African-American History
PROFESSOR FITZGERALD
HISTORY
277
SPRING 2011
OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday 2-3, Wednesday 3-4, Thursday 3-4, and by appointment, in Holland Hall 532. I can also generally consult after class too. I tend to read in the Cage and elsewhere and welcome interruptions.
PHONE NUMBER: 3162 (leave message), or try the history department number 3167. My home number is in the book, but try not to call me at home unless it is urgent.
E-MAIL: fitz (I try to check my e-mails frequently on weekdays, and sometimes on weekends too. Also, e-mail me promptly if you see a problem with the syllabus or with the assignments).
Some students have questions, or are afraid to speak up in class on some sensitive topic. Feel free to e-mail me privately and I'll do my best to respond.
You might do well to check your e-mail daily, sometimes something comes up and I have to communicate something to the class quickly.
Finally, the course e-mail alias "history-277" is yours to use, if you care to communicate to the class, or take issue with something I said in class. Just be polite about it.
COURSE OBJECTIVE: This class is intended to provide a broad overview of the African-American historical experience, from the origins of the transatlantic slave trade to the present day. The readings are largely autobiographies or collections of primary documents illustrating the felt experience of African Americans. The class is focused on three major topics: slavery, the Jim Crow South, and the civil rights movement. The lectures mostly provide the "big picture" of the wider sweep of historical change, and how the black experience intersects with the direction of American life.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS:
Peter Wood, Strange New Land
Frederick Douglass, Narrative
Deborah Grey White, Aren’t I A Woman
Booker T. Washington, Up From Slavery and Other Documents
John Smith, When Did Segregation Begin?
Sitkoff, The
Struggle for Black Equality
TENTATIVE READING SCHEDULE (This
isn't a contract, I can change it as needed)
Feb. 8: Class Introduction and Overview of Broad Themes in African-American
History
Feb. 10: Overview of African history and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
Reading: Selection from Equaino's Narrative; Start Wood, Strange New Land
Feb. 15: Colonial Slavery in the Western Hemisphere
Reading: Wood, Strange New Land, all
Feb. 17: Liberty and Slavery in Revolutionary America
Reading: Selection from Jefferson, Notes on Virginia.
Also, Advertisements for Runaway Slaves, to be distributed in class
Feb. 22: Slavery as Lived Experience
Reading: Narrative of Frederick Douglass, all
Feb. 24: Resistance and Rebellion
FIRST PAPER DUE
March 1: Slavery as Lived Experience
Reading: First half of White, Aren't I a Woman?
Mar. 3: CLASS DISCUSSION--Women and Community under Slavery
Reading: Second half of White, Aren't I a Woman?
Short Black History Month Assignment Due
Mar. 8: Origins of the American Civil War
Reading: John Calhoun, Slavery as a Positive Good
Selections from the Lincoln-Douglas Debates
Selections from Secessionist speeches, to be handed out in class
Mar. 10: Emancipation and Reconstruction
Read Emancipation
Southern White Views of Black Freedom
Also Read Union League Documents and Ku Klux ritual
Mar. 15: Redemption, the Restoration of White Supremacy
Reading: Start reading Booker Washington, Up From Slavery, (Chapter I-VIII)
Mar. 17: MIDTERM EXAMS
Mar. 22 and 24: SPRING BREAK
March 29: Segregation and Disfranchisement: the Solidification of White Supremacy
Reading: Finish Reading Washington, Up From Slavery, and other readings
Mar. 31: Jim Crow: The South at the Turn of the Century
Reading: Smith, When Did Southern Segregation Begin?,
intro and pages 1-83
April 5: Jim Crow and Where it
Came From
Reading: Smith, When Did Southern Segregation Begin?,
finish.
Apr. 7: World War I, the Great Migration
No Reading, Second Paper Due
Apr. 12: Origins of the Civil Rights
Movement
Reading: Read handouts on Garveyism, Start Sitkoff, The Struggle for Black Equality, 1-36
Apr. 14: No Reading: In Class Films on the
Beginning of the Movement
Apr. 19: From Depression to World War Two—Origins of the Movement
Reading: Read Sitkoff, The Struggle for Black Equality, pp. 37-87.
Apr. 21: The Civil Rights Movement at
Floodtide
Reading: Sitkoff, The Struggle for Black Equality, pp. 87-154.
April 26: No Reading--Evening Film Approximately Here on Civil Rights
American Meltdown: Civil Rights at Full Tide
April 28: The Success and Failure of the Movement
Reading: Finish Sitkoff, The Struggle for Black Equality, pp. 155-235
May 3: Black Power and the Urban Uprisings
Reading: Glascow, "From Futility to Rebellion"
Stern, "Call of the Black Panthers"
Other Readings to be announced
May 5: Nixon and the Aftermath of Civil Rights
THIRD
PAPER DUE
May 10: From Black Power
to Contemporary Race Relations
May 12: From Black Power
to Contemporary Race Relations
May 17: To Obama SHORT RESEARCH PAPER: AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY IN THE
PUBLIC SPHERE
May 21: FRIDAY 2-4, FINAL EXAM
GRADING:
First Major Paper =15%
Midterm =10%
Second Major Paper=15%
Third Research Paper=15%
Fourth Short Paper=10%
Final=20%
Participation =15%
Class participation means is that you've read the material, on time, and are ready to talk intelligently about it. I tend to call on people, because it makes for a livelier class and helps me do a better job. If you are wholly unable to speak up, fine, but take it upon yourself to speak to me about the readings outside class, or e-mail me to demonstrate mastery of the material.
Anything more than three absences during the semester is a problem. Save yours for when you really do get sick. And e-mail me if you have to miss more than one class what’s going on.
GRADING POLICY: If you are one of those
people who absolutely cannot talk in class, come see me. We can work
something out, but this is a seminar, you need to work on this.
PLAGIARISM: My wife is one of the primary authors of the campus plagiarism
policy, so I’m obliged to honor it.
Plagiarism is using somebody else’s words, or their exact ideas, without
acknowledgement. Please consult me if an
issue comes up.
SPECIAL ACCOMODATIONS: Students who have a certified disability probably already know the
procedure for informing professors.
Please tell me early in the semester, with the appropriate
documentation, and remind me periodically (especially before exams) that I need
to respond to your situation.
PERSONAL ISSUES: Professors get a lot of excuses from students, but if something
is going on in your life that affects your classroom work, you probably should
let me know privately.
OTHER NOTES: Attendance is mandatory, as
is class participation and keeping up with the reading. Attendance is taken
periodically, and unexcused absences (more than three times per semester) can effect the final grade. You are
expected to be prepared by doing the reading for the day specified, ready to
talk about it intelligently. This isn't a lecture class; you do most of
the talking.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
ASSIGNMENT: By March 3rd, all students
should watch a TV show, recent movie, or some other assignment dealing with
African American life or history. Write
a one to two page summary and reflection on the themes.
E-MAIL: E-mail is an excellent way to ask questions or follow up on
issues that you don't want to raise in class, or think
of after class. It can help with paper assignments too, when you need
clarification. Feel free also to email to the class list,
"history-165," if you'd like to do so. Just be polite when you
criticize other people's ideas.
Also, check your e-mails regularly, because sometimes I have to
communicate to class when something important comes up.
FINAL OBSERVATION: Everybody has his virtues: here's mine. I tend to be pretty good about not getting upset about people disagreeing with me, especially given the nature of the subject matter. It just means you've been paying attention. So speak your peace; I won't grade you down for it--either in class or via e-mail. But don't get upset if I disagree with you either, or if your classmates disagree (politely).