Humanities and Fine Arts 191HFA1 - FYS - Race in America

A century ago WEB Du Bois wrote two of the most important books on race in the American canon (The Souls of Black Folk and The Gift of Black Folk). These works were, in part, pursuing a mission to educate white America on the realities of racism in our country. Du Boise's dream was that America would undergo a cultural evolution that would transform mainstream American society into one that was able to understand and appreciate the humanity of African Americans. As the continued impoverishment of, and violence against, African American, Latino, and Native American people has demonstrated, this work is still ongoing. We are here to contribute to the Du Boisian mission. To this end the course will examine what Barbara Fields calls "racecraft" in order to examine its pervasive influence on American life, and how it negatively impacts American politics, popular culture, civic society and communities of color.

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 2017.