Course Information
| Instructor | Tony Brown |
| Office | Smith Center 134 |
| Phone | 8285 |
| Credit Hours | 3 |
Hesston College's Mission Statement
Hesston College, the two year college of the Mennonite Church, educates and nurtures each student within Christ-centered community, integrating thought, life, and faith for service to others in the church and the world.
Course Description
This course will trace the historical, cultural, political, economic, religious and other forces that have shaped the African-American experience in the Americas with special focus on the United States.
African-American history will be taught along with Introduction to Sociology -- same time and place. Each sociological concept (for example, culture, ethnicity and religion) will be illustrated with examples from African-American history and culture. This will allow classroom analysis of topics from a sociological and historical perspective – that is, this course will provide an interdisciplinary approach to the study of this subject. A primary theme of the course will be that western, European based education, social science and history as academic disciplines provide just one of many ways to understanding existence, truth and creating a world view.
Methods
The methods in this course include use of readings, lectures, guests, simulations, videos, class-discussions, Internet web pages and field trips. Lectures would be intentionally interactive between Tony and Dwight.
The primary text for this class is: Franklin, John Hope and Moss, Alfred A. Jr. (1994) From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans. McGraw Hill: New York.
There are other texts in Mary Miller Library on reserve which will be used in a variety of ways. These texts include:
- The Autobiography of Malcom X
- Destructive of Black Civilization -- Chancellor Williams
- Six Black Presidents – Auset BaKhufu
- The Mis-educaiton of the Negro – Carter G. Woodson
- The Education of the Negro – Carter G. Woodson
- From the Browder Files – Anthony B. Browder
- The Isis Papers –Frances Cress Welsing
- The Keys to Color – Frances Cress Welsing
- Christopher Columbus – African Holocaust-- John H. Clarke
There will be a wide variety of videos used to depict African-American history. Africans in America, a history of slavery in America, a six hour video series produced by the Public Broadcasting System will used extensively in this course.
Students who wish to receive credit for both courses (that is 3 hours for Introduction to Sociology and 3 hours for African-American History) will complete all the work for both classes and complete additional work to be assigned by Tony and Dwight.
Course Outcomes
Hesston College strives to help each student become:
- a competent communicator
- a critical thinker
- a socially responsible person
- an integrative thinker
- a person of biblical understanding and faith
In this course there is emphasis upon critical and integrative thinking.
Course Objectives
- Highlight the idea that western, European based education, social science and history as academic disciplines provide just one of many ways to understanding existence, truth and creating a world view.
- Focus on the economic, technological and social forces that created the slave trade.
- Study the various aspects of slavery in the United States.
- Examine the contributions African-Americans have made and continue
to
make to the United States - Discuss the nature of both individual and institutional racism in the United.
- Explore current issues and problems around race and racism in the United States.
- Reflect upon hopeful signs related to race in the United States.
Requirements and Evaluation – Guide to Grades
There will be four exams based upon readings, lectures, videos and other material to be specified in class. Each exam will be worth 125 points. There are 500 possible exam points.
There will be four written assignments. Each assignment (and this is subject to change) will be worth 125 points. There are 500 total point for the written assignments.
There are 1000 points possible in this course.
C. For computing your final grade (grading scale):
900 to 1,000 points |
= A |
800 to 899 points |
= B |
700 to 799 points |
= C |
600 to 699 points |
= D |
below 599 points |
= NC |
A note on class participation. When your final number of points is right at the edge between two grades (for example, you have 890 points) I will determine your final grade by my evaluation of your class participation. Here, I will look for your being on time for class, your attentiveness, your questions and your responses to my questions. When I think that your class participation is positive (in the example of 890 points) you get an"A" for the final grade; if I think your participation is otherwise, you get a "B".
Attendance policy: More than four absences without an excuse from myself will result in a lowering of your final course grade by one letter per unexcused absence. Being late twice to class equals one absence. If you need to be absent due to a college sponsored activity on the day a test is to be given or a written assignment is due, it is your responsibility to talk to me about this before you leave campus!!
Please do not bring food to class. You are welcome to bring a beverage.
If you have questions about the class see me in my office (Smith Center 134/ext. 8285) e-mail tonyhb@hesston.edu or call me at home (316-283-3150).
Regarding the Form of Your Written Work
(See the end of this document for an example of how your written work should appear.)
Papers should be typed or word processed and double-spaced. Use paper with even edged margins. Do not use pages torn from a notebook. Proofread your work before you hand it in.
Please use a cover page noting your name, name of the assignment and date.
After the cover page, number each page but don’t put your name on these pages.
List the number of the specific question you are responding to before you write your response.
Whenever you quote material from a book, list the author’s last name along page number after the quote....for example, (Brown, p.4). Failure to do this is plagiarism! See Academic Integrity, below.
Quotes of three or less lines should remain in the regular body of your paper noted by quotation marks. Quotes of four or more lines should be indented 10 spaces and single spaced.
When using quotes include name of author, title of book, date and place of publication, and publisher at the end of your paper as follows:
Bibliography
Yoder, Perry (2000). New Men, New Roles. Newton, KS: Faith
and Life Press.
When quoting websites please give the name of the site along with
its URL address.
Please use staples to hold your paper together. Do not use paper clips or plastic binders.
GRADES FOR PAPERS THAT DO NOT FOLLOW THE ABOVE INSTRUCTIONS WILL BE LOWERED. SEE ME IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MATERIAL ON THIS PAGE.
Written Assignments
Written assignments as described below are to be handed-in at the beginning of the class session on the day they are due. Papers handed-in after class and before 5:00 that day will have eight points taken off their grade. After that, one letter grade will be taken off for each day the paper is late. Before you do these assignments, read "How Your Written Assignments Should Appear" above. See below for an example of how your written work should appear.
- Assignment 1
- Starting Thursday August 31 and each Thursday for the next nine weeks you will hand-in a summary of a newspaper article, Journal article or a web page from the Internet. The material you choose should be related to some aspect of African –American life-past or present. Each summary should be one page in length and will be worth a maximum of 12.5 points.
- Assignment 2
- Reflective Paper – Due October 28. At least 3 pages in length. Discuss your experience as it relates to the African-American story. Themes in this paper could be: What has been your experience with African-Americans; How do the socially constructed attitudes concerning African-Americans influence you, your family and friends? What do you See you role being in helping to construct better relations between the races?What similarities do you see between your cultural story and the African- American story? What value do you see in learning about the history of African-Americans? (Worth 150 points)
- Assignment 3
- Collaborative Project – Due November 30. At least four pages in length per group. You will be asked to work with at least two other people in the class on a project related to African-Americans. You will be free to choose your topic as long as it is related to this class. More specific directions for this assignment will be given to students. You will write a paper or do some other form of learning to complete this assignment. (Worth 200 points)
Students receiving credit for both African American History and Introduction to Sociology will do various activities outside of the classroom including the following:
- Assignment 4
- Experiential Project due dates to be specified. In this experiential assignment you will attend one African-American Church services, visit the Kansas African-American Museum in Wichita, and eat at an African-American restaurant. Details regarding this assignment are to be determined.
- Assignment 5
- one book three page book report on a topic related to the African American experience. Due Nov. 18
Course Schedule and Topics
Note that for the most part this schedule follows the outline of the table of contents of the class textbook, From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans
| Aug. 24 | Diverse Ways of Looking at Reality Land of Their Ancestors – Text - Ch.1 Ghana, Mali, Songhay and other states http://dickinsg.intrasun.tcnj.edu/diaspora/views.html |
|
| Aug. 26 | sociological perspective- What is sociology- A Definition of Sociology (from sociologyonline.co.uk) |
|
| Aug. 31 | The African Way of Life Political institutions, Economic Life, Social Organization, Religion, The Arts, African Culture in the Diaspora African Culture Through Oral Tradition (from gwu.edu) |
|
| Sept. 2 | Culture Definitions (from historyshack.com) | |
| Sept. 7 | The Slave Trade and the New World Africans in the New World, The Big Business of Slave Trading One-Way Passage, Colonial Enterprise in the Caribbean The Plantation System, Slavery in Mainland Latin America Colonial Slavery -- Virginia and Maryland, The Carolinas and Georgia The Middle Colonies, Blacks in Colonial New England |
|
| Sept. 9 | Socialization Key ideas in socialization (from open2.net) |
|
| Sept. 14 | Exam I | |
| Sept. 16 | Social structure and social interaction | |
| Sept 21 | That All May Be Free Slavery and the Revolutionary Philosophy, Blacks fighting for American independence,The Movement to Manumit Slaves, The Conservative Reaction, Blacks and the New Republic, The Black population in 1790, Slavery and the Industrial Revolution, The closing of the Slave Trade, The Search for Independence. |
|
| Sept. 23 | Social groups and formal interaction | |
| Sept. 28 | That Peculiar Institution Scope and Extent, The Slave Codes, Plantation Scene, Social Considerations The Slave’s Reaction to Bondage. Sept 30 Deviance and social control |
|
| Oct. 5 | Quasi-Free Blacks American Anomaly, The Struggle in the North and West Colonization |
|
| Oct. 12 | Exam II | |
| Slavery and Intersectional Strife The North Attacks, Black Abolitionists, Runaways-Overland and Underground, The South Strikes Back, Stress and Strain in the 1850’s |
||
| Oct.19 | No Class Fall Break | |
| Oct. 21 | Civil War Uncertain Federal Policy, Moving toward Freedom, Confederate Policy Blacks Fighting for the Union Victory! |
|
| Oct. 26 | Inequalities of race and ethnicity | |
| Oct. 28 | A personal Story from the African American experience | |
| Nov. 2 | Politics and the economy | |
| Nov. 4 | The Effort to Attain Peace Reconstruction and the Nation, Conflicting Policies, Relief and Rehabilitation Economic Adjustment, Political Currents Losing the Peace, The struggle for Domination, The overthrow of Reconstruction, The Movement for Disfranchisement, The Triumph of White Supremacy |
|
| Nov. 9 | Politics and the economy | |
| Nov. 11 | Exam III | |
| Nov. 16 | Marriage and the Family | |
| Nov. 18 | Philanthropy and Self Help Northern Philanthropy and African American Education The Age of Booker T. Washington, Struggles in the Economic Sphere Social and Cultural Growth |
|
| The Color Line The New American Imperialism, America’s
Empire o People of Color, Urban Problems, The Patterns of Violence, New Solutions for Old Problems |
||
| Nov. 23 | Religion and education The Harlem Renaissance Socioeconomic Problems and African American Literature, Harlem the Seat and Center, The Circle Widens |
|
| Nov. 25 | Thanksgiving | |
| Nov. 30 | Religion and education | |
| Dec. 7 | Social change | |
| Dec. 9 | The Black Revolution The road to Revolution, the Beginnings, Marching for Freedom The Illusion of Equality, Revolution at High Tide, Balance Sheet of the Revolution. |
|
| Dec. 14-17 | Final Exam Week | |
IX. Additional Comments
Educational Opportunity-- Any student in this course who has a disability that may prevent them from fully demonstrating their abilities should contact me personally as soon as possible to discuss any accommodations necessary to ensure full participation and facilitate equal educational opportunity.
Academic Integrity-- Hesston College students are expected to adhere to the ideal of academic integrity in all academic work. Academic honesty, respect for the work of others, and respect for the learning environment are considered unbreakable standards in the college setting. Lack of academic integrity includes, but is not limited to plagiarism, cheating, misuse of library privileges, and inappropriate conduct within the learning environment. Plagiarism is defined as presenting the work of someone else as one’s own. Cheating is defined as giving or receiving unauthorized assistance with assignments or examinations. Misuse of library privileges includes damaging materials, taking material from the library without checking them out and keeping materials past the date for their return, or in other ways disregarding the rights of other students in the library.
Inappropriate conduct within the learning environment refers to behavior in the classroom which is disrespectful of the opinion, creations, and safety of other students.
Students who fail to maintain the standard of academic integrity are subject to disciplinary action that include loss of credit in the course involved or dismissal from college. Each incident will be reported to the Academic Development Committee. The disciplinary action is determined by the instructor(s) involved and/or the Academic Development Committee. Students may appeal to the Student Policies Committee for review of the decision.
This content and structure of this class may change at any time throughout the semester.
How Your Written Assignments Should Appear
- Cover Page
- The cover page should include your name, the name of the assignment, and date. Your work should be stapled in the upper left-hand corner of the page.
- Following pages
- Number pages, 1,2,3, etc.
Page 1 should be numbered with the number appearing in the upper right-hand corner of the page. Do not include your name. The pages that follow should appear the same way. - Quotes and Bibliography
- Any quotes should be noted as seen under "Regarding
the Form of Your Written Work" which is seen earlier in
this syllabus.
Also, all materials used in your paper, whether you quote from them or not, should be listed at the end of your paper under Bibliography.