Weeks of September 20/27: Black Studies Development and Framework continued

Hank Williams

First, a few housekeeping details:

  • Remember to check the course website every week for updates and detailed reading instructions which will appear on this page
  • There are no CUNY classes next Wednesday (9/20) and Thursday so the next time we meet is Wednesday 9/27
  • Book update: Both books are now available at the bookstore. Please get your copies from there, order online, or from libraries. See the books page for details.

For Wednesday 9/27:

  • Since we didn’t cover the assigned reading in class, the assignment is to (Re) Read Chapters 1-2  in Maulana Karenga’s Introduction to Black Studies (pages 1-60). We’ll cover this next time we meet!
    • Skim (read quickly and to gain an overview) the sections on history and development of the discipline (sections 1.1-1.2)
    • Focus on the following sections:
      • 1.3 (Relevance of the Discipline)
      • 1.4 (Scope of the Discipline)
        • Focus on the “Grounds of Relevance” section and the one on Kawaida philosophy
      • 2.3-2.7 — the different developmental initiatives
        • Look for differences in the various approaches: Afrocentric, Black Women’s Studies, Multicultural Studies, Classical African Studies
  • Start with the Key Terms and Study Questions at the end of each chapter to guide your reading.
  • Buy a copy of the Amsterdam News newspaper, published weekly on Thursdays and bring the paper with you to class. Read one (news, not entertainment) story and be ready to discuss it in class. We’ll be discussing the edition out on Thursday 9/21 for the next class.

Quick highlights from previous class:

  • (Partial) wrap-up of the reading from Karanja Carroll. See the keywords I highlighted in it from last week’s post for guidance.
  • We didn’t get to chapters 1-2 in Introduction to Black Studies so will do that next class (see reading directions above)
  • Viewing of last half of the John Henrik Clarke documentary film A Great and Mighty Walk. Embedded below via YouTube if you want to watch again or share on social media. The Dr. Clarke film is primarily for background information and Clarke’s summary of history. Don’t worry about memorizing facts in the film!
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