Black Women in USA History and Literature
This is a reading and research study in which students will examine the history and literature of Black women in the United States from the slave era through the reform movements that occurred after World War ll. Using the methods and materials of several disciplines, including history, political science, sociology, economics, philosophy, and culture and the arts, students will focus upon the range of demands placed on Black women during the Gilded and Progressive eras—the ideas of the national Black women's club movement, participation in the women's suffrage movement, -- social and political struggles for liberation in the United States and in the African Diaspora, cultural movements, and the labor force. Also, students will explore Black women's interaction with male-dominated groups and White feminists. Students will analyze Black women in a broad range of private and public roles, especially as leaders, their leadership styles, and the impact that they have made on constituents. The overall objective is to acquaint students with experiences of Black women in the USA as American experiences and to facilitate the development of an understanding of the lenses through which Black women are viewed by themselves and by others. This study fully meets the general education requirements in American History.