Humanities and Fine Arts 191HFA1 - FYS-Race/21st Century America

This seminar will facilitate an evolving conversation concerning the function and impact of racism on the people of the United States. A century ago WEB Du Bois wrote two of the most important books on race in American history (The Souls of Black Folk and The Gift of Black Folk). These works were, in part, pursuing a mission to educate Americans on the reality of race in our country. A century later this work is still ongoing. The seminar will contribute to that mission by examining this topic into four units: Unit 1: Race as a Cultural Construction, Unit 2: How Notions of Race are Perpetuated, Unit 3: How Racism Harms Black People, Unit 4: How Racism Harms White People. These will scaffold upon each other in order to develop students' understanding of this social, cultural, political, and economic process.

Open to first-year Humanities and Fine Arts Exploratory Track students and first-year HFA Majors. Open to first-year Humanities and Fine Arts Exploratory Track students and first-year HFA Majors entering in Spring 2016.