African American History: Reconstruction to the Present

Catalog description

This course explores changes in the African American experience from the end of the Civil War to the emerging era of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Through an examination of a wide range of scholarly and popular debates in African American life and history, this course will emphasize transformations in both inter- and intra-race relations; economic mobility as well as economic inequality; and forms of political engagement and grassroots movements for social change. We will explore these developments under the impact of the segregationist regime; the Great Migration; the rise of the urban-industrial working class; increasing residential segregation; growth and expansion of the middle class; and the fluorescence of the Modern Black Liberation Movement. Students will compare the dynamics of the contemporary Black Lives Matter Movement with earlier 20th century grassroots social and political movements in African American and U.S. history. Finally, based upon a mix of primary and secondary sources and lectures, students will write a series of short analytical essays; and establish their own unique interpretation of key issues in Black History. Course Website: https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/history/