The Course

The primary focus of this course is Africans throughout the diaspora. It employs written documents, oral texts, material culture, cultural landscapes, and biohistorical studies to investigate African diaspora life and culture during the development of capitalism and colonialism until today. The course seeks to reveal the multifaceted nature of the African diaspora experiences in the Americas and the Caribbean. To place these experiences into a global historical perspective African connections will also be addressed.

Plantation and urban contexts are examined in the Americas, especially the United States (both north and south), and Africans in Mexico and South America are also discussed. The course integrates theoretical, methodological and substantive issues regarding Africans in the diaspora including: their origins in Africa, quality of life (i.e., health and diets) and their resistance to captivity. We will explore "Free" Africans that owned other African captives, the underground railroad, emancipated African descendant wage labor tenants, and early multiracial communities.

The class format will take the form of lecture and discussions and will include slides, guest lecturers, videos and possibly a class tour of Underground Railroad and archaeological sites in CT.

This course fulfills the General Education requirement for Study Area III Behavioral Sciences as well as the Writing and International requirements. It also fulfills the requirement for an anthropology major, a minor, and a concentration in archaeology.

If you need course adaptations and accommodations because you are differently abled, or if you have emergency medical information to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Course Requirements

The required and the recommended texts are available at the Other Book Store and the CCSU Campus Bookstore. Copies of required supplemental readings will be placed on reserve in the library under my name and this course number. There may also be a limited number of the required readings available in the anthropology department office FD 110. Students must read these articles IN THE ROOM ONLY!! If you want to copy them you must leave your student I.D. card with the department secretary. I suggest that you look at bestbookbuys.com to see if any of the books are available. They seem to have the best prices around. The one drawback is that delivery time is anywhere from five (5) days to two weeks!

Regular and prompt attendance is required and will constitute 10% of your grade. This will be monitored by the signing of an attendance sheet every class session. More than three (3) unexcused absences will result in a significant reduction in your grade and TEN (10) OR MORE WILL MEAN FAILURE!!!

Active participation in class discussions is required and constitutes 10% of your grade.

Required Readings

You are required to read the assigned materials for each week PRIOR to class. To insure that this is done there may be UNANNOUNCED QUIZZES. Quizzes will be short essay questions based on videos, assigned readings and class discussions and WILL COUNT toward your grade.

There will be two (2) map quizzes. One on the United States and one on Africa. They are worth 10% of the grade. If you don't pass them (a maximum of (5) five incorrect answers on U.S. and (10) ten on Africa) the first time, you must arrange to retake the quiz. You must get no more than two (2) wrong on each the second time, and you must get them all correct by the third time. YOU CANNOT PASS THE COURSE WITHOUT PASSING THE MAP QUIZ!!!

There will be a mid-term examination worth 25% of your grade and a final examination worth 25% of your grade. These exams will consists of short answers and essay questions drawn from lectures, readings, videos and class discussions. There will be NO MAKE-UPS unless the professor is informed in advance of an unavoidable reason for missing the exam.

You must write a research paper in essay form. This will be worth 20% of your grade. Papers should be 10 to 15 NUMBERED pages of text (double spaced, typed -- including title page) plus references, illustrations etc. The paper can be on an assigned topic or a pre-approved topic that you want to do. Research papers must included readings from the class that are relevant for your paper topic. The papers are due on the day of the final examination, May 12 at 11-1 pm.

Finally, there may be other opportunities to get extra-credit for attending lectures, conferences and the like. In this case you are required to write a 2-3 page paper describing the particular activity, naming names and affiliations, and how it was relevant for our course.

COURSE OUTLINE: TOPICS AND READINGS

READINGS