African-American History and Culture (From African Origins to 1877)

Catalog description

This courses examines the experiences and perspectives of Africans and American Americans from the fifteenth century to the end of Reconstruction in 1877. It gives special attention to how and why racial slavery spread in the New World, the North American colonies, and the United States. The course also explores how African Americans, both enslaved and free, resisted slavery and racism and forced the United States to live up to the promises of freedom and liberty, particularly during the American Revolution, the Abolition Movement, and the Civil War. Finally, this course examines how Black people created a unique African American culture, including religion, music, literature, and foodways, through the cross-fertilization of influences from Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe.