Introduction to African American Studies at The University of Kentucky: African American Studies

Showing posts with label African American Studies. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Planet Rock: The Story of Hip Hop and the Crack Generation

“There is really nothing more to say-except why. But since why is difficult to handle, one must take refuge in how.”― Toni Morrison

We are viewing Planet Rock: The Story of Hip Hop and the Crack Generation.

How did viewing this documentary affirm, change, or complicate what you know or understand about African American Culture in the 1980s-1990s?

How did viewing this documentary affirm, change, or complicate what you know or understand about the intersections of Hip Hop Culture and African Americans?

How did viewing this documentary affirm, change, or complicate what you know or understand about the intersections of the prison industrial complex, public fear, and African Americans? Is there a connection to earlier notions of public fear?

If your opinions are supported by evidence from our text book or outside resources, please notify us. Cite the source or post the link.

Monday, October 26, 2015

Affrilachia Discussion with Frank X Walker

Frank X Walker (born June 11, 1961) is an African-American poet from Danville, Kentucky. Walker coined the word "Affrilachia", signifying the importance of the African-American presence in Appalachia: the "new word ... spoke to the union of Appalachian identity and the region's African-American culture and history". As of 2013, he is the Poet Laureate of Kentucky.

from http://kybookfair.blogspot.com/2014/11/frank-x-walker.html

Awards

2004 Winner of the Lillian Smith Book Award
2006 Thomas D. Clark Literary Award for Excellence, Actors Theatre's Keeper of the Chronicle Award
2005 Recipient of a $75,000 Lannan Literary Fellowship in Poetry
Kentucky Arts Council Al Smith Fellowship recipient
2013-14 Kentucky Poet Laureate
2014 NAACP Image Award: Outstanding Literary Work in Poetry.

Poetry

Isaac Murphy: I dedicate this ride
When Winter Come: the Ascension of York. University Press of Kentucky. 2008. ISBN 978-0-8131-9184-3.
Black Box. Old Cove Press. 2005. ISBN 0-9675424-1-3.
Buffalo Dance: the Journey of York. University Press of Kentucky. 2003. ISBN 0-8131-9088-6.
Affrilachia. Old Cove Press. 2000. ISBN 0-9675424-0-5

from http://www.crmagazine.org/archive/SpringSummer2010Sidebars/Pages/AHotbedofCancer.aspx

How did Frank X Walker's discussion/reading affirm, challenge or change what you understand about American culture, African American culture and/or Kentucky?

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Harriet Tubman: The Conversation

"I freed a thousand slaves I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves"

Greetings, Students.

Research Harriet Tubman’s biography. How did she change the course of American history as a liberator, spy, and guide?

Some additional links:

Harriet Tubman @ PBS

Harriet Tubman @ History

Harriet Tubman @ Library of Congress "America's Story from America's Library

Also consider how this information affirms, changes, or challenges your understanding of Harriet Tubman, the job of a spy, and/or environmentalism during the slave area in American History?

Dr. Hill

Monday, September 28, 2015

Declaration of Independence and the Conditions Associated with Commodified Bodies

from http://www.founding.com/the_declaration_of_i/

The Declaration of Independence "drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776, the Declaration of Independence is the nation's most cherished symbol of liberty and Jefferson's most enduring monument.

In this document Jefferson expressed the convictions in the minds and hearts of the American people. The political philosophy of the Declaration of Independence was not new; its ideals of individual liberty had already been expressed by John Locke and the Continental philosophers.

What Jefferson did was to summarize this philosophy in "self-evident truths" and set forth a list of grievances against the King in order to justify before the world the breaking of ties between the colonies and the mother country."

The rough draft of The Declaration of Independence can be found here.

How does your rereading or greater understanding of The Declaration of Independence (inclusive of the draft form) affirm, change or challenge your understanding of American culture, African American culture and/or the institution of chattel slavery/commodified bodies in the Americas?

Also consider and incorporate any information from your reading of Chapters 3 and 4 of The African American Odyssey.

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Class Discussion - The Slave Trade in Africa

Greetings, Students.

Please take a moment to answer and comment on the following questions pertaining to the Slave Trade in Africa based on our reading in The African-American Odyssey.

from http://www.slavevoyages.org/tast/assessment/intro-maps/01.jsp

· What types of slave trade was conducted in Africa and for what purposes?

· What are the origins of the Atlantic Slave Trade in relation to the enslavement of African Americans in the New World?

· What contributions did interethnic rivalries in West Africa make in relation to enslavement African Americans in the New World?

· What colonies acquired slaves in the greatest numbers? What regions or countries became central to the slave trade and why?

· What are factories in the terms of slave trading?

Here are some additional resources that will help us answer such questions. Use them in addition to the book to answer the questions below.

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Unit 1: A Partial Review

from http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/m7a/activity3.php

Greetings Students,

For the first unit in African American Studies, we are exploring some African American philosophies, using them as critical lenses for interpreting information.

We are also exploring civilizations in African and the early conceptions of Africans, inclusive of race, in the Americas. Use the comments box to post about a specific topic.

What do you understand about 2 or more of the topics listed below?

Berbers
Ancient Ghana
Mali
Sanghai
Arts and Culture in Africa
Griots

Africans in America: the Terrible Transformation

Greetings, Students.

In class we watched and discussed Africans in Americas: Terrible Transformation.

In the comments portions below, please comment on two or three new ideas you acquired from the movie about Africans, Americans, or United States of America (inclusive of the Colonies).

Be sure to include a sentence or two about why these details were important to your understanding of African American Studies.

Some additional readings:

You may also post additional questions.

Dr. Hill

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Jennifer Jones Presentation

In her book “Queering An American Dilemma: Sexuality, Gender and Race Relations in the United States, 1945-1985."   This project chronicles the manner in which characterizations of gay men and lesbians were an important aspect of Southern-based campaigns for and conflicts over black racial equality. Advocates and opponents of the Civil Rights Movement mobilized discursive portrayals of sexual minorities to delineate whom should have access to the full benefits of national citizenship and race-defined communal belonging.

During her lecture and visit we discussed the intersections of African Americans culture and sex. We also discussed negative stereotypes and sexual liberation. What are your thoughts and insights about her presentation?

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

The Education of a Storyteller by Toni Cade Bambara (The People Who Could Fly)

from http://www.amazon.com/The-People-Could-Fly-Folktales/dp/0679843361

Today, we read The Education of a Storyteller by Toni Cade Bambara. What are your thoughts about the story? How did the story affirm, challenge or change your understanding of American culture, African American culture, literature and/or black feminisms/womanisms/girlhood?

Bonus what might this story reveal about The Middle Passage?

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Welcome to Introduction to African American Studies at the University of Kentucky!

Greetings, AAS 200.

Welcome to Introduction to African American Studies at the University of Kentucky!

This course establishes the intellectual context for an examination of the African-American experience; it introduces students to the various approaches scholars use to analyze that experience. This course employs a topical framework which permits focus on issues reflecting the diversity and richness of African-American experience across geographic boundaries.

As we will discuss in class, this course will challenge the student to learn in physical and digital environments. We are going to be using an anthology entitled: The African-American Odyssey, Combined Volume by Darlene Clark Hine, William C. Hine, and Stanley C Harrold in addition to blogs, videos, streamed lectures, archives, open access institutional resources, other books and websites.

If you would like to contact me, I can be reached using the information on the syllabus or via email damaris.hill@uky.edu. I am excited to learn with you!

Sincerely,
Dr. Hill