HIST 330
AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY TO 1865
HIST 330. African-American History to 1865 (A)
Three hours lecture/discussion (3).
Prerequisite: History 111.
Examines the experiences of African Americans from the colonial era to the Civil War and Emancipation. Topics include the Atlantic Slave Trade, Colonial Slavery and the Revolutionary Era, Antebellum Slavery, the Antebellum Free African American Population, the Civil War, and Emancipation.
I. African Backgrounds
The first section of the course will be devoted to placing African Americans in America with a viable past; a history rich in culture. Aspects of that culture will include religion, family life, languages, trade, and art. Although this is not intended to be a complete picture of African history, one of the primary objectives will be to debunk the myth of the Dark Continent. This topic will serve as an introduction to the rest of the course, particularly in its relation to the slave culture in the United States.
2. Atlantic Slave Trade
During this first major topic of the course we will discuss the rise and mechanics of the Atlantic Slave Trade, as well as various aspects and consequences of that trade. This will serve as a backdrop to the enslavement of Africans in what will become the United States of America.
3. Colonial Slavery
Included here will be a discussion of the debate regarding the origins of slavery in colonial British North America. We will be primarily interested in how slavery came to be accepted in colonial America and how it developed as the basis for the labor, economic, and social structure of the colonies. Various aspects and characterizations of colonial slavery will also be discussed within the context of this topic.
4. African Americans During the Revolutionary Era
The American Revolution is seen as a major watershed in African American history. Both African Americans and slavery itself were affected by the American Revolution, its ideologies, and its results. This part of the course will concentrate on the participation of African Americans in the Revolution itself and the various ways in which their lives and future were affected by the Revolutionary Era. We will look at how slavery was abolished in the North after the Revolution and how slavery was dealt with in the United States Constitution, as well as its meaning for the new nation.
5. Slavery in the Antebellum South
This section of the course will discuss slavery in the Southern United States during the 19th century, in particular the thirty years prior to the Civil War. Included here will be discussion of numerous aspects of the institution including: the working day of slaves, differences in slavery for men and women, slave culture (religion, folklore, music, family life, etc.), and resistance to slavery.
6. Free African American Community (North and South)
Throughout the time when slavery was in existence in the United States there was always a significant number of free African Americans both in the North and in the South. Discussion here will center on the lives of those free blacks and differences among the various geographical areas in the U.S. (North, Upper South, and Lower South). It will be the goal of this section to accurately portray the situation of most free blacks; as free but unfree. The creation of a viable African American community will serve as a focal point for this topic.
7. Civil War and Emancipation
The Civil War and emancipation dramatically changed the lives of African Americans and it will be the object of this topic to discuss how blacks gained their freedom, what this freedom meant to them, as well as the realities of emancipation.
Class will meet three hours each week. The conduct of the course will be structured around a combination of lectures and group discussions-both class and small group discussions. Student participation is strongly encouraged. Primary source material will be used to facilitate classroom discussion and improve writing skills. Slides and films will be employed at varying times to supplement and reinforce the lectures. The lectures and discussions are significant for test purposes.
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. identify the connection between Africa and the United States in the history of African Americans, both historically and culturally
2. identify major themes in the subject of early African American history
3. provide a conceptual framework for exploration of some of those themes in greater depth
4. present African American history as a subject in its own right as well as an integral part of American history
5. describe the structural conditions that restricted African Americans and the efforts of blacks to protest and change these conditions.
6. write an analytical paper regarding a particular theme in African American history
7. utilize primary source material and be able to interpret that material, both orally and in written form
Two essay examinations will be given during the course of the semester: a midterm and a final examination.
Students will be expected to keep an extensive, progressive journal throughout the semester. Student journals will be based on primary source readings and specific assignments based on class discussion. Journal submissions will be reviewed with the following criteria in mind: (1) the intelligence with which the topics covered are addressed; (2) the thoroughness with which the assignments are completed; (3) the depth of insight expressed in regard to the subjects considered; (4) the thoughtfulness with which the assignments are approached.
Two analytical papers; approximately 5 pages each. Topics and specific assignments for these analytical papers will vary each time the course is taught. An example would be to have students write a paper in which, by using class lecture, discussion, and their various reading assignments, they evaluate the following statement: "Masters never achieved the total domination they sought over their slaves. Despite the efforts of slave owners to regulate all their activities, the slaves lived in a world that was influenced but by no means totally controlled by the slaveholders’ regime." The writing assignments for this course grow out of a conviction that learning is an active (not a passive process); that learning is remembering what interests you; and that learning is both goal oriented and concept centered. Therefore, to enable learning to occur, students must start with what they know, admit ignorance about what they do not know, identify interests growing out of that ignorance, then ask questions and seek to establish connections, building on current knowledge to achieve a new level of understanding.
Good writing is critical both for survival in today’s society and for historical study. The written assignments for the course are aimed at improving writing skills as well as developing an understanding of the specific topic.
This course will serve in conjunction with another proposed course, History 331, African American history from 1865 to the present to provide students with a well rounded, in-depth look into the African American experience. Each course, in of itself, will broaden the breadth of the offerings of the History Department.
Date Action Reviewed by
January 2005 McClellan