History 166: African-American History B The Modern Freedom Struggle
http://coursework.stanford.edu/
T, TH at 10:00 am B 11:50 am in building 20, room 21
Instructor: Clayborne Carson -- mailto:ccarson@stanford.edu
Office: King Research and Education Institute, Cypress Hall D (650-723-2092)
Office hours: Monday 4 pm, and Tuesday 1:30 pm
1. Course Goals: This four- or five-unit lecture course is designed to introduce students to modern AfricanAmerican history, with particular emphasis on the political thought and protest movements of the period after
1930. The readings and lectures will focus on selected individuals who have shaped and been shaped by modern
African-American struggles for freedom and justice. The lectures will utilize audio-visual materials extensively,
and the exams will cover these materials as well as the traditional lectures. In addition to attending lectures,
students are encouraged to undertake research projects (required for five units). Many of the research projects
will involve the development of online educational materials related to the course content.
2. Required Books:
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Clayborne Carson, Emma J. Lapsansky-Werner, and Gary B. Nash, The Struggle for Freedom: A History
of African Americans, Volume II, second edition (2011), volume 2
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Juan Williams, Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary (1998)
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Martin Luther King, Jr., The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. (1998)
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Clayborne Carson, In Struggle: SNCC and the Black Awakening of the 1960s (1981)
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Peniel E. Joseph, Waiting 'Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America
(2006)
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Additional reading materials will be distributed in class
3. Course Requirements:
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Midterm Examination: All students must take a midterm examination, which will be given online on
Monday, January 31. This exam will account for 50% of the final grade. The exam will cover the topics
covered in the lectures, photocopied readings distributed in class, and the first half of the required
readings.
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Final Examination. The remainder of the requirements for the course may be fulfilled in several ways,
including the following:
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[4 units only] Take the final essay exam. The final exam will cover material in the lectures, the mid-term
material, and the remaining required readings
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[5 units] Take the final essay exam AND/OR complete one of the research options described below.
The research paper or project may be submitted in place of the final exam; if submitted in addition
to the final, only the two highest of the three scores will count.
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Independent Research. [5 units] Complete a major original research paper or project (such as
a multi-media web site) on an approved topic to be determined through consultation with
professor. If you choose this option, you must meet with the professor during office hours on
or before Tuesday, January 11. This research paper or project, based mainly on primary
sources, should be on a narrowly-defined topic related to the course lectures and readings. A
preliminary one-page description of the topic (and the available primary sources) is due on
January 21. The paper is due on March 7.
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Directed Research. [5 units]. Take final exam and complete a research assignment on a topic to be
determined by January 11 through consultation with the instructor. During this quarter, many of the
directed research assignments will involve digitizing the King Institute’s audio-visual materials
(such as historical recordings and photographs) for classroom or web presentations. Students
interested in working in the project or with such materials are especially invited to select this option.
4. Lecture Schedule:
1. January 4 – W. E. B. Du Bois and the Long Struggle for Freedom
Film: Song of Freedom (1936), starring Paul Robeson
2. January 6 – Grassroots Organizing & Leadership during Depression and War: Ella Baker, Pauli
Murray, & Shirley Graham
Film: Fundi: The Story of Ella Baker (1981)
Readings: The Struggle for Freedom, chapters 14-16 & Thurgood Marshall: American
Revolutionary, chapters 9-12.
3. January 11 – African-American Politics and the Cold War: Paul Robeson’s Global Vision
Film: Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist (1979)
4. January 13 – Coretta Scott Encounters Martin Luther King, Jr.
Readings: The Struggle for Freedom, chapters 17-18, Thurgood Marshall, chapters 13-19 &
Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr., chapters 1-13.
5. January 18 – The Freedom Rides and the Albany Movement
Films: Eyes on the Prize: Awakenings (1954-1956) and Fighting Back (1957-1962)
(1987)
Film: Freedom Riders (2010)
6. January 20 – Guest Lecture: Clarence Jones, King’s former lawyer and advisor
Readings: In Struggle, part 1, Autobiography, 14-23.
7. January 25 – Bob Moses and the Mississippi Movement
Film: Freedom on My Mind (1994)
8. January 27 – Voting Rights and Urban Rebellion
Readings: In Struggle, parts 2-3, Autobiography, chapters 24-32.
9. February 1 – King’s Chicago Campaign and the Black Power Debate
Film: Citizen King (2004)
10. February 3 – Cold War Black Politics and the Vietnam War
Film: MLK: A Call to Conscience (2010)
Readings: Waiting 'Til the Midnight Hour, entire (by February 22)
11. February 8 – The Rise and Fall of the Black Panther Party
Film: Eyes on the Prize: Power! & A Nation of Laws? (1989)
12. February 10 – “Run, Jesse, Run”
13. February 15 – Alice Walker’s Black Womanism
Film: The Color Purple (1985)
14. February 17 – The International Anti-Apartheid Campaign Comes to Stanford
Film: Have You Heard from Johannesburg: Apartheid and the Club of the West (2010)
15. February 22 – Stanford’s King Papers Project and the King Legacy
Drama: Passages of Martin Luther King (1993)
16. February 24 – Continuing Struggles over Rights and Identity
Film: Black Is . . . Black Ain’t (1995)
17. March 1 – King’s Global Significance
Film: Bringing King to China (2011)
18. March 3 – Barack Obama and the American Democratic Dialogue
19. March 8 – The Greatest Freedom Struggle