Critical Social Inquiry 0116 - African Diaspora

This course will deepen students' knowledge of the African diaspora through the study of what some scholars have called "Africanisms," a broad term that seeks to capture the wide array of technical skills, artistic practices, religious and spiritual beliefs, philosophies, linguistic patterns, and epistemologies that derive from the African continent and take root around the world. Though many of these practices continue in the present day, they are as likely to be found throughout the African diaspora in places such as the Panamanian city Coln, the Brazilian state of Bahia, and New York City as they are in Africa. In this course we will interrogate such concepts as "survivals," "retentions," and "the black Atlantic," and study critical debates between such major figures as E. Franklin Frazier, Melville Herskovitz, W.E.B. Du Bois, Ruth Simms Hamilton, Sheila S. Walker, Joseph E. Harris and others over the meaning of African culture in the New World.

Power, Community and Social Justice Culture, Humanities, and Languages Independent Work Multiple Cultural Perspectives Writing and Research Students are expected to spend at least six to eight hours a week of preparation and work outside of class time. This time includes reading, writing and group assignments.