SOC 121 - Foundations of African and African American Studies

Credits: (3)
This course will introduce students to the interdisciplinary field of African and African American studies. It will put the struggle of people of African ancestry and those in Africa itself in historical, political, economic, psychological and social context. It will examine how race, a social construction that has been used since the 15th century, has served as a pretext to enslave, oppress, exploit, marginalize, disparage and even murder people of African ancestry. This course will emphasize two main themes. Fist, the regime of terror and exploitation that people of African descent have been subjected to for five centuries. Second, their resistance to this exploitation through diverse, creative and courageous strategies and tactics up to the present day. The course will feature first-hand accounts of black people telling their own stories of struggle, resistance and triumph against systems designed to limit their full humanity.