Race and American Mass Culture
AFAM 219
Fall 2008
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
HIST 133, AMST 234 |
This course examines the twentieth century evolution of African Americans as both the subjects and creators of American mass culture. We will focus on three main areas of American life: sports, movies, and television; the course is organized chronologically and topically. Among the subjects we will cover are boxers from Jack Johnson to Joe Louis to Muhammad Ali, the 1968 "black power" Olympic protests, "race films" and the director Oscar Micheaux, the "ghetto" as a setting in film and television, the "blacksploitation" cinema of the early 1970s, Amos and Andy, and the rise of the black middle class on television. We will use the techniques of social and cultural history to examine several questions, including: What different kinds of images of African Americans have dominated popular culture at different moments? How have African Americans themselves contributed to and rebelled against these depictions? What is the relationship between fictional representations and the real world social and political history? |
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Essential Capabilities:
None |
| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS AFAM |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Readings include: AMOS AND ANDY: A SOCIAL HISTORY; UNFORGIVABLE BLACKNESS: THE RISE AND FALL OF JACK JOHNSON; OSCAR MICHEAUX: THE GREAT AND ONLY; RACE, CULTURE, AND THE REVOLT OF THE BLACK ATHLETE; REDEMPTION SONG; HEROES WITHOUT A COUNTRY: AMERICA'S BETRAYAL OF JOE LOUIS AND JESSE OWENS.
Viewings include: "Black King," "Spirit of Youth," "Birth of a Nation," "A Raisin in the Sun," "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song," "The Spook Who Sat By the Door," "The Wire," "Do the Right Thing," "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air," "The Jeffersons," "The Cosby Show," "The Bernie Mac Show," "The Twilight Zone," and others.
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Examinations and Assignments:
Assignments will include several short response papers and an end-of-term research paper on a topic of the student's choosing. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
This course assumes that students have some familiarity with post-1900 American history.
First-year students can enroll with permission of instructor during drop/add. |
| Instructor(s): Lewis,Andy Times: ..T.R.. 09:00AM-10:20AM; Location: CAAS LOUNG; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 25 | | SR major: 7 | JR major: 5 | | |
| Seats Available: -2 | GRAD: 0 | SR non-major: 5 | JR non-major: 4 | SO: 4 | FR: X |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 6 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 6 |
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