Afro-American Studies 170 - Grassroot Exp Amer Lfe & Cul I
Fall
2014
01
3.00
Johanna Ortner
TU TH 11:30AM 12:45PM
UMass Amherst
79404
This course combines instruction in research tecnniques in a variety of Humanistic and Social Science disciplines, and hands-on experience with those techniques, with substantive materials focusing on the long struggle of minority populations for full participation in American cultural and public life. (Gen.Ed. I,U)
Sub Title: The Wire
The Wire was an American television drama series set and produced in and around Baltimore, Maryland. The series premiered on cable channel HBO in 2002 and lasted for five seasons. The Wire has been described by many critics as the greatest television series ever made and one of the most accomplished works of fiction of the 2000s. The show is recognized for its realistic portrayal of urban life, its literary ambitions, and its uncommonly deep exploration of sociopolitical themes.
Each season of The Wire focused on a different facet of the city of Baltimore: the illegal drug trade, the seaport system, the city government and bureaucracy, the school system, and the print news media. Drawing upon academic sources as well as select, screened episodes from The Wire, this course will focus on contemporary urban America, with special attention paid the illegal drug trade as well as failing school systems. The structural roots of, and response to many urban problems?involving institutionalized racism, urban renewal, deindustrialization, and the ?war on drugs? pursued by the Nixon and Regan administrations?will also be examined.
Quizzes, a take-home midterm, and a final exam will be required.
The Wire was an American television drama series set and produced in and around Baltimore, Maryland. The series premiered on cable channel HBO in 2002 and lasted for five seasons. The Wire has been described by many critics as the greatest television series ever made and one of the most accomplished works of fiction of the 2000s. The show is recognized for its realistic portrayal of urban life, its literary ambitions, and its uncommonly deep exploration of sociopolitical themes.
Each season of The Wire focused on a different facet of the city of Baltimore: the illegal drug trade, the seaport system, the city government and bureaucracy, the school system, and the print news media. Drawing upon academic sources as well as select, screened episodes from The Wire, this course will focus on contemporary urban America, with special attention paid the illegal drug trade as well as failing school systems. The structural roots of, and response to many urban problems?involving institutionalized racism, urban renewal, deindustrialization, and the ?war on drugs? pursued by the Nixon and Regan administrations?will also be examined.
Quizzes, a take-home midterm, and a final exam will be required.