 399 Advanced Seminar (1)
Based on the theory and method studied in BKST 389, students pursue a term-long independent research project. Research is presented to the group during the term and written up as a research paper. A wide range of research projects is possible, from library or archival research to community action projects. Prereq : 3 core courses in Black Studies, 4 Black Studies electives, BKST 389; or permission of the instructor; F.Hord;

BKST 400 Advanced Studies (1/2 or 1)
See College Honors Program. Staff