Critical Social Inquiry 0120 - Biography & Social Movements

This course was designed to help students think critically about how historical narratives are constructed. Biographies provide a compelling way to examine historical questions, debates and ways of attaching meaning to broader historical developments. They offer a critical entry-point into constructing narratives that reflect the range and complexity of African American lived experiences. This course will focus on the ways in which biographies enrich our understanding of migrations, radical organizing, the building of institutions, intellectual and political cultures while also gaining a glimpse into the everyday texture of life in African American Communities. Some figures, such as Paul Robeson and W.E.B. Dubois, achieved prominence as activists and intellectuals during their lifetime. Others accomplished a great deal as activists scholars but faded from our historical memory with time, such as Pauline Hopkins and Hubert Harrison. One source, a diary that chronicles the struggles of Richelene Mitchell, is an insightful critique of the politics of poverty written by a woman not well known outside of her community. We will pay particular attention to the sources and think carefully about the kinds of materials historians explore to construct a person's life. Letters, newspapers articles, diaries and oral interviews will provide opportunities for students to raise questions and to develop interpretations of the evidence. In other words, to think like an historian.

Power, Community and Social Justice 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.