The student will be able to:

1. Examine and understand Black racial identity as a social construct to identify and examine the origins and history of African American Studies as an academic discipline, evaluating major philosophers, texts, and activists of the discipline.
2. Use and apply theory to identify, study, and assess the impact of lived experiences, cultural practices of individuals and communities identifying as Black or African American, and describe critical events in the histories and intellectual traditions of these communities.
3. Identify and analyze historic, social, and cultural impacts related to intersectionality of race, gender, sexuality, and identity of Blacks and African Americans and the application of anti-racist theory to various institutions exhibiting racism within the United States.
4. Examine and evaluate how oppression, resistance to racist practices, and solidarity intersect, and how each of these is experienced by Blacks and members of the African diaspora living within the United States.
5. Evaluate the academic, economic, and systematic challenges faced by the discipline of African American Studies, to study anti-racist practices and movements to encourage and facilitate commitment to establishing a just and equitable society beyond the classroom.
6. Understand and apply the conceptual framework of Afrocentrism as a critique of the historic Eurocentric pedagogical approach to learning within the United States educational system, use a decolonized African-centered worldview to examine African American life and culture.
7. Appraise contributions of Black and/or African American people living in the United States, in areas including, but not limited to, social, cultural, artistic, scientific, historical, political, and economic.
8. Identify and evaluate intersectionality found among the origins, causes, and philosophies of organized movements, including, but not limited to, the Civil Rights movement, the Black Panther Party, the Black Power movement, the Black Women’s Movement, and the Black Lives Matter movement.
9. Assess issues impacting contemporary Blacks and African Americans, and the relationship between these issues and historical legacies now present in America.
10. Analyze representations of race and race-related issues in mainstream press and social media as they relate to Black and African American communities in the U.S., to evaluate the application of anti-racist and anti-colonialist theory.

1. Examine Black racial identity as a social construct to identify and examine the origins and history of African American Studies as an academic discipline, examining major philosophers, texts, and activists of the discipline
   1. Examine the social constructs of race; specifically, Blackness
   2. Study African American studies as a discipline to understand and identify the social movements that directly impacted the creation of this discipline
   3. Examine the impact African American Studies has had on other disciplines
   4. Recognize the interdisciplinary components of African American Studies
   5. Explore the impact of Black Women's Studies on the development of African American Studies
2. Use and apply theory to identify, study, and assess the impact of lived experiences, cultural practices of individuals and communities identifying as Black or African American, and describe critical events in the histories and intellectual traditions of these communities
   1. Examine significance within African traditions, values, beliefs, histories, and customs, as it relates to members of the diaspora living within the United States
   2. Examine the common social struggles and significant events linked to the struggles of Blacks in America based on social status or positioning borne out of racial identity
   3. Appraise artistic and cultural representations that speak to Black racial identity and ethnicity in the United States
   4. Analyze historical roots and contemporary consequences of prejudice, discrimination, and institutional racism for Blacks and communities of color in America
   5. Analyze the role that agency and group identification/membership play in the contributions and accomplishments of Blacks in America
   6. Compare and contrast ancient African religious traditions with subsequent and contemporary Black Christian and Islamic traditions
   7. Review and understand the Maafa ("great disaster"), widely regarded as the African Holocaust of Enslavement, used to describe the history and ongoing effects of atrocities inflicted on African people, particularly when committed by non-Africans
3. Identify and analyze historic, social, and cultural impacts related to intersectionality of race, gender, sexuality, and identity of Blacks and African Americans and the application of anti-racist theory to various institutions linked to racist behaviors within the United States
   1. Analyze the connection between the formation of the United States of America and the institution of slavery
   2. Analyze roles of race, gender, sexuality, and identity within institutions
   3. Examine the impact of capitalism on the institution of slavery
   4. Understand and analyze theories of Intersectionality
4. Identify and understand how oppression, resistance to racist practices, and solidarity intersect, and how each of these is experienced by Blacks and members of the African diaspora living within the United States
   1. Explore the role of power, privilege, and the various systematic forces that have oppressed Black and/or African Americans throughout their history in the United States. Critique the impact on United States society, and on Black and/or African Americans
   2. Understand the connection Black and/or African American identified people have as oppressed people living in the United States, and their collective responses and/or actions
   3. Understand the diversity of the Black family and analyze the impact institutional racism has had on the development of the Black family
   4. Examine and understand the Black Wall Street Tulsa, Oklahoma massacre of 1921
   5. Explore and examine the different ways that Black and/or African Americans have internalized their oppression, and the resulting race-based traumatic stress (RBTS), which is the mental and emotional injury caused by encounters with racial bias, ethnic discrimination, racism, and hate crimes
5. Evaluate the academic, economic, and systematic challenges faced by the discipline of African American Studies, to study anti-racist practices and movements to encourage and facilitate commitment to establishing a just and equitable society beyond the classroom
   1. Identify the ways in which African American Studies' interdisciplinary approach has affected the development of topics and trends in the field
   2. Examine the impact of the racial achievement gap as it relates to Black and/or African American students
   3. Review the current political and economic trends in higher education and understand how those trends impact the discipline of African American Studies
   4. Identify anti-racist practices that can be maintained beyond the course, to encourage continued commitment to creating and sustaining an equitable society
6. Understand and apply the conceptual framework of Afrocentrism as a critique of the historic Eurocentric pedagogical approach to learning within the United States educational system; use a decolonized African-centered global view to examine African American life and culture
   1. Understand the theory of Afrocentricity, and the main components of African American Studies
   2. View African American life, from the inception of the U.S. to present day, through a decolonized African-centered lens that uses a global worldview
   3. Analyze the state of African American life from the perspective of a nonwhite (European) dominant society
   4. Determine how an African American worldview assesses the life and culture of African Americans, versus an African-centered worldview that assesses life and culture for African Americans
   5. Critique the Eurocentric pedagogical approach to learning practiced within the educational system of the United States
7. Appraise contributions of Black and/or African American people living in the United States, in areas including, but not limited to, social, cultural, artistic, scientific, historical, political, and economic
   1. Analyze the history of Black and/or African American artistic, musical and literary expression
   2. Examine the ways that Black and/or African Americans have organized for social justice and fought for basic human rights for all people
   3. Explore the impact Black and/or African Americans have had on the political structure of the United States
8. Evaluate the intersectionality found among the origins, causes, and philosophies of various movements including, but not limited to, the Civil Rights movement, the Black Panther Party, the Black Power movement, the Black Women’s Movement, and the Black Lives Matter movement
   1. Identify and evaluate events in and outside of the U.S. that led to the Civil Rights movement, the Black Panther Party, the Black Power movement, the Black Women’s Movement, and Black Lives Matter
   2. Examine the purpose, philosophies and agendas of each movement, the individuals and groups at the forefront of each one, and the impact of each movement on the status of Black/African Americans
   3. Examine relationships between and among the groups, analyzing similarities and differences in philosophies, methodologies, and the impact on American society brought about by each one
9. Assess issues impacting contemporary Blacks and African Americans, and the relationship between these issues and historical legacies now present in America, including, but not limited to:
   1. The attempted control of black bodies through racist policing techniques
   2. Racist state and national legislation
   3. The demand for reparations for slavery in America
   4. The call for reform of sentencing laws that disproportionately impact Blacks in America
   5. Identify and evaluate progress made with these issues; tracing progress from past years to present day, to evaluate if impact is more or less severe than in past years
10. Analyze representations of race and race-related issues in mainstream press and social media as they relate to Black and African American communities in the U.S., to evaluate the application of anti-racist and anti-colonialist theory
    1. Examine and assess representations of issues that center Black and/or African Americans to identify the presence of racial and/or racist elements that indicate racial bias
    2. Evaluate representations in pop culture (cinema, TV, etc.)
    3. Evaluate news reports, online stories, political news, stories related to criminal activity, high-profile cases, etc.
    4. Appraise forms of anti-racist theory and practices, and through lenses of anti-racism and anti-colonialism, identify issues, and determine application of appropriate anti-racist practices

Not applicable.

Critical papers
Class presentations
Reading journals
Midterm examination
Final examination
Social justice/service learning project

Readings of multidisciplinary texts from fields including history, social and political sciences, literature, cultural studies
Viewing and analyzing various media regarding contemporary African American issues
Viewing/observing/hearing African American cultural artifacts, including art, performance, film, theater, music
Class discussion on relevant topics
Writing analytical responses to course materials
Actively engaging in social justice/service learning

Aldridge, Delores P., and Carlene Young. Out of Revolution: The Development of Africana Studies. 2013.

Karenga, Maulana. Introduction to Black Studies, 4th ed.. 2010.

Coates, Ta-Nehisi. Between the World & Me. 2015.

Leonard, David J., and C. Richard King, eds.. Commodified and Criminalized: New Racism and African Americans in Contemporary Sports. 2011.

Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America, 4th ed.. 2013.

Giddings, Paula. When and Where I Enter the Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America. 2007.

Gates, Henry Louis. Call and Response: Key Debates in African American Studies. 2010.

Young, Damon. What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker. 2019.

Kendi, Ibram X.. How to be an Anti-Racist. 2019.

Kendi, Ibram X.. Stamped from the Beginning. 2016.

1. Reading multidisciplinary texts from fields including history, social and political sciences, literature, cultural studies
2. Viewing and analysis, including information literacy and media regarding African American communities and narratives
3. Attending African American theater, film, or musical performances, or museums, and responding in writing
4. Analytical essays on readings
5. Journal entries
6. Social justice/service learning project (e.g., Foothill Research and Service Learning Symposium)
7. Group projects
8. Reflective essays on personal experiences or interviews