Black Studies 201 - Power/Resist Blk Atlntic

(Offered as BLST 201 [D] and HIST 267 [LA^p/AF^p])  The formation of "the Black Atlantic" or "the African Diaspora" began with the earliest moments of European explorations of the West African coast in the fifteenth century and ended with the abolition of Brazilian slavery in 1888.  This momentous historical event irrevocably reshaped the modern world.  This class will trace the history of this transformation at two levels; first, we examine large scale historical processes including the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, the development of plantation economies, and the birth of liberal democracy.  With these sweeping stories as our backdrop, we will also explore the lives of individual Africans and African-Americans, the communities they built, and the cultures they created.  We will consider the diversity of the Black Atlantic by examining the lives of a broad array of individuals, including black intellectuals, statesmen, soldiers, religious leaders, healers and rebels.  Furthermore, we will pay special attention to trans-Atlantic historical formations common during this period, especially the contributions of Africans and their descendants to Atlantic cultures, societies, and ideas, ultimately understanding enslaved people as creative (rather than reactive) agents of history.  So, our questions will be:  What is the Black Atlantic?  How can we understand both the commonalities and diversity of the experiences of Africans in the Diaspora?  What kinds of communities, affinities and identities did Africans create after being uprooted by the slave trade?  What methods do scholars use to understand this history?  And finally, what is the modern legacy of the Black Atlantic?  Class time will be divided between lecture, small and large group discussion.

Limited to 20 students.  Spring semester.  Professor Hicks.