An examination of the history of the African-American civil rights movement in the United States during the middle of the twentieth century by focusing on the lives and struggles of ordinary people, black and white, who fought to overcome the legacy of racial and social inequality.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students: Graduate students will be required to do extra readings and
write much more substantial papers than will be required of
undergraduate students. These will include a comprehensive
review of primary research applied towards a topic concerning
the U.S./African-American civil rights movement, or a
demonstration of mastery through an applied project beyond the
requirements for undergraduate students, dependent upon
individual instructor requirements. Graduate student papers
and/or projects will be graded according to much higher
research and writing standards than the undergraduate students.
Athena Title
The Civil Rights Movement
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in HIST 4120H
Undergraduate Pre or Corequisite
Any course in HIST or AFAM or INTL or POLS 1101 or POLS 1101E or POLS 1101H or POLS 1101S
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, students will be able to arrive at conclusions about how the Civil Rights movement reshaped American society by gathering and weighing evidence, logical argument, and listening to counter argument.
By the end of this course, students will be able to write stylistically appropriate papers and essays. Students will be able to analyze ideas and evidence, organize their thoughts, and revise and edit their finished essays.
By the end of this course, students will be able to identify how the history of the civil rights movement shaped diverse social and cultural attitudes toward slavery, race, and racism in the United States, encouraging them to understand diverse worldviews and experiences.
By the end of this course, students will be able to apply appropriate methodological approaches to their analysis of primary sources and to organize their evidence to show historical continuities and discontinuities.
By the end of this course, students will be able to generate their own research question or topic, locate suitable primary and secondary sources, and synthesize their ideas in novel ways.
By the end of this course, students will be able to initiate, manage, complete, and evaluate their independent research projects in stages and to give and receive constructive feedback through the peer review process.
Topical Outline
The course will begin by providing some background information on the legacy of slavery and racism in the United States as it affected African Americans.
From there the focus will turn to the years immediately following the end of the Second World War, when returning African American veterans began to assert their manhood and their rights to be treated as equals in a country they had risked their lives to defend.
The course will then proceed chronologically to address such issues as the Cold War, the negative impact that Joseph McCarthy’s communist witch hunts had on the liberation movements in the country, and the Supreme Court’s monumental decision in Brown v. Board of Education.
Most of the focus will be on the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, during which time what has commonly come to be known as the “civil rights movement” took shape.
We will study the arious strategies and philosophies of some of the movement’s key leaders, such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer, Malcolm X, as well as the roles of politicians, elected officials, and federal judges in providing impetus for the movement at various stages.
The class will challenge students to understand the harsh reality of racial segregation and discrimination, both de facto and de jure, how it had been accepted and perpetuated by the dominant white society since the end of the Civil War, and how various social and political forces converged in the second half of the twentieth century to bring about racial and social change.
Institutional Competencies Learning Outcomes
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
Communication
The ability to effectively develop, express, and exchange ideas in written, oral, interpersonal, or visual form.
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
