Journalism 395M - S-AfroAmFreedmStruggle/MassMed

Our subject in this history course is the black freedom struggle across the 19th and 20th centuries, and we will study it through the lens of communications and media. Why? Communications and media play a critical role in political and social change. They help to create community, shape public opinion, expand and constrict public memory, and inform current political discourse. The narratives that survive from our past shape our perception of who we are and how our world works. But there are also narratives that get shoved aside and ignored. One goal of this course is to revive some of those discarded stories and present a broader, deeper, and more complicated view of African American history. Additionally, we will consider the way African American history has been retold and re-imagined over time by political actors and other who were eager to make use of it in our nation's political discourse. We will pay special attention to the freedom struggle's rich history in Massachusetts.

Open to Journalism majors only.