Black Freedom, African Justice: Race, Religion, & Revolution in the Atlantic World, 1770-1865

Catalog description

This course examines the ways that black revolutionariesin Africa and in the Americasshaped the modern world. How did African political cultures and enslaved black aspirations for freedom came together to shape America? The American revolution is often heralded as ending monarchy and establishing a republican form of governmentbut it was roughly contemporaneous with two other revolutions, one in West Africa, the other in Haitithat were incredibly important in shaping ideas about freedom and good government at the end of the 18th century. Black people brought more than toil; they brought revolutionary ideas, beliefs, and practices that profoundly shaped modernity. Understanding Africa, we will see, is important to understanding America.