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GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
There are four essential requirements
for the successful completion of this course in AfricanAmerican Studies.
First, all students should
attend class lectures and discussion section meetings. Attendance will
not be taken at lectures, but failure to attend regularly may result in
a lack of preparation for the final examination. Attendance will be taken
at discussions, and the meetings will be led by Mr. Omar Ali, Ms. T.K.
Hunter and Mr. Christopher Winks. The discussion sections are an extremely
important aspect of the course, because students have the opportunity
here to exchange perspectives and explore issues in greater detail than
during the lectures.
Your attendance and participation
in your discussion section, your ability to answer questions and to initiate
dialogue based on the required readings, will comprise one-sixth (16.6
percent) of your total course grade for this course.
Second, at each discussion
meeting beginning with the week of February 4-8, one or more students
will be responsible for leading the group in a general conversation about
that week's readings. They
will present the key ideas
within the assigned readings, making connections with information from
previous readings and lectures from class. Each student's initial presentation
should be about 10 minutes in length, and accompanied by a one or two
page outline or short paper. If more than one student is assigned to a
particular week, they should meet together prior to class to determine
which topics or readings each individual will present. All grades are
based on individual performances, not by the group as a whole. The discussion
presentation will comprise one-sixth (16.6 percent) of your total course
grade.
Third, students must submit
two papers on topics that are relevant to the subjects addressed in the
course. Students may choose to utilize information cited from required
texts and lecture materials.
Additional research from other
library sources, such as data from academic journals, newspapers, reference
works, and other scholarly information is also encouraged. Footnotes are
suggested, but not required. However, all papers must have a bibliography
indicating all sources used for the preparation of the paper.
The first paper is due during
the week of February 25-March 1, and submitted at your discussion section
meeting to your instructor. The second paper is due during the week of
April 15-19, and submitted at your discussion section meeting to your
instructor. Both papers must be typed, double spaced, and about eight
to ten pages (about two thousand words), excluding footnotes and the bibliography.
Students are free to select and develop their own topics for papers; however,
all students must consult with their teaching assistants about their topics
before the papers are submitted. Each paper will be counted as one-sixth
(16.6 percent) of your total course grade.
Any papers submitted after
the due dates listed above will be considered late. All students have
an opportunity to turn in late papers up to two weeks after the original
due dates. The last date for the submission of the first paper with a
late penalty is Friday, March 15'. The last date for the submission of
the second paper with a late penalty is Friday, May 3~d. The penalty for
submitting late papers is one full letter grade (e.g., an A paper submitted
late is graded as a B, a Bwould become a C-, etc.) The only exceptions
that would be permitted are students who have healthrelated excuses provided
from a physician or an academic adviser, or family emergencies requiring
them to leave campus. Such requests for extension must be submitted prior
to the dates that the papers are due, not on the day they are to be turned
in, or afterward. I strongly discourage requests from students to obtain
"incompletes" from any course, and will not grant them except
for healthrelated and family emergencies. All papers, whether on time
or late, must be submitted by students directly to their respective discussion
section instructors, and not with the staff at the office of the Institute
for Research in African-American Studies. Students are strongly advised
to keep one copy each of all papers submitted in this course.
Fourth, all students must take
the final examination for the course. The final exam will be comprehensive,
covering the totality of information presented from readings, lectures,
discussions, etc., and will consist of short essays. All students must
bring their own pencils or pens to class on examination day. Students
who fail to show up for the final examination, or students who arrive
late and/or have no valid excuse, will not be given an opportunity to
take a make-up test. The final examination will represent one-third (33.3
percent) of your total course grade.
The grading for the entire
course will be done by the discussion section instructors. Students who
have questions or concerns regarding individual assignment grades, or
the grading for the course overall, should first talk with their discussion
section instructors.
During the semester, one or
more of our class lecture or discussion dates may conflict with religious
holidays or observances. Students who observe these religious holidays
are excused from class or discussion on those dates. They must, however,
plan to turn in all papers on the dates that they are due, and keep up
with regular weekly readings.
OPTIONAL EXTRA CREDIT
Introduction to African-American
Studies has been designed to acquaint students with the diverse aspects
of the black experience. The Institute for Research in African-American
Studies will sponsor several public lectures and events this semester,
which enrich the learning experience of our course. The dates, times and
locations of the presentations will be given well in advance.
COURSE GRADING
Discussion section participation
and attendance 16. 6 percent
Oral presentation, including one to two page paper or 16. 6 percent
outline covering assigned weekly readings in discussion section
Paper I (8 to 10 pages, plus footnotes and bibliography) 16. 6 percent
Due during the week of February 25-March 1.
Paper II (8 to 10 pages, excluding footnotes and bibliography) 16. 6 percent
Due during the week of April 15-19
Final Examination, short essay format, 2 hours 33. 3 percent
TOTAL COURSE GRADE 100 percent
REQUIRED TEXTS
All students should purchase
their own individual copies of the required texts. In addition to the
list below, students may be given reading assignments throughout the course,
including several articles from the Institute's journal, Souls. Any additional
readings will be distributed at the discussion sections.
Manning Marable and Leith Mullings,
eds., Let Nobody Turn Us Around: Veices of Resistance, Reform and Renewal:
An African-American Anthology (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield,
2000). ISBN #0847699307
Cyril Lionel Robert James (C.L.R.),
The Black Jacobins (New York: Vintage, 1989.)
ISBN #0679724672
Frederick Douglass and Harriet
A. Jacobs, Slave Narratives (Random House, Inc. 2000.) ISBN #0679783288
W.E.B. Du Bois, The Souls of
Black Folk (New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1994.) ISBN #1930097131
Richard Wright, Black Boy (American
Hunger) (New York: Harper Collins, Inc. 1998.) ISBN #0060929782
Aime Cesaire, Discourse on
Colonialism (New York: Monthly Review, 2000.) ISBN #1583670254
Malcolm X, The Autobiography
of Malcolm X (New York: Ballantine Publishing Group, 1999.) ISBN #0345376714
John Edgar Wideman, Philadelphia
Fire (New York: Vintage, 1991.) ISBN #0679736506
Robin D.G. Kelley, Yo Mama's
Disfunktional! Fighting the Culture Wars in Urban America (Boston: Beacon,
1998.)
ISBN #0807009415
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