Introduction to African American Studies Assignment | Online Assignment

Fully complete discussions 1, 2, and 3. (For discussion 2 only select one question to answer.)

Discussion 1 of 3

Answer all the questions under discussion 1

1. Take a look at the timeline and find three events that led to the shaping of slavery as an institution in N. America between 1600-1725.  Describe what those events were and how they defined enslavement.  

Take a look at the 3 videos and 2 articles about slavery and answer these questions;

1. Who gathered the people who lived in-land in sub-Saharan Africa to be sold into slavery? 
2. When did enslaved people begin to be imported to the New World?  When did enslaved people arrive in N. America?  Which European countries participated at the start of the slave trade?  By the 1700s, which country had taken over a big part of the international trade in enslaved Africans?
3. Why did Native Americans not work well as slaves?  What made African people “better” as enslaved workers?
4. What were the results of the slave trade for Africa’s people and future?
5. Besides running away or trying to overthrow their masters, how did enslaved people keep a sense of humanity while living and working in N. America? 

Discussion 2 of 3 

For this Discussion, please refer to the interview with Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. in the Week 1  Content – “Course Materials” area and the materials by and about Carter G. Woodson found in the “Additional Course Materials.”

Pick one of these topics to address in a 3 paragraph essay.  Use proper spelling, grammar and punctuation.  Have a thesis and a conclusion.  Extra points for using MLA citation correctly:

1. How do Dr. Gates’ ideas about the education of African Americans in college differ from and/or build upon the ideas presented by Dr. Woodson?
2. What did you learn about Africa and African Americans when you were in Grades 1-12?  How did those lessons help or hinder your understanding of YOUR place in American history?
3. What three overarching lessons/purposes would you focus on if you could design a black studies program at a university?

Discussion 3 of 3 

For this Discussion, please go to Course Materials in Week 1 and look at the article from the Univ. of N. Carolina about how to do writing in history. Be particularly aware of the process of finding good PRIMARY and SECONDARY information about any topic you want to address in history.  Keep the information on how to write historical papers with you for the entire course so that you can refer to it often.

Question for You:  Beyond the “thesis” or “research question” of a history paper, what are the most important parts of the paper for organizing information?  See Step 6 for a hint.

Assignment:  Find a GREAT RESOURCE on the internet.  Something that appeals to your interest in black history, but also might be useful to other people in the class.  Off the top of your head, who or what do you want to know about?  Use some of the techniques from the UNC article to approach your investigation for a good online resource

Weekly Reading Material 

Henry Louis Gates, Jr.: “Black Studies at the Crossroads”

In Henry Louis Gates, Jr.’s article “Black Studies at the Crossroads”, published spring 2007, we learn that two Ivy League schools, Princeton and Harvard, have strong African American studies programs. Gates believes that many colleges and universities in the United States do not have a strong commitment to setting up full departments of African American studies because the administrators do not feel that this subject constitutes an actual field of studies.

http://ezproxy.umgc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsjsr&AN=edsjsr.25073657&site=eds-live&scope=site

Timeline of African-American History – “Slavery and the Making of America”
At this website, please explore the information provided at the dates from 1619 to 1803. Look specifically at 1662 as a year that severely restricted the status of African Americans. Find the publication date of the first slave narrative. Examine the way white churches treated African Americans and find out when and how African Americans set up their own Protestant Christian denomination.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/slavery/timeline/index.html

handout on history and how to write about history.

For more information on history and how to write about it, please read this handout from the Writing Center of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Take notes on what the handout says and use them for your own writing in this course.

What questions do you have about historical writing and research?

http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/history/