First, a few housekeeping details:
- Remember that this class doesn’t use Blackboard. Check the course website every week for updates and detailed reading instructions which will appear on this page
- QUIZ TUESDAY 3/7. It will be short (20 min) at the beginning of class. Focus on book chapters 1 & 2. Topics are: Marimba Ani‘s idea of worldview & Ethos and the African vs European worldview; Cheikh Anta Diop’s arguments for the importance of Egypt (Kemet) and how he proved the African character of the Egyptians; and Molefe Asante’s theory of Afrocentricity–both from chapter 2 in the textbook. Basic context for founding of Africana Studies from chapter 1. REVIEW keywords at the end of both chapters. Format: approx 10 short answer, multiple choice questions.
Quick highlights class on 2/28
- Musical selection: John Trudell’s “Look at Us” (YouTube)
- News story: 50th anniversary of Wounded Knee: NPR
- INFO: AIM activist Leonard Peltier’s Defense Committee (Link)
- Reviewed Chapter 2 from Introduction to Black Studies
- Molefe Asante interview on Afrocentricity on YouTube
- See the Lecture Notes page for a PDF of the slide deck presented in class
DO THIS for Tuesday March 7:
REVIEW NOTES for the quiz at the beginning of class: see topics/format above ^
READ Chapter 3 (“Black History: African Background”) in Maulana Karenga’s Introduction to Black Studies (pages 65-102).
- As usual, start with the Key Terms and Study Questions at the end of the chapter to guide your reading.
- Focus on the following: the concepts of Maat, sankofa, and Sebait.
- And the following people: Imhotep and Ptah-hotep.
- Read the sections “The Legacy of Egypt” and “The Decline of African Societies” slowly and carefully and take good notes.
- Connect points in this chapter to the points in section 2.6 (“Classical African Studies”) to the sections from Chapter 2 and Dr. Karenga’s reasons for the importance of Egypt and Nile Valley civilization on pp. 56-57
- Focus on Critical Thinking questions 2,3 and 5. You don’t have to write out extensive answers, but take brief notes on each.
General reading strategies:
- Underline/highlight key points in the text
- Use the reading questions at the back of chapters to focus you: read those first
- Try to understand the definitions of the key concepts listed at the back of the chapter
- Make a note to ask the instructor to clarify anything you don’t understand
- Note key issues, approaches, and dilemmas/challenges Dr. Karenga outlines
Key points:
- Understand why African civilizations are foundational to the human and African experience in the world
- Understand the major contributions of Nile Valley Civilization and following groups/areas
- Understand the contributions to Europe (and European thought) of the Moors
- Understand reasons for the decline of African societies and European conquest
What’s Next?
Chapter 4 in Introduction to Black Studies: “Black History: Africans in America”
Introduction to Africana Studies 