Course Catalog 2007-2008
Director: Associate Professor Toni King, Joint Appointment with Women's Studies
Associate Professor John L. Jackson (Black Studies and Religion)
Lauren Araiza (History), Ruramisai Charumbira (History), Suzanne Condray (Communication), Susan Diduk (Sociology/Anthropology), Joanna Grabski (Art), Desmond Hamlet (English), John Jackson (Black Studies), Toni King (Black Studies and Women's Studies), Linda Krumholz (English), Jeffrey Kurtz (Communication), Veerendra Lele (Sociology/Anthropology), Anita Mannur (English), Erika Molloseau (Communication), Frank Proctor (History), Donald Schilling (History), Mitchell Snay (History), Anita Waters (Sociology/Anthropology), Raymond Wise (Music); Academic Secretary Donna Ellis
The Black Studies Program invites students to investigate the Black experience as it manifests itself in Africa, North America, the Caribbean, and in other parts of the African diaspora. While the Program's primary focus is the study of the Black experience in North America, fundamental to this enterprise is a recognition of the triangular relationship between Africa, the Caribbean and the United States.
The Program seeks to serve the general needs of the college by providing course offerings across the full range of academic divisions. At the same time, it is designed to meet the specialized interests of students through an interdisciplinary major and minor. Therefore, many appropriate courses are found under the rubric of other departments.
The Black Studies curriculum is administered by a faculty committee and the director of the Center for Black Studies. This committee reviews and approves the educational plans developed by majors in consultation with the director of the Center for Black Studies. Students wishing to major or minor in Black Studies should contact the director of the program.
A Black Studies major requires a minimum of 32 credit hours and the completion of a senior research project. The senior research project should be designed in consultation with the director of Black Studies. Field research or field experience may comprise a portion of the senior research project. A wide range of field opportunities in local Black communities is available to students through the Center for Black Studies.
There are three core courses in Black Studies, required of a major in the area: Black Studies 235, Introduction to Black Studies; English 255, Ethnic Literature; and History 225, The History of Blacks in America.
In addition to the core courses and the senior research project, the Black Studies major requires the completion of at least one course in Women's Studies. While any Women's Studies course may be used to fulfill this requirement, students ideally should choose a course that includes a discussion of topics about Black women. Appropriate courses may be selected in consultation with the director of Black Studies.
Other requirements include the completion of one course whose primary subject matter is Africa or the Caribbean and Latin America. This requirement is designed to encourage students to confront, in a substantial manner, the triangular relationship between the Black experience in Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America, and North America.
The minor in Black Studies requires a minimum of 24 credit hours. Students wishing to be awarded a minor in Black Studies must complete the three core courses (Black Studies 235, English 255, and History 225). Students also are required to complete at least one Women's Studies course. Courses which satisfy this requirement may be selected in consultation with the director of Black Studies.
Additionally, students are required to complete one Black Studies course whose primary subject matter is Africa or the Caribbean, plus a senior research project in the form of a directed study which seeks to correlate Black Studies with some aspect of the student's major field. Although it is not required, students are encouraged to include a field experience component in the directed study. The directed study should be taken in the senior year.
Black Women's Lives: Autobiography As Protest (BLST-102). This course explores autobiographies and personal narratives of Black women as a form of individual and collective liberation and protest. Because black women embody a dual outsider status in the society, narratives offer an opportunity to examine black women's resistance to race, class, and gender oppression. We will work with the multiple genres of autobiography such as poetry, essay, short narrative, memoir and major autobiographical works. These autobiographical texts will be paired with select readings from black studies and women's studies to provide Afrocentric, womanist and black feminist frameworks. Using these analytical tools we will examine Black women's narratives for themes of personal, social and political liberation. As a final project, students will write their own narrative of resistance and critique the ways their texts intersect strategies of resistance employed by Black women. King. 4
African-American History (BLST-125). Staff. 4
Gospel Choir (BLST-130). This course will explore the historical development of African-American Gospel music and Spirituals through instruction and participation in a choral ensemble. In addition, students will learn about appropriate choral tone, sound, style, improvisation, rehearsal and performance techniques as they relate to the performance of African- American music. This class will also focus on the development of aural skills through rote music instruction, in addition to learning music by notes. This class is open to students, staff and faculty of all levels. Wise. 1
Beginning Jazz Technique (BLST-152). Course normally listed as DANC 152. Staff. 2
African Visual Culture (BLST-154). Staff. 4
Gender, Imperialisms, and Colonialisms in African History (BLST-165). Beginning with "classic" theoretical readings on Gender and Imperialism, this seminar will provide a forum to "explore" the gendered nature of imperialism and colonialism with a particular focus on key imperial nations of the 19th century, namely Britain, France, Belgium, and Portugal. Often projected as a male endeavor, the success (and failure) of European imperial projects in Africa had as much to do with women as ithad to do with men. The readings and our own research into the subject matter will help us "discover" this historical reality. We will read a wide variety of primary and secondary source material , including travelogues, novels, films, photographs, newspapers, and histories of imperialism and colonialism. Each student will pick a research topic of her or his choice; this will afford each one a wonderful opportunity to hone research, writing, and presentation skills. Charumbira. 4
Hist of Africa Since 1880 (BLST-172). Staff. 4
Elementary Topics in Black Studies (BLST-199). Staff. 1-4
Race and Ethnicity (BLST-212). An introduction to the sociocultural analysis of race and ethnic group membership, in its various historical and geographical contexts, especially that of the contemporary United States. The reasons that ethnic group membership has remained an important factor in social life and the conditions under which such membership forms the basis of social and political mobilization are explored. Issues such as assimilation, neo-colonialism, and split labor market are critically evaluated with attention to their ideological bases, explanatory power and policy implications. This course satisfies the Minority/Women's Studies requirement and has no prerequisite. Course normally listed as SA 212. Waters. 4
Jazz and Other Music of Black America (BLST-218). Course normally listed as MUS 218. Staff. 4
World Music (BLST-219). Course normally listed as MUS 219. del Grazia. 4
African-American History (BLST-225). Course normally listed as HIST 225. Staff. 4
Afro-American Dance Theatre (BLST-226). Course normally listed as DANC 226. Staff. 4
Rebellion, Resistance and Black Religion (BLST-228). Course normally listed as REL 228. Jackson. 4
Gender, Race and the Media (BLST-229). Course normally listed as COMM 229. Condray. 4
Music of Africa and Afro-Latin America (BLST-231). Course normally listed as MUS 231. Staff. 4
African American Gospel Music (BLST-234). Course normally listed as MUS 234. Wise. 4
Introduction to Black Studies (BLST-235). An introductory study of the Black experience in America, this course will survey the field by examining in series, the various social institutions that comprise Black American life. Students will be introduced to fundamental contemporary issues in the study of Black religion, politics, economics and the family. Additionally, this course will serve as an introduction to Afrocentricity, "the emerging paradigm in Black Studies," and to the new scholarship on Blacks in America. King, Jackson. 4
An Introduction to Modern Africa (BLST-236). Course normally listed as HIST 235. Staff. 4
Comparative Therapeutic Systems (BLST-237). Course normally listed as SA 235. Maynard. 4
History of Africa to 1800 (BLST-238). Course normally listed as HIST 234. Charumbira. 4
Ethnicity & Racism Media (BLST-239). Course normally listed as COMM 239. Staff. 4
Special Topics in Religion (BLST-240). Staff. 4
Ethnic Literature (BLST-255). Course normally listed as ENGL 255. Krumholz, Mannur. 4
Oral Tradition and Folk Imagination (BLST-259). Course normally listed as ENGL 259. Staff. 4
Special Topics in ARTH (BLST-262). Course normally listed as ARTH 262. Staff. 4
Black Women and Organizational Leadership (BLST-265). This class explores Black women's leadership orientations in organizations. Afrocentric and womanist frameworks are used to inquire about Black women's leadership in the context of their lives. In this course we explore and theorize Black women's use of communal and generative leadership orientations as well as their application of a multiple and oppositional consciousness. Organizational dilemmas stemming from their race, class, and gender, as well as the unique challenges Black women leaders face in creating a supportive life structure are examined. Students will critique the omission of Black women's leadership styles in the mainstream theories about leadership, as well as explore the implications of Black women's leadership for expanding mainstream theory. King. 4
Studies In History (BLST-285). Intensive study of selected periods or topics in history at the introductory level. May be taken more than once. Example of recent topics are: Pre-Colonial African History. Course normally listed as HIST 285. Staff. 4
Africa on Film (BLST-295). Staff. 4
Power/Politics Africa Art (BLST-297). Staff. 4
Arts Post-Colonial Africa (BLST-298). Grabski. 4
Special Topics in Communication (BLST-315). These classes focus intensively upon a particular aspect of communication. May be taken more than once for elective credit as an upper division course. Examples of recent topics include: Civil Rights Movement and African American Female Rhetors. Course normally listed as a section under COMM. Staff. 4
Peoples and Cultures of Sub-Saharan Africa (BLST-320). Course normally listed as SA 320. Diduk. 4
African-American Women's Literature (BLST-325). Historical and contemporary African-American women's literature grounds an inquiry into black women's literary and intellectual traditions within the matrix of race, gender, class, and sexual relations in the United States. Course normally listed as ENGL 325. Staff. 4
History of Southern Africa (BLST-326). Course registration for this course is made under HIST 325. Staff. 4
Composition Theory and Pedagogy (BLST-335). An introduction to theory and practice in composition and an opportunity to apply theories in Denison's Writing Center or nearby classrooms. Students may concentrate on applying theory to any context, tailoring the practicum to their areas of interest. Staff. 4
Cross Cultural Study of Art (BLST-336). Course normally listed as SA 336. Diduk. 4
Culture, Identity and Politics in Caribbean Society (BLST-339). This course focuses on the social, cultural and political life of the Caribbean area, especially the English- and French-speaking areas. A fragmented group of nations decidedly on the periphery of the global economy, the Caribbean was once one of the richest areas of the world. Its riches then depended on the labor of enslaved Africans; the fruits of the plantation economy were enjoyed mainly by European planters. What is the legacy of such a history? We review the variety of Caribbean politics, from the strong democratic traditions of Jamaica to the autocratic rulers of Haiti, and explore how the Caribbean's unique combination of cultural influences affect the political processes, ways of life, class divisions and ethnic stratification evident in the Caribbean today. This course satisfies the Non-Western Studies requirement. Prerequisite: 100 or consent. Waters. 4
Social Justice Movements in Communities of Color (BLST-340). An analysis of the transition from social movements rooted in identity politics to multicultural/multiracial social justice movements characterized by coalition politics, this course will examine the challenges of community-based organizing, grassroots mobilization, strategic goal-setting, protest tactics and other issues progressive movements confront on the road to success. The course will span the gamut of social justice movements from the 1960s civil rights and black power movements to the 1970s and 1980s student anti- Apartheid/divestiture movement, to student solidarity with Haitian refugees to Mexican immigrant workers for economic justice, Asian immigrant women's struggles in the fashion industry, to the Native American campaign for environmental justice -- all in the 1990s. The challenges of building successful multiracial/ multicultural movement organizations will be examined. This course satisfies the Minority/Women's Studies G.E. requirement. Note: Cross-listed with Soc/Anth 340. Prerequisite: BLST 235 or S/A 100 or consent. Jackson. 4
Topics in Black Studies (BLST-345). Staff. 4
Special Problems (BLST-346). Special problems which are offered at an advanced level in topics not covered in regular courses. Examples of topics covered are Culture, Identity and Politics in Caribbean Society, and Sexuality in Cross-Cultural Perspective. Course normally listed as SA 346. Staff. 4
The Harlem Renaissance (BLST-355). An analysis of the interrelationship between the cultural phenomenon and the literature of the Harlem Renaissance, particularly the way in which the social, economic and political conditions of the era helped to shape the literary art of the 1920s. Course normally listed as ENGL 355. Hamlet. 4
The Narrative of Black America (BLST-356). A study of representative samples of Black literature ranging from slave narratives to contemporary Black fiction. Course normally listed as ENGL 356. Staff. 4
Postcolonial Literature and Criticism (BLST-357). Readings in literature and criticism from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, in response to the experience of colonialism. Staff. 4
Directed Study (BLST-361). Staff. 1-4
Directed Study (BLST-362). Staff. 1-4
Independent Study (BLST-363). Staff. 1-4
Independent Study (BLST-364). Staff. 1-4
16th/17th Cent Brit Lit (BLST-365). Staff. 4
Adv Topics Black Studies (BLST-370). Staff. 4
Senior Project (BLST-385). Staff. 4
Topics in Black Studies (BLST-390). Staff. 4
Drama Seminar (BLST-404). Intensive study of a major playwright, genre, form or theme. The seminar topics will vary from year to year. Repeatable. Prerequisite: 201 or two courses in English literature. Pauze. 4
Senior Research (BLST-451). Staff. 4
Senior Research (BLST-452). Staff. 4