Modern African American History: The Cost of Liberty

This course will examine the African American experience in the United States from slavery to the polarizing election of Barack Obama. We will be exploring the history of the modern United States (from about 1860-present) through the eyes of those who had the deepest appreciation for what it meant to pursue and secure freedom and liberty. This course will cover crucial historical eras from the perspective of African Americans. Our topics will include Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the Great Migration, WWI, the Harlem Renaissance, the New Deal, WWII, the civil rights movement, Black Power, the meaning of the “color line” in recent American history, and the election of Barack Obama. Our investigation will have us consider the ideas, culture, social movements, and material conditions of African Americans and how they, perhaps more than any other American constituency, helped define our current notions of American freedom and liberty.

This survey examines dramatic episodes in History from the Black Death to the Atom Bomb. Professor vividly illustrates the course, using art, architecture, and photography to give students a visual sense of historical change. The course focuses on critical topics, such as the Black Death, Religious conflict, European warfare, Women’s roles, Empire building, the rise of Totalitarianism, and the two World Wars. We end with an examination of the integrated, dangerous, and highly globalized world of today.