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African, African American, and Diaspora Studies 491-001, Fall 2019 Class, Race, and Inequality in America Tuesdays & Thursdays 8am-9:15am Dr. Kenneth Janken How to reach me: My telephone number is 962-1519 My email address is “[email protected]” My office is 301 Battle Hall, in the Department of African, African American and Diaspora Studies is Battle Hall 301 (across from the Franklin St. post office). It is within easy walking distance of McCorkle Place, Polk Place, the Pit, the Undergraduate Library, Davis Library, and other parts of the main campus. My office hours are Wednesday mornings, 8:30-10:30, and Wednesday afternoons 2-3. UNC One Card required for entry to Battle Hall. Please drop by! Office hours are not only for when you are having trouble or your grade is not what you expected. They are a great time to discuss ideas that we weren’t able to get to in class or explore research ideas or whatever is on your mind. The third floor of Battle Hall is not accessible to disabled individuals with mobility impairments, and any student with a disability who wishes to see me should call me to arrange another place to meet. Students with documented disabilities should also contact the Accessibility Resources & Service office in SASB North, Suite 2126, at 919-962-8300 or 711 (NC RELAY) or visit https://accessibility.unc.edu/ for more information. Required reading Du Bois, Black Reconstruction in America Dawson, Blacks in and out of the Left Fields and Fields, Racecraft Haywood, A Black Communist in the Freedom Struggle Ransby, Making All Black Lives Matter Other material available on Sakai. Please note that additional articles will likely be added as the semester progresses and new issues arise. All assigned books are on reserve in the Undergraduate Library. Course description This course explores the interrelationships among class, race and inequality in the United States and the ways radical intellectuals have understood those relationships. In his foundational study, Black Reconstruction (1935), W.E.B. Du Bois posits that the overthrow of slavery, which was largely the result of efforts by slaves, opened a class and race struggle for democracy and equality that achieved remarkable results but was ultimately defeated. Since then, Left political forces have wrestled with stark divisions between white and black (and other minority) workers while fighting for democracy and equality for all. Students will study Du Bois’s insights and apply them to other historical periods – and our own times. Additionally, this course is part of the Reckoning: Race, Memory and Reimagining the Public University project, a shared learning initiative in the College of Arts & Sciences launched in Fall 2019 that connects 18 classes through common themes and experiences. It is designed to support student learning and discussions about, racism, class, memory, legacies of white supremacy, and the contemporary and historical struggles for freedom, equality, and justice through comparative cases, including Carolina’s own experiences. Students and faculty participating in initiative courses will have opportunities to thoughtfully discuss this complicated history in the context of U.S. and global histories, gain a vocabulary for engaging in the moment, and consider how to realize the promise of what it means to be a public university in 21st- century America. UNC’s research centers and institutes will augment course-based learning with events and allied research opportunities that connect diverse fields of study to current issues. The learning initiative consists of two types of courses and common experiences: Foundational courses include those with a focus on race, class, U.S. racial politics, the history of truth and reconciliation processes, the American South, civil rights, and similar issues. New Directions courses engage these topics from perspectives across multiple fields, sharing relevant lessons from comparative cases. Shared readings: all courses within the initiative will share three readings and allocate three class meetings to common themes, so all students will have meaningful intersections across diverse academic terrain. Gatherings: faculty and students will come together during the semester for joint presentations and to connect with the wider learning community. Learning outcomes • Practice difficult conversations: develop an ability to enter discussions about contentious topics in ways that lead to mutual understanding. • Gain a vocabulary for engaging this moment: a chance to study terms such as heritage, reparations, memory, story, class, equality, racial justice, reckoning, truth and reconciliation, inclusion and other concepts that let us grapple with what this moment raises for us. • Connect diverse fields to current issues, learning how to provide new frames of understanding for contemporary concerns. Course requirements/components of final course grade Follow the Honor Code’s section on academic dishonesty in all work for this class: http://instrument.unc.edu/instrument.text.html#academicdishonesty. Complete assigned readings before the beginning of class. Be on time! Weekly post to a prompt on assigned reading to the course Sakai forum and weekly response to one student (Students must post their initial response to the prompt by 11:59pm on the Sunday before the week’s class and their response by 10pm on the Monday before the week’s class. Students who miss assignments, turn them in late, or do not show adequate effort may not earn full credit for this portion of the grade) – 10% End-of-course evaluation of quality of weekly posts to forum – 5% In-class contribution – 10% Critical essay on Black Reconstruction in America (due date TBD) – 25% Essay relating assigned reading for class meetings to selections from A Black Communist in the Freedom Struggle or Blacks in and out of the Left (due date TBD) – 25% Final exam (Wednesday, December 12, 8-11am) – 25% A note on class contribution I expect you to take part regularly and actively in class activities. But “participation” does not mean echoing other students or re- or paraphrasing what others say in class. Here are some questions that I ask as I evaluate your contribution to the class: How did your presence make a difference to the class? Did you add something of substance over the course of the semester, or were you primarily a passenger? Did you present problems or issues from your own research or your own understanding of the assigned readings to stimulate or enlighten class discussion? Did you accept your share of responsibility for the success of this class in both group and class work? Attendance Consistent attendance is crucial for both your individual success and the success of the course. Late work The writing assignments usually are the basis for that week’s work in class, and students will not get credit for turning in late assignments. At the same time, students will be at a huge disadvantage if they don’t complete the assignments, so students should submit them even if they are late. If you have computer or Sakai issues, call the Information and Technology Services Response Center at 919-962-4357. You may be able to borrow a laptop for the course assignments if yours needs repairs. I am unable to help you with your technology problems. Book or e-book? I have a strong preference that you use books and paper copies of articles over digital files on computers, tablets, or phones. My impression is that students absorb more when they read material printed on paper rather than on a screen; in addition, paper media allow you to write notes and annotate directly on them, which further reinforces the learning process. Here are three articles that support this point of view: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reading-paper-screens/ and http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-learning-secret-don-t-take-notes-with-a-laptop/ and https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/22/business/laptops-not-during-lecture-or-meeting.html. (And, yes, I’m aware of the irony here.) Printing articles costs something, I realize, but I think it is an educational expense, and the results of reading something on paper are superior versus reading something on a screen. Technology in class: When you get to class, please put your laptop and cell phone away and take a break from electronics. Embrace the old but useful technology of paper and pencils or pens! Grading scale (for individual assignments and final course grade): 93-100=A 87-89=B+ 77-79=C+ 67-69=D+ 0-59=F 90-92=A- 83-86=B 73-76=C 60-66=D 80-82=B- 70-72=C- Class Schedule Readings and weekly topics subject to modification WEEK ONE (August 20, 22): Introduction to Course; Suggested Ways to Approach Assigned Reading and Major Themes READING: August 20: None August 22: Read the following handouts: https://learningcenter.unc.edu/files/2013/08/Skimming.pdf https://learningcenter.unc.edu/files/2013/08/Reading-Guide-for-Social-Sciences.pdf https://learningcenter.unc.edu/files/2015/08/Reading-Textbooks.docx https://learningcenter.unc.edu/files/2013/12/Taking-Notes-while-Reading.pdf; https://learningcenter.unc.edu/files/2014/08/Annotating-Texts.pdf; https://learningcenter.unc.edu/files/2014/10/Highlighters-User-Guide.pdf. Then look over the syllabus and all of the assigned reading that is currently available. Be prepared to answer the following questions in class: • After skimming the reading, what do you think are the major issues the various authors lay before you? What is the evidence for this? How did you arrive at your conclusions? • Identify one or two big questions that your quick review of the above material called to mind. How might you go about formulating answers to those questions? How can you connect the history you will read to different historical periods or to today? • What do you think is the importance of approaching questions of race, class, and inequality in a historical manner? • Are there any words you do not understand? If so, look them up in a dictionary! • Are there any phrases or concepts the meanings of which are unclear to you? Write them down and bring them to class.