HISTORY 130: African-American
History II
Office Phone:
Email: john.riedl@montgomerycollege.edu
Office Hours: M 11-11:50, W 11-11:50, T 5:30-6:20, Th 5:30-6:20, or by appointment.
Course Objectives:
History
is made not only by the powerful, but by ordinary people in their everyday
lives. In this course we will try to
make sense of African-American history from emancipation to the present through
the use of primary and secondary readings, films, lectures, discussions and
internet resources. By the end of the
course students will be able to:
|
Identify the
various methods of social control that replaced slavery in the Southern
states. |
|
Compare and
contrast the various strategies of racial advancement in the late nineteenth
and early twentieth centuries. |
|
Analyze the
causes and effects of twentieth century African American migration. |
|
Describe the
effects of the Great Depression, World War II and the Cold War on African
American life and culture. |
|
Assess
African American activism in the mid twentieth century. |
|
Identify
political, cultural, social and economic changes in the late twentieth
century. |
* Darlene
Clark Hine and Kathleen Thompson, A Shining Thread of Hope
*David
Howard-Pitney, Martin Luther King Jr.,
Malcolm X, and the Civil Rights Struggle of the 1950s and 1960s (2004)
*W. E. B. DuBois, Souls of Black Folk (1989, original
1905)
*Ida B. Wells, Southern Horrors and Other Writings; The Anti-Lynching Campaign of Ida B.
Wells, 1892-1900
(1996, original ~1900)
Adam Fairclough, Better Day Coming (2001)
*You
may also watch as many as three movies related to this period of
African-American history from a list provided in class. These
films are available in the MC library, and you can find many of them through a
local library or video store
Assignments and Evaluation:
Your course grade will be
determined by the following criteria, on a 100 point scale (900=A, 800=B,
etc.).
--Assignments:
If you want to read a little
less, you can choose to watch up to three movies and turn in a 2-3 page paper
analyzing the film (details will be provided in class). Details will be distributed in class. Each movie assignment is worth as much as 40
points. There is also an optional
Newspaper Assignment, worth as much as 50 points. There will also be other ways to accumulate
points, announced throughout the semester.
You can earn extra credit in this section, but your total assignments
grade cannot exceed 430.
--Class Participation (11--110 Points): This grade will be determined by in-class
participation—which includes punctuality and engagement as well as answering
and asking questions.
--Map quizzes (Total 7%--70
Points):
These will cover the basic geography important for understanding African-American
history.
--Four Tests (Total 33%—330 Points): Tests will be
short answer and essay and will cover the lecture material.
--Final Paper (11%--110
Points): The final paper will be your opportunity to
sum up what you have learned in the course.
It will be due during our exam period.
An Invitation:
I
encourage all of you to contact me by phone, email or in my office with any
questions or comments in the course of the semester. My office hours especially are there for you,
so please come by. We can even talk
about things other than history!
Disability Support
Services (
Ways to Succeed in the Course:
1) Come to class regularly
and punctually. Any more than 1 full absence
will lower your final grade by 100 points, or a full letter grade (B becomes a
C). TWO TARDIES EQUALS
2) Turn assignments in on
time. (A deadline was a line drawn
around prisoner of war camps and those crossing it were shot.) This means you should start the assignments
early. In most cases late assignments
will not be accepted and when they are the grade will be severely and arbitrarily penalized.
3) Take thorough notes during
lectures—you’ll need them to do well on the tests.
4) Review your notes from the
previous lecture just before class—this will increase participation and
comprehension. If no one can remember
the previous lecture, there may be pop quizzes.
5) Plan on spending at
least two hours of preparation for every hour spent in class.
6) All cell phones and other
electronic devices should be turned off and
put away during class. Your cell
phone ringing equals an absence. Don’t
disrupt class if coming in late.
7) If you decide to drop a
course, be sure to complete the withdrawal paperwork, or you will fail.
8) Academic dishonesty of
any kind will not be tolerated, so don’t do it. If you turn in work that is not your own, you
will FAIL THE COURSE. See the
Student Code of Conduct (42001CP, VIII A-E).
9) If you have problems, make sure you talk to me right away—don’t wait until the end of the semester. Communication is the key to success.
Course Schedule:
Week # 1 (1/27): Freedom and Reconstruction
Week # 2 (2/3):
Though Justice Sleeps
Assignments Grade Plan Due
Week # 3 (2/10):
Making Jim Crow
First Five Questions Due
Week # 4 (2/17): Conquest and Hope
Test One: The test will be writing-intensive, and will end
promptly at 7:00, after which we will begin the night’s class. If you want extra time, you can start the
test early, at a time announced in class.
Week # 5 (2/24): “The New Negro”
Map Quiz #1
Week # 6 (3/3): New Activists
Week # 7 (3/10):
Depression Radicalism
Test Two: The test will be all writing, and will end promptly
at 7:00, after which we will begin the night’s class. If you want extra time, you can start the
test early, at a time announced in class.
Week # 8 (3/24):
Assignments Deadline # 1
Week # 9 (3/31):
Into the Cold War
Week # 10 (4/7): A Groundswell
Test Three: The test will be all writing, and will end promptly
at 7:00, after which we will begin the night’s class. If you want extra time, you can start the
test early, at a time announced in class.
Week # 11 (4/14):
The Promised Land?
Week # 12 (4/21):
Problems Solved and Unsolved
Week # 13 (4/29):
Dealing With Backlash
Assignments Deadline # 2
Week # 14 (5/5): The American Dream
(some restrictions apply)
Map Quiz #2
Final Exam (Test Four) T 5/12, 7:15-9:15
Final Paper due by