Course Description
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.
Athena Title
The Civil Rights Movement Hon
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in HIST 4120, HIST 6120
Prerequisite
Permission of Honors
Pre or Corequisite
Any course in HIST or AFAM or INTL or POLS 1101 or POLS 1101E or POLS 1101S or POLS 1105H
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
a) comprehend, analyze, and synthesize a significant amount of reading material, class lectures, and videos and documentaries; b) attend class regularly and participate actively in class discussions; c) demonstrate critical and analytical skills in writing papers and answering comprehensive essay questions on written examinations; d) think about history in new ways, which will require that students question previously-held misconceptions and be open to new ideas and interpretations. Because this class is taught within the Honors program, there will be a special emphasis on the interpretation of primary documents, and the course will take advantage of the seminar format to discuss these documents at greater length. Students will be expected to demonstrate their ability to analyze these documents in both the written assignments and in the exams.
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 World War II, 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 various 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 course 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.