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The Rise of Free Online African American Studies: Accessibility, Limitations, and the Future of Education
Author: Dr. Anika Johnson, Associate Professor of Digital Humanities and African American Studies, University of California, Berkeley.
Keywords: african american studies online courses free, free online African American studies courses, online African American history courses, free black history courses online, accessibility in higher education, digital humanities, online learning, African American studies curriculum.
Summary: This analysis explores the burgeoning landscape of free online courses in African American Studies, examining their impact on expanding access to education, addressing limitations in curriculum and pedagogical approaches, and considering their potential to reshape the future of higher education. While offering unprecedented opportunities for diverse learners, these courses also face challenges related to quality control, resource allocation, and the potential for perpetuating existing inequities within the field.
Publisher: Open Education Resources Consortium (OER Commons) – A non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the creation and use of open educational resources.
Editor: Dr. Kwame Anthony Appiah, Professor of Philosophy and Law, NYU. (Note: This is a hypothetical editor for the purpose of this example; a real publication would have a specific editor.)
1. Introduction: Democratizing Knowledge? The Promise and Peril of Free Online African American Studies Courses
The proliferation of "african american studies online courses free" marks a significant shift in the accessibility of higher education. Historically, the study of African American history, culture, and experiences has been largely confined to traditional university settings, often inaccessible due to financial constraints, geographical limitations, or systemic barriers. The rise of massive open online courses (MOOCs) and other free online learning platforms offers the potential to democratize knowledge, bringing the rich scholarship of African American Studies to a global audience. However, this optimistic view needs careful consideration. This analysis examines both the opportunities and challenges presented by the increasing availability of african american studies online courses free.
2. Expanding Access: Breaking Down Barriers to Education
The most immediate impact of african american studies online courses free is the expanded access they provide. Individuals who might not otherwise have the opportunity to engage with this crucial field of study—due to financial constraints, geographical location, or inflexible scheduling—now have access to a wealth of learning materials. This democratization of knowledge is particularly significant for marginalized communities who have historically been underrepresented in higher education. For students in underserved communities, african american studies online courses free can offer a vital connection to their heritage and a pathway to further educational pursuits.
3. Curricular Limitations and Pedagogical Challenges
While the availability of african american studies online courses free is undeniably positive, critical analysis reveals several limitations. The quality of these courses varies significantly. Some are meticulously crafted by leading scholars, while others may lack academic rigor or rely on outdated information. Furthermore, the pedagogical approaches employed in online courses can differ greatly from the interactive and engaged learning experiences often associated with traditional classroom settings. The lack of face-to-face interaction and opportunities for collaborative learning can hinder the deep engagement often crucial for mastering complex historical and cultural concepts. A significant challenge is ensuring the representation of diverse voices and perspectives within the african american studies online courses free.
4. The Role of Technology and Digital Platforms
The success of african american studies online courses free is inextricably linked to the accessibility and functionality of the digital platforms hosting them. Issues such as internet access, digital literacy, and platform usability can create further barriers to participation, particularly for learners in under-resourced communities. The design and functionality of the courses themselves must also be carefully considered to ensure accessibility for learners with disabilities. A thoughtful approach to technology integration is crucial for realizing the full potential of these educational resources.
5. Addressing Bias and Ensuring Accuracy in Online African American Studies
A critical concern regarding african american studies online courses free is the potential for perpetuating existing biases within the field. The narratives and interpretations presented in these courses must be critically examined for accuracy and sensitivity. It is essential to ensure that the perspectives of diverse voices within the African American community are represented, avoiding a homogenizing or essentializing approach to the subject matter. The curation and moderation of these online courses must be entrusted to experts in the field, committed to ethical and accurate representations of African American history and culture.
6. The Future of African American Studies Education: Online and Beyond
The emergence of african american studies online courses free represents a significant turning point in the field’s accessibility and reach. While challenges remain in terms of quality control, pedagogical innovation, and addressing biases, the potential for these courses to transform the educational landscape is substantial. The future of African American Studies education likely involves a hybrid model that leverages the benefits of both online and traditional learning environments. The integration of online courses into existing university curricula, along with the development of innovative pedagogical approaches designed specifically for online learning, will be essential in maximizing the impact of this rapidly expanding resource.
7. Conclusion
The availability of african american studies online courses free presents a unique opportunity to expand access to knowledge and empower learners. However, realizing the full potential of these resources requires a critical and proactive approach. Efforts must be made to ensure the quality, accuracy, and inclusivity of these online offerings. By addressing the challenges and capitalizing on the opportunities presented, we can harness the power of online learning to enrich and broaden the understanding of African American history, culture, and experiences.
FAQs
1. Are all free online African American studies courses credible? No, the quality and credibility of free online courses vary greatly. It's essential to research the course creators, their credentials, and the platform hosting the course.
2. What are the benefits of taking African American studies online? Benefits include flexibility, affordability, and accessibility for a wider range of learners.
3. What are some drawbacks of online African American studies courses? Potential drawbacks include lack of face-to-face interaction, varying levels of quality, and challenges with digital literacy and access.
4. How can I find reputable free African American studies courses online? Look for courses offered by established universities, reputable educational organizations, or museums with strong reputations in the field.
5. Are there any certification options available for free online African American studies courses? Some courses may offer certificates of completion, but these are not always equivalent to college credit.
6. Do free online courses adequately cover the complexities of African American history? Free courses offer an introduction, but it's important to remember they may not encompass the full depth and breadth of the subject.
7. How can I ensure I'm learning from unbiased sources in online African American studies? Seek out courses that acknowledge diverse perspectives and engage with critical scholarship on the subject.
8. Are these courses suitable for all learning styles? Online learning may not be suitable for all learners. Consider your own learning preferences when choosing a course.
9. What are the career prospects after completing free online African American studies courses? While these courses may not directly lead to specific jobs, they can enhance skills and knowledge beneficial for various careers, especially within education, social justice, and related fields.
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1. "Unlocking the Past: Exploring Free Online Resources for African American History": This article reviews and compares various free online resources available for learning about African American history, including websites, archives, and digital collections.
2. "The Pedagogy of Online African American Studies: Challenges and Opportunities": This article examines the pedagogical challenges and opportunities presented by the online delivery of African American Studies courses.
3. "Critical Race Theory and Online Learning: A Case Study of Free African American Studies Courses": This article explores the application and representation of critical race theory within the context of free online African American studies courses.
4. "Accessibility and Equity in Free Online African American Studies": This article focuses on issues of accessibility and equity in online African American studies courses, examining barriers to participation and potential solutions.
5. "The Impact of Free Online Courses on the Study of African American Literature": This article explores how free online courses have affected the study and accessibility of African American literature.
6. "Building a Community: Online Forums and Discussion in Free African American Studies Courses": This article examines the role of online forums and discussions in fostering community engagement in free online African American Studies courses.
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| african american studies online courses free: Introduction to Black Studies Karenga (Maulana.), 1993 |
| african american studies online courses free: Introduction to African American Studies Talmadge Anderson, James Benjamin Stewart, 2007 There is an ongoing debate as to whether African American Studies is a discipline, or multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary field. Some scholars assert that African American Studies use a well-defined common approach in examining history, politics, and the family in the same way as scholars in the disciplines of economics, sociology, and political science. Other scholars consider African American Studies multidisciplinary, a field somewhat comparable to the field of education in which scholars employ a variety of disciplinary lenses-be they anthropological, psychological, historical, etc., --to study the African world experience. In this model the boundaries between traditional disciplines are accepted, and researches in African American Studies simply conduct discipline based an analysis of particular topics. Finally, another group of scholars insists that African American Studies is interdisciplinary, an enterprise that generates distinctive analyses by combining perspectives from d |
| african american studies online courses free: Teaching Black History to White People Leonard N. Moore, 2021-09-14 Leonard Moore has been teaching Black history for twenty-five years, mostly to white people. Drawing on decades of experience in the classroom and on college campuses throughout the South, as well as on his own personal history, Moore illustrates how an understanding of Black history is necessary for everyone. With Teaching Black History to White People, which is “part memoir, part Black history, part pedagogy, and part how-to guide,” Moore delivers an accessible and engaging primer on the Black experience in America. He poses provocative questions, such as “Why is the teaching of Black history so controversial?” and “What came first: slavery or racism?” These questions don’t have easy answers, and Moore insists that embracing discomfort is necessary for engaging in open and honest conversations about race. Moore includes a syllabus and other tools for actionable steps that white people can take to move beyond performative justice and toward racial reparations, healing, and reconciliation. |
| african american studies online courses free: Afro-Latin American Studies Alejandro de la Fuente, George Reid Andrews, 2018-04-26 Alejandro de la Fuente and George Reid Andrews offer the first systematic, book-length survey of humanities and social science scholarship on the exciting field of Afro-Latin American studies. Organized by topic, these essays synthesize and present the current state of knowledge on a broad variety of topics, including Afro-Latin American music, religions, literature, art history, political thought, social movements, legal history, environmental history, and ideologies of racial inclusion. This volume connects the region's long history of slavery to the major political, social, cultural, and economic developments of the last two centuries. Written by leading scholars in each of those topics, the volume provides an introduction to the field of Afro-Latin American studies that is not available from any other source and reflects the disciplinary and thematic richness of this emerging field. |
| african american studies online courses free: Self-Taught Heather Andrea Williams, 2009-11-20 In this previously untold story of African American self-education, Heather Andrea Williams moves across time to examine African Americans' relationship to literacy during slavery, during the Civil War, and in the first decades of freedom. Self-Taught traces the historical antecedents to freedpeople's intense desire to become literate and demonstrates how the visions of enslaved African Americans emerged into plans and action once slavery ended. Enslaved people, Williams contends, placed great value in the practical power of literacy, whether it was to enable them to read the Bible for themselves or to keep informed of the abolition movement and later the progress of the Civil War. Some slaves devised creative and subversive means to acquire literacy, and when slavery ended, they became the first teachers of other freedpeople. Soon overwhelmed by the demands for education, they called on northern missionaries to come to their aid. Williams argues that by teaching, building schools, supporting teachers, resisting violence, and claiming education as a civil right, African Americans transformed the face of education in the South to the great benefit of both black and white southerners. |
| african american studies online courses free: Keywords for African American Studies Erica R. Edwards, Roderick A. Ferguson, Jeffrey O.G. Ogbar, 2018-11-27 Introduces key terms, interdisciplinary research, debates, and histories for African American Studies As the longest-standing interdisciplinary field, African American Studies has laid the foundation for critically analyzing issues of race, ethnicity, and culture within the academy and beyond. This volume assembles the keywords of this field for the first time, exploring not only the history of those categories but their continued relevance in the contemporary moment. Taking up a vast array of issues such as slavery, colonialism, prison expansion, sexuality, gender, feminism, war, and popular culture, Keywords for African American Studies showcases the startling breadth that characterizes the field. Featuring an august group of contributors across the social sciences and the humanities, the keywords assembled within the pages of this volume exemplify the depth and range of scholarly inquiry into Black life in the United States. Connecting lineages of Black knowledge production to contemporary considerations of race, gender, class, and sexuality, Keywords for African American Studies provides a model for how the scholarship of the field can meet the challenges of our social world. |
| african american studies online courses free: F.B. Eyes William J. Maxwell, 2015-01-04 How FBI surveillance influenced African American writing Few institutions seem more opposed than African American literature and J. Edgar Hoover's white-bread Federal Bureau of Investigation. But behind the scenes the FBI's hostility to black protest was energized by fear of and respect for black writing. Drawing on nearly 14,000 pages of newly released FBI files, F.B. Eyes exposes the Bureau’s intimate policing of five decades of African American poems, plays, essays, and novels. Starting in 1919, year one of Harlem’s renaissance and Hoover’s career at the Bureau, secretive FBI ghostreaders monitored the latest developments in African American letters. By the time of Hoover’s death in 1972, these ghostreaders knew enough to simulate a sinister black literature of their own. The official aim behind the Bureau’s close reading was to anticipate political unrest. Yet, as William J. Maxwell reveals, FBI surveillance came to influence the creation and public reception of African American literature in the heart of the twentieth century. Taking his title from Richard Wright’s poem The FB Eye Blues, Maxwell details how the FBI threatened the international travels of African American writers and prepared to jail dozens of them in times of national emergency. All the same, he shows that the Bureau’s paranoid style could prompt insightful criticism from Hoover’s ghostreaders and creative replies from their literary targets. For authors such as Claude McKay, James Baldwin, and Sonia Sanchez, the suspicion that government spy-critics tracked their every word inspired rewarding stylistic experiments as well as disabling self-censorship. Illuminating both the serious harms of state surveillance and the ways in which imaginative writing can withstand and exploit it, F.B. Eyes is a groundbreaking account of a long-hidden dimension of African American literature. |
| african american studies online courses free: Dreaming the Present Irvin J. Hunt, 2022-02-22 This is a story of art and movement building at the limits of imagination. In their darkest hours, W. E. B. Du Bois, Ella Baker, George Schuyler, and Fannie Lou Hamer gathered hundreds across the United States and beyond to build vast, but forgotten, networks of mutual aid: farms, shops, schools, banks, daycares, homes, health clinics, and burial grounds. They called these spaces cooperatives, local challenges to global capital, where people pooled all they had to meet their needs. By reading their activism as an artistic practice, Irvin Hunt argues that their primary need was to free their movement from the logic of progress. From a remarkably diverse archive, Hunt extrapolates three new ways to describe the time of a movement: a continual beginning, a deliberate falling apart, and a simultaneity, a kind of all-at-once-ness. These temporalities reflect how a people maneuvered the law, reappropriated property, built autonomous communities, and fundamentally reimagined what a movement can be. Their movement was not the dream of a brighter day; it was the making of today out of the stuff of dreams. Hunt offers both an original account of Black mutual aid and, in a world of diminishing futures, a moving meditation on the possibilities of the present. |
| african american studies online courses free: Introduction to African American Studies Talmadge Anderson, 1993 |
| african american studies online courses free: Philosophy of African American Studies Stephen Ferguson, 2015-09-16 In this ground-breaking book, Stephen C. Ferguson addresses a seminal question that is too-often ignored: What should be the philosophical basis for African American studies? The volume explores philosophical issues and problems in their relationship to Black studies. Ferguson shows that philosophy is not a sterile intellectual pursuit, but a critical tool to gathering knowledge about the Black experience. Cultural idealism in various forms has become enormously influential as a framework for Black studies. Ferguson takes on the task of demonstrating how a Marxist philosophical perspective offers a productive and fruitful way of overcoming the limitations of idealism. Focusing on the hugely popular Afrocentric school of thought, this book’s engaging discussion shows that the foundational arguments of cultural idealism are based on a series of analytical and historical misapprehensions. In turn, Ferguson argues for the centrality of the Black working class—both men and women—to Black Studies. |
| african american studies online courses free: African American Studies Nathaniel Norment, 2019 African American Studies: The Discipline and Its Dimensions is a comprehensive resource book that recounts the development of the discipline and provides a basic reference source for sixteen areas of knowledge. |
| african american studies online courses free: The Education of Blacks in the South, 1860-1935 James D. Anderson, 2010-01-27 James Anderson critically reinterprets the history of southern black education from Reconstruction to the Great Depression. By placing black schooling within a political, cultural, and economic context, he offers fresh insights into black commitment to education, the peculiar significance of Tuskegee Institute, and the conflicting goals of various philanthropic groups, among other matters. Initially, ex-slaves attempted to create an educational system that would support and extend their emancipation, but their children were pushed into a system of industrial education that presupposed black political and economic subordination. This conception of education and social order--supported by northern industrial philanthropists, some black educators, and most southern school officials--conflicted with the aspirations of ex-slaves and their descendants, resulting at the turn of the century in a bitter national debate over the purposes of black education. Because blacks lacked economic and political power, white elites were able to control the structure and content of black elementary, secondary, normal, and college education during the first third of the twentieth century. Nonetheless, blacks persisted in their struggle to develop an educational system in accordance with their own needs and desires. |
| african american studies online courses free: U.S. History P. Scott Corbett, Volker Janssen, John M. Lund, Todd Pfannestiel, Sylvie Waskiewicz, Paul Vickery, 2024-09-10 U.S. History is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of most introductory courses. The text provides a balanced approach to U.S. history, considering the people, events, and ideas that have shaped the United States from both the top down (politics, economics, diplomacy) and bottom up (eyewitness accounts, lived experience). U.S. History covers key forces that form the American experience, with particular attention to issues of race, class, and gender. |
| african american studies online courses free: A Black Women's History of the United States Daina Ramey Berry, Kali Nicole Gross, 2020-02-04 The award-winning Revisioning American History series continues with this “groundbreaking new history of Black women in the United States” (Ibram X. Kendi)—the perfect companion to An Indigenous People’s History of the United States and An African American and Latinx History of the United States. An empowering and intersectional history that centers the stories of African American women across 400+ years, showing how they are—and have always been—instrumental in shaping our country. In centering Black women’s stories, two award-winning historians seek both to empower African American women and to show their allies that Black women’s unique ability to make their own communities while combatting centuries of oppression is an essential component in our continued resistance to systemic racism and sexism. Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross offer an examination and celebration of Black womanhood, beginning with the first African women who arrived in what became the United States to African American women of today. A Black Women’s History of the United States reaches far beyond a single narrative to showcase Black women’s lives in all their fraught complexities. Berry and Gross prioritize many voices: enslaved women, freedwomen, religious leaders, artists, queer women, activists, and women who lived outside the law. The result is a starting point for exploring Black women’s history and a testament to the beauty, richness, rhythm, tragedy, heartbreak, rage, and enduring love that abounds in the spirit of Black women in communities throughout the nation. |
| african american studies online courses free: The Cambridge Guide to African American History Raymond Gavins, 2016-02-15 Intended for high school and college students, teachers, adult educational groups, and general readers, this book is of value to them primarily as a learning and reference tool. It also provides a critical perspective on the actions and legacies of ordinary and elite blacks and their non-black allies. |
| african american studies online courses free: An African American and Latinx History of the United States Paul Ortiz, 2018-01-30 An intersectional history of the shared struggle for African American and Latinx civil rights Spanning more than two hundred years, An African American and Latinx History of the United States is a revolutionary, politically charged narrative history, arguing that the “Global South” was crucial to the development of America as we know it. Scholar and activist Paul Ortiz challenges the notion of westward progress as exalted by widely taught formulations like “manifest destiny” and “Jacksonian democracy,” and shows how placing African American, Latinx, and Indigenous voices unapologetically front and center transforms US history into one of the working class organizing against imperialism. Drawing on rich narratives and primary source documents, Ortiz links racial segregation in the Southwest and the rise and violent fall of a powerful tradition of Mexican labor organizing in the twentieth century, to May 1, 2006, known as International Workers’ Day, when migrant laborers—Chicana/os, Afrocubanos, and immigrants from every continent on earth—united in resistance on the first “Day Without Immigrants.” As African American civil rights activists fought Jim Crow laws and Mexican labor organizers warred against the suffocating grip of capitalism, Black and Spanish-language newspapers, abolitionists, and Latin American revolutionaries coalesced around movements built between people from the United States and people from Central America and the Caribbean. In stark contrast to the resurgence of “America First” rhetoric, Black and Latinx intellectuals and organizers today have historically urged the United States to build bridges of solidarity with the nations of the Americas. Incisive and timely, this bottom-up history, told from the interconnected vantage points of Latinx and African Americans, reveals the radically different ways that people of the diaspora have addressed issues still plaguing the United States today, and it offers a way forward in the continued struggle for universal civil rights. 2018 Winner of the PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award |
| african american studies online courses free: African American Genealogical Research Paul R. Begley, 1996 |
| african american studies online courses free: Africana Studies Mario Joaquim Azevedo, 2005 The third edition of Africana Studies: A Survey of Africa and the African Diaspora is an update of the second edition (1998) and incorporates new chapters that include expanded coverage of issues on women, health, terrorism, the African Union, and many others, as well as the most recent theories and methods in Africana studies. To date, Africana Studies remains the most comprehensive and most suitable text for both teachers and students interested in Africa and the Diaspora in the US, the Caribbean, Afro-Latin-America, and elsewhere. The book is divided into five parts: the state of the art of Africana studies; the evolution of the history of black people; analysis of the contributions of the black world; the present and future status of these peoples; and the societies and values of black people. The book also includes a chronology of significant events in the history of peoples of African descent and a number of maps. [This book] attempts in one volume to present more accurately the experiences and contributions of the African world. It introduces readers to the most comprehensive account of black interdisciplinary subjects to date and summarizes the research of specialists in a variety of fields... The number of contributors, variety, and depth of coverage show that the work was carefully thought out. -- Insights, on an earlier edition |
| african american studies online courses free: African American Families Faye Z. Belgrave, Trenette Clark-Goings, Heather A. Jones, 2019-12-31 |
| african american studies online courses free: African American Literary Theory Winston Napier, 2000-07 Fifty-one essays by writers such as Langston Hughes, W.E.B. Du Bois, Ralph Ellison, and Zora Neale Hurston, as well as critics and academics such as Henry Louis Gates, Jr. examine the central texts and arguments in African American literary theory from the 1920s through the present. Contributions are organized chronologically beginning with the rise of a black aesthetic criticism, through the Black Arts Movement, feminism, structuralism and poststructuralism, queer theory, and cultural studies. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR |
| african american studies online courses free: Upending the Ivory Tower Stefan M. Bradley, 2021-01-19 Winner, 2019 Anna Julia Cooper and C.L.R. James Award, given by the National Council for Black Studies Finalist, 2019 Pauli Murray Book Prize in Black Intellectual History, given by the African American Intellectual History Society Winner, 2019 Outstanding Book Award, given by the History of Education Society The inspiring story of the black students, faculty, and administrators who forever changed America’s leading educational institutions and paved the way for social justice and racial progress The eight elite institutions that comprise the Ivy League, sometimes known as the Ancient Eight—Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Penn, Columbia, Brown, Dartmouth, and Cornell—are American stalwarts that have profoundly influenced history and culture by producing the nation’s and the world’s leaders. The few black students who attended Ivy League schools in the decades following WWII not only went on to greatly influence black America and the nation in general, but unquestionably awakened these most traditional and selective of American spaces. In the twentieth century, black youth were in the vanguard of the black freedom movement and educational reform. Upending the Ivory Tower illuminates how the Black Power movement, which was borne out of an effort to edify the most disfranchised of the black masses, also took root in the hallowed halls of America’s most esteemed institutions of higher education. Between the close of WWII and 1975, the civil rights and Black Power movements transformed the demographics and operation of the Ivy League on and off campus. As desegregators and racial pioneers, black students, staff, and faculty used their status in the black intelligentsia to enhance their predominantly white institutions while advancing black freedom. Although they were often marginalized because of their race and class, the newcomers altered educational policies and inserted blackness into the curricula and culture of the unabashedly exclusive and starkly white schools. This book attempts to complete the narrative of higher education history, while adding a much needed nuance to the history of the Black Power movement. It tells the stories of those students, professors, staff, and administrators who pushed for change at the risk of losing what privilege they had. Putting their status, and sometimes even their lives, in jeopardy, black activists negotiated, protested, and demonstrated to create opportunities for the generations that followed. The enrichments these change agents made endure in the diversity initiatives and activism surrounding issues of race that exist in the modern Ivy League. Upending the Ivory Tower not only informs the civil rights and Black Power movements of the postwar era but also provides critical context for the Black Lives Matter movement that is growing in the streets and on campuses throughout the country today. As higher education continues to be a catalyst for change, there is no one better to inform today’s activists than those who transformed our country’s past and paved the way for its future. |
| african american studies online courses free: Slavery to Liberation Joshua Farrington, Norman W. Powell, Gwendolyn Graham, 2019 |
| african american studies online courses free: Black Reconstruction in America 1860-1880 W. E. B. Du Bois, 1998 The pioneering work in the study of the role of Black Americans during Reconstruction by the most influential Black intellectual of his time. This pioneering work was the first full-length study of the role black Americans played in the crucial period after the Civil War, when the slaves had been freed and the attempt was made to reconstruct American society. Hailed at the time, Black Reconstruction in America 1860–1880 has justly been called a classic. |
| african american studies online courses free: Proud Shoes Pauli Murray, 2024-06-25 First published in 1956, Proud Shoes is the remarkable true story of slavery, survival, and miscegenation in the South from the pre-Civil War era through the Reconstruction. Written by Pauli Murray the legendary civil rights activist and one of the founders of NOW, Proud Shoes chronicles the lives of Murray's maternal grandparents. From the birth of her grandmother, Cornelia Smith, daughter of a slave whose beauty incited the master's sons to near murder to the story of her grandfather Robert Fitzgerald, whose free black father married a white woman in 1840, Proud Shoes offers a revealing glimpse of our nation's history. |
| african american studies online courses free: Reading Like a Historian Sam Wineburg, Daisy Martin, Chauncey Monte-Sano, 2015-04-26 This practical resource shows you how to apply Sam Wineburgs highly acclaimed approach to teaching, Reading Like a Historian, in your middle and high school classroom to increase academic literacy and spark students curiosity. Chapters cover key moments in American history, beginning with exploration and colonization and ending with the Cuban Missile Crisis. |
| african american studies online courses free: The Black Revolution on Campus Martha Biondi, 2014-03-21 Winner of the Wesley-Logan Prize in African Diaspora History from the American Historical Association and the Benjamin Hooks National Book Award for Outstanding Scholarly Work on the American Civil Rights Movement and Its Legacy. |
| african american studies online courses free: Race for Profit Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, 2019-09-03 LONGLISTED FOR THE 2019 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST, 2020 PULITZER PRIZE IN HISTORY By the late 1960s and early 1970s, reeling from a wave of urban uprisings, politicians finally worked to end the practice of redlining. Reasoning that the turbulence could be calmed by turning Black city-dwellers into homeowners, they passed the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, and set about establishing policies to induce mortgage lenders and the real estate industry to treat Black homebuyers equally. The disaster that ensued revealed that racist exclusion had not been eradicated, but rather transmuted into a new phenomenon of predatory inclusion. Race for Profit uncovers how exploitative real estate practices continued well after housing discrimination was banned. The same racist structures and individuals remained intact after redlining's end, and close relationships between regulators and the industry created incentives to ignore improprieties. Meanwhile, new policies meant to encourage low-income homeownership created new methods to exploit Black homeowners. The federal government guaranteed urban mortgages in an attempt to overcome resistance to lending to Black buyers – as if unprofitability, rather than racism, was the cause of housing segregation. Bankers, investors, and real estate agents took advantage of the perverse incentives, targeting the Black women most likely to fail to keep up their home payments and slip into foreclosure, multiplying their profits. As a result, by the end of the 1970s, the nation's first programs to encourage Black homeownership ended with tens of thousands of foreclosures in Black communities across the country. The push to uplift Black homeownership had descended into a goldmine for realtors and mortgage lenders, and a ready-made cudgel for the champions of deregulation to wield against government intervention of any kind. Narrating the story of a sea-change in housing policy and its dire impact on African Americans, Race for Profit reveals how the urban core was transformed into a new frontier of cynical extraction. |
| african american studies online courses free: The Legend of the Black Mecca Maurice J. Hobson, 2017-10-03 For more than a century, the city of Atlanta has been associated with black achievement in education, business, politics, media, and music, earning it the nickname the black Mecca. Atlanta's long tradition of black education dates back to Reconstruction, and produced an elite that flourished in spite of Jim Crow, rose to leadership during the civil rights movement, and then took power in the 1970s by building a coalition between white progressives, business interests, and black Atlantans. But as Maurice J. Hobson demonstrates, Atlanta's political leadership--from the election of Maynard Jackson, Atlanta's first black mayor, through the city's hosting of the 1996 Olympic Games--has consistently mishandled the black poor. Drawn from vivid primary sources and unnerving oral histories of working-class city-dwellers and hip-hop artists from Atlanta's underbelly, Hobson argues that Atlanta's political leadership has governed by bargaining with white business interests to the detriment of ordinary black Atlantans. In telling this history through the prism of the black New South and Atlanta politics, policy, and pop culture, Hobson portrays a striking schism between the black political elite and poor city-dwellers, complicating the long-held view of Atlanta as a mecca for black people. |
| african american studies online courses free: Introduction to African American Studies Stephen Balkaran, 2023-12-29 Introduction to African American Studies: A Reader chronicles the experience of African Americans in the United States from their first arrival in 1619 to present day. The reader demonstrates how African Americans and their experiences have shaped America's historical, political, economic, and cultural history. In Part I, students read about the continued significance of race in America and receive a primer on Africana studies. Part II examines the arrival of Africans to America, the Atlantic Slave Trade, slavery and states' rights in the early republic, and the issue of democracy in Jeffersonian America. Part III contains readings about Jim Crow, its lasting impact on Black communities, and the Niagara Movement. In Part IV, students learn about the impact of African American artists on literature, arts, and culture from 1927 - 1940. Part V includes readings on the Civil Rights Movement. The final part speaks to post-racial America in the age of Barack Obama. The second edition features new readings on Juneteenth, Jim Crow laws' impact on today's African American communities, female artists of the Harlem renaissance, African American women's roles in the Civil Rights Movement, Malcolm X, and what America would be like without Blacks. Gathering thought-provoking and critical literature, Introduction to African American Studies is an ideal resource for foundational courses within the discipline. |
| african american studies online courses free: African Americans and Africa Nemata Amelia Ibitayo Blyden, 2019-05-28 An introduction to the complex relationship between African Americans and the African continent What is an “African American” and how does this identity relate to the African continent? Rising immigration levels, globalization, and the United States’ first African American president have all sparked new dialogue around the question. This book provides an introduction to the relationship between African Americans and Africa from the era of slavery to the present, mapping several overlapping diasporas. The diversity of African American identities through relationships with region, ethnicity, slavery, and immigration are all examined to investigate questions fundamental to the study of African American history and culture. |
| african american studies online courses free: African American Studies Jeanette R Davidson, 2010-10-19 This book presents the diverse, expansive nature of African American Studies and its characteristic interdisciplinarity. It is intended for use with undergraduate/ beginning graduate students in African American Studies, American Studies and Ethnic Studie |
| african american studies online courses free: Forgotten Patriots Eric Grundset, 2008 By offering a documented listing of names of African Americans and Native Americans who supported the cause of the American Revolution, we hope to inspire the interest of descendents in the efforts of their ancestors and in the work of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. |
| african american studies online courses free: The Afrocentric Paradigm Ama Mazama, 2003 |
| african american studies online courses free: Introduction to Africana Studies Marc E. Prou, 2013-01-31 The rich collection of essays in Introduction to Africana Studies: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on the Africana Experience provides a thorough and scholarly examination of Africa and its diasporas, focusing on Africana social and cultural history. The selections are written by experts in the fields of literature, history, sociology, anthropology, political writing, feminism, and cultural analysis. Divided into five broad, thematic units, the book begins with an examination of the African continent, its people and civilizations from ancient times through colonialism and post-colonialism. Section Two addresses slavery, colonialism, and freedom. Historical perspective is provided through material on West Africa in the era of slave trade. Readers will benefit from fresh views on emancipation and gain insight into role of religion for African Americans. Section Three is devoted to critical issues of race analysis, including the new racism and racism and feminism. Section Four discusses civil rights, Pan-Africanism, and nationalism, with selections on Black Power, the March on Washington, and Pan-Africanism and national identities. Section Five moves the discussion firmly into the contemporary with works on gender, the Black family, and current public policy issues. Effectively opening up new areas of thought across academic disciplines, Introduction to Africana Studies can be used in both undergraduate and graduate level courses in Africana and African diaspora studies. The book is also a useful tool for researchers in the field. |
| african american studies online courses free: Black Game Studies Lindsay Grace, 2021-11-30 Black Game Studies introduces the work of game makers from the African diaspora through academic scholarship, personal narratives and a catalog of works.It aims to provide a foundation from which researchers, designers, developers, game historians and others can draw an understanding of patterns, present practice, and a potential afro-future. Its works tomake more visible, through aggregation and showcase, the creative contributions of Black game makers. It is an effort to meet the need todiversify the game-making communityby not only highlighting the work of Black people, but in creatingan enduring archiveof such work. |
| african american studies online courses free: Teaching for Black Lives Flora Harriman McDonnell, 2018-04-13 Black students' bodies and minds are under attack. We're fighting back. From the north to the south, corporate curriculum lies to our students, conceals pain and injustice, masks racism, and demeans our Black students. But it¿s not only the curriculum that is traumatizing students. |
| african american studies online courses free: American Colonies Alan Taylor, 2002 This history begins with the earliest years of human colonization of the American continent, with the Siberian migrations across the Bering Strait 15,000 years ago. It ends in around 1800 when the rough outline of modern North America could be perceived. The author conveys the story of competing interests that shaped and reshaped the continent and its suburbs in the Caribbean and the Pacific over the centuries. North America's fate is viewed through the eyes of the Spanish, French, English, Natives and Russians. |
| african american studies online courses free: Continental Complexities Ibigbolade Aderibigbe, Akinloye Ojo, 2012-07 This multidisciplinary anthology offers deep insight into Africa and its people, leaving readers with a much greater understanding of the continent and its issues. |
| african american studies online courses free: Letter from Birmingham Jail Martin Luther King, 2025-01-14 A beautiful commemorative edition of Dr. Martin Luther King's essay Letter from Birmingham Jail, part of Dr. King's archives published exclusively by HarperCollins. With an afterword by Reginald Dwayne Betts On April 16, 1923, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., responded to an open letter written and published by eight white clergyman admonishing the civil rights demonstrations happening in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. King drafted his seminal response on scraps of paper smuggled into jail. King criticizes his detractors for caring more about order than justice, defends nonviolent protests, and argues for the moral responsibility to obey just laws while disobeying unjust ones. Letter from Birmingham Jail proclaims a message - confronting any injustice is an acceptable and righteous reason for civil disobedience. This beautifully designed edition presents Dr. King's speech in its entirety, paying tribute to this extraordinary leader and his immeasurable contribution, and inspiring a new generation of activists dedicated to carrying on the fight for justice and equality. |
| african american studies online courses free: The African American Studies Reader Nathaniel Norment, 2007 This book is the most comprehensive anthology in the field. The intellectual, political, and social aspects of African American Studies continue to evolve, as do the ways in which the discipline will advance knowledge about African Americans for the future. This edition contains new authors; updated introductions to each section and the bibliography; an expanded glossary of biographies; and review questions and critical analyses for each section. Topics include: The Discipline; African American Women's Studies; Historical Perspectives; Philosophical Perspectives; Theoretical Foundations; Political Perspectives; Critical Issues and Perspectives; and Curriculum Development and Program Models. |
Africa - Wikipedia
African nations cooperate through the establishment of the African Union, which is headquartered in Addis Ababa. Africa is highly biodiverse; [17] it is the continent with the largest number of …
Africa | History, People, Countries, Regions, Map, & Facts | Britannica
5 days ago · African regions are treated under the titles Central Africa, eastern Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, and western Africa; these articles also contain the principal treatment of African …
Map of Africa | List of African Countries Alphabetically - World Maps
Africa is the second largest and most populous continent in the world after Asia. The area of Africa without islands is 11.3 million square miles (29.2 million sq km), with islands - about 11.7 million …
The 54 Countries in Africa in Alphabetical Order
May 14, 2025 · Here is the alphabetical list of the African country names with their capitals. We have also included the countries’ regions, the international standard for country codes (ISO …
Africa - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
African independence movements had their first success in 1951, when Libya became the first former colony to become independent. Modern African history is full of revolutions and wars , as …
Africa: Countries and Sub-Saharan Africa - HISTORY
African History Africa is a large and diverse continent that extends from South Africa northward to the Mediterranean Sea. The continent makes up one-fifth of the total land surface of Earth.
Africa Map: Regions, Geography, Facts & Figures | Infoplease
What Are the Big 3 African Countries? Three of the largest and most influential countries in Africa are Nigeria, Egypt, and South Africa. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, with a …
Africa - New World Encyclopedia
Since the end of colonial status, African states have frequently been hampered by instability, corruption, violence, and authoritarianism. The vast majority of African nations are republics that …
Africa Map / Map of Africa - Worldatlas.com
Africa, the planet's 2nd largest continent and the second most-populous continent (after Asia) includes (54) individual countries, and Western Sahara, a member state of the African Union …
Africa: Human Geography - Education
Jun 4, 2025 · Cultural Geography Historic Cultures The African continent has a unique place in human history. Widely believed to be the “cradle of humankind,” Africa is the only continent with …
Africa - Wikipedia
African nations cooperate through the establishment of the African Union, which is headquartered in Addis Ababa. Africa is highly biodiverse; [17] it is the continent with the largest number of …
Africa | History, People, Countries, Regions, Map, & Facts | Britannica
5 days ago · African regions are treated under the titles Central Africa, eastern Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, and western Africa; these articles also contain the principal treatment …
Map of Africa | List of African Countries Alphabetically - World Maps
Africa is the second largest and most populous continent in the world after Asia. The area of Africa without islands is 11.3 million square miles (29.2 million sq km), with islands - about …
The 54 Countries in Africa in Alphabetical Order
May 14, 2025 · Here is the alphabetical list of the African country names with their capitals. We have also included the countries’ regions, the international standard for country codes (ISO …
Africa - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
African independence movements had their first success in 1951, when Libya became the first former colony to become independent. Modern African history is full of revolutions and wars , …
Africa: Countries and Sub-Saharan Africa - HISTORY
African History Africa is a large and diverse continent that extends from South Africa northward to the Mediterranean Sea. The continent makes up one-fifth of the total land surface of Earth.
Africa Map: Regions, Geography, Facts & Figures | Infoplease
What Are the Big 3 African Countries? Three of the largest and most influential countries in Africa are Nigeria, Egypt, and South Africa. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, with a …
Africa - New World Encyclopedia
Since the end of colonial status, African states have frequently been hampered by instability, corruption, violence, and authoritarianism. The vast majority of African nations are republics …
Africa Map / Map of Africa - Worldatlas.com
Africa, the planet's 2nd largest continent and the second most-populous continent (after Asia) includes (54) individual countries, and Western Sahara, a member state of the African Union …
Africa: Human Geography - Education
Jun 4, 2025 · Cultural Geography Historic Cultures The African continent has a unique place in human history. Widely believed to be the “cradle of humankind,” Africa is the only continent …
