HIST 219 - In Motion: African Americans in the United States

Cross-Listed as AMST 219

In Motion is an introduction to modern African American History from slavery to contemporary times. In Motion emphasizes the idea that both African Americans and the stories of their lives in the United States are fluid, varied and continually being reinterpreted. Rather than a strict chronological survey, this course is organized thematically. Some of the important themes include movement/mobility/migration; work/labor; resistance to systems of oppression; gender/sexuality/culture/performance; politics/citizenship; and sites of (re)memory. While the course is geographically situated in the United States, we will also consider African American life, culture, thought and resistance in global perspectives. In this course, students will read important historical texts, both primary and secondary, engage in discussion, and write essays that ask them to critically engage the history of African Americans in the US. Can count towards “Gender,” or “Race and Indigeneity,” or “Law and Social Justice,” or “North America” fields. Every year. (4 Credits)