AAST/HIST 3243
African American History Since 1877
Syllabus
Online
Contents:
Instructor and Course Information
Course Guidelines
Assignments & Grading
Course Schedule
Instructor and Course Information
Name: Misti Nicole Harper
Office Location: Memorial Hall 230
E-mail: mxh040@uark.edu
Phone: # 479-575-6681
Office Hours: By appointment only
Course Description
This course is an introduction to African American history from 1877 to the present,
emphasizing the role of black male and female leaders; the black Church and class issues; the
struggle against oppression; and the evolution of race relations. Themes treated in the course
include: successes and failures of Reconstruction, the rise of Jim Crow segregation and the age
of lynching, black leadership at the turn of the century, blacks’ participation in World War I, the
Harlem Renaissance and the 1920s, the effects of the Depression and New Deal on African
Americans, World War II and African Americans, the 1960s and the rise of black power,
Vietnam, the rise of hip hop in the 1970s, the conservative thrust of the 1980s, and contemporary
developments of the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Course Goals
1. Analyze the problems associated with Reconstruction and the Era of Self-Help
2. Evaluate the impact of Jim Crow
3. Analyze the impact of the Harlem Renaissance on Black Culture/Pride
4. Consider the relationship of African Americans and the World Wars
5. Evaluate the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s
6. Explore African American issues, problems, and progress following the Civil Rights Act of
1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965
Required Readings
Students should purchase all books today to avoid difficulty later. Lack of books is not a
legitimate excuse for incomplete work. Also, students will be required to read several articles
and watch videos that I will provide.
Text: Franklin, John Hope. From Slavery to Freedom, 9th ed.
1
Course Guidelines
Late Work Policy
Late work is not allowed. You will have a week to complete each lesson; therefore, no late work
will be accepted. For more information on the course lesson times, please see Assignments &
Grading.
Course Communication
Students are expected to check their e-mail DAILY to ensure adequate communication with the
instructor. Students can expect a response from the instructor within 24 hours M-F or within 48
hours on weekends and university holidays.
• Email Etiquette—Your correspondence with your instructor should not mirror
correspondence with friends or casual acquaintances. Any communication with
your instructor is professional correspondence and will be measured as such.
Therefore, I WILL NOT respond to emails that do not include a proper salutation
(i.e., “Good morning/afternoon/evening, Mrs./Professor Harper”), texting
language within the body of an email, or a proper conclusion (i.e.
“Sincerely/Thank you/Best, Jane/John Smith”). Further, be mindful of the tone
your language may convey. It is inappropriate and rude to write as though you
are making demands of your instructor. Please use courteous and respectful
language at all times.
Class Expectations
Students are expected to keep up with the readings and course materials. Assignments of any
kind are NOT optional. If you choose not to do readings or watch videos (relying only on
PowerPoint lectures to suffice), your grades will ultimately reflect those choice!
Academic Honesty
Cheating, plagiarism, and other violations of the University of Arkansas Academic Integrity
policy will not be tolerated. You are expected to be familiar with and abide by the university’s
policy, which can be accessed here. All violations to the policy will be reported and handled
according to the policy. Watch a video from University Provost Gaber on Academic Integrity
for Students.
*All written assignments for this course (papers) will be submitted through SafeAssign™.
SafeAssign™ is a plagiarism prevention service, offered by Blackboard to its Blackboard
Learning System Enterprise, Vista Enterprise and CE Enterprise clients. This service helps
educators prevent plagiarism by detecting unoriginal content in student papers. In addition to
acting as a plagiarism deterrent, it also has features designed to aid in educating students about
plagiarism and importance of proper attribution of any borrowed content.
Disabilities
University of Arkansas Academic Policy Series 1520.10 requires that students with disabilities
be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access to course content. If you
have a documented disability and require accommodations, please contact me privately at the
beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary adjustments. Please note, you
must first verify your eligibility for these through the Center for Educational Access (#479-5753104 or visit http://cea.uark.edu for more information on registration procedures).
2
Academic and Student Support
For access and information on academic support, please visit this link. Students might find that
the writing center is particularly useful for this course.
Link to student handbook
Available Help
For assistance with course content, contact your instructor.
For general questions about Self-Paced Online courses, contact Global Campus at 800-638-1217
or ilearn@uark.edu.
For technical assistance with Blackboard, contact the Blackboard Support at 479-575-6804.
Refer to the Support tab in Blackboard for more support options.
The Student Development Center (479-575-3546) offers various workshops in test taking, time
and stress management, as well as study skills. The Quality Writing Center (479-575-6747)
offers assistance in essay and report writing as well as grammar and sentence structure (available
for students who have courses on campus). You may also contact the Enhanced Learning Center,
which now offers online tutoring for some courses.
The Psychological Clinic (479-575-4258) offers counseling to students for $5 per session.
Researching at UA Library
You will find links to electronic resources and contact information if you need additional help
searching for articles at http://libinfo.uark.edu. Mullins library also has a 24/7 Chat available for
your convenience.
Blackboard Tutorials
All online students are automatically enrolled in a Blackboard Student Tutorial, where they
can practice learning how to use tools in this learning management system. These resources can
be accessed in your list of courses.
You can also view Blackboard's own video tutorials at Blackboard On Demand Learning Center.
Computer Access Policy
This course is offered as an online course and it is assumed that you have the minimum system
requirements and computing skills to participate.
Computing skills required:
• You should have an understanding of basic computer usage (creating folders/directories,
switching between programs, formatting and backing up media, accessing the Internet).
• You must be able to use a word processing program such as Microsoft Word to create,
edit, save, and retrieve documents.
• You must be able to use a Web browser to open Web pages, open PDF files, manage a
list of Web pages (bookmarks/favorites), and search the Internet.
• You must be able to use an e-mail program to send, receive, store, and retrieve messages.
• You must be able to download and install programs from the Internet.
3
Hardware required:
• You should have access to a reliable computer with sound card and high-speed Internet
connection to submit assignments, create products, participate in online activities, and
view Internet resources.
• Your computer should have sufficient space and processor speeds required by any
software used in this course (will vary depending on your software version and operating
system, but usually 10 GB hard disk space, 1 GHz processor and 1 GB memory will be
sufficient).
• Since you may be asked to create an audio or video presentation for this course, you must
have a microphone (headset or free standing) that works with your computer. You may
also use a webcam with a built-in microphone.
Care has been taken to ensure that the software that is used for this course does not require any
out of the ordinary system set-ups. But, if your system does not meet the minimum requirements
then it is your responsibility to maintain your system to meet the requirements so that you may
participate in this course. Technical difficulties on your part will not excuse you from the timely
completion of assignments. If you do experience technical difficulties please make sure that you
refer to the Support tab immediately so that proper assistance might be provided.
Software required:
• Please use the Browser Check to help determine if your browser is compatible with
Blackboard Learn.
• Word processing program, such as Microsoft Word, for creating documents
• Spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel
• Presentation program, such as Microsoft PowerPoint
• You will also need the latest versions of Adobe PDF reader , Adobe Flash player,
and Apple Quick Time to view certain files
Computer Downtime
Blackboard occasionally schedules "down time." Users will be notified in advance through a
system-wide announcement so schedule your online work accordingly. If you are experiencing
difficulties with the operation or navigation of Blackboard you can visit the UA Blackboard Help
website. Please note that personal technical issues (i.e. computer crashes or lack of knowledge of
Blackboard) are considered to be the responsibility of the student and will not excuse the student
from assignments or other course responsibilities. While we will do our best to provide technical
assistance, it is highly recommended that the student develop a local back-up plan to assist in the
event that technical difficulties are experienced during the course.
Classroom Behaviors & Netiquette
Students and instructors are expected to treat each other with respect during classroom activities,
using thoughtful dialogue, and keeping disruptive behaviors to a minimum. This course will be
interactive, and diverse opinions will be shared. Please be thoughtful in sharing your
perspectives and responses with one another. Be wary of injecting comments that are not related
4
to the topic at hand. Please contact the instructor if you have any concerns regarding interactions
during this course.
Netiquette is a set of rules for behaving properly online. It is important that all participants in
online courses be aware of proper online behavior and respect each other.
Use appropriate language for an educational environment:
• Use complete sentences.
• Use proper spelling and grammar.
• Avoid idioms and slang.
• Do not use obscene or threatening language.
Remember that the university values diversity and encourages discourse. Be respectful of
differences while engaging in online discussions. For more information about Netiquette,
see The Core Rules for Netiquette by Virginia Shea.
Assignments & Grading
Assignment
Points
Syllabus Quiz
10
Quiz 1
20
The Principal vs. The Professor Blog
15
Jim Crow and Life: North vs. South Blog
15
Quiz 2
30
Paper 1
40
Exam 1 (Lessons 1-5)
100
The Significance of Silas Hunt Blog
15
Quiz 3
30
Exam 2 (Lessons 6-9)
100
Video Response—“Phenomenal Woman”
20
Creative Writing—“The Rise of Black Power”
25
Grading
Grades for the course
will be in the following
ranges:
A: 90-100%, 432-480
B: 80-89%, 384-431
C: 70-79%, 336-383
D: 60-69%, 288-335
F: 0-59%, 0-287
There are a total of 600
points possible for the
course. No assignment
is weighted; every
point counts equally.
Each lesson contains
reading, videos, and an
Video Response—“Early Hip-Hop Artists”
20
assignment. Each
week consists of three
Quiz 4
20
lessons to be completed
Creative Writing—“The Problem of Bill Clinton as the ‘First Black President”
25
according to your
AHA! Moment: Personal Reflections about African American History
15
schedule below.
Review the lesson
Final Exam (Lessons 10-14)
100
schedule carefully! As
Total
600
this is an intensive,
five-week course with assignments due quickly, your Introduction and Week One folders will
be available to you on Thursday, May 21 at 9:00 AM and will remain open for the duration of
the course. Thereafter, your weekly lesson folders will open at 9:00 AM every Tuesday.
5
Assignments will be graded as soon as possible, generally in one week or less.
Syllabus Quiz
This quiz will test your comprehension of the syllabus to ensure that you are familiar with all
course requirements and expectations. It is worth 10 points. You may take this quiz as many
times as possible, but you must pass it with 100% accuracy before continuing on to the course
content. The syllabus quiz is due by 11:59 P. M., Friday, May 29.
Lesson Quizzes
You will have 4 lesson quizzes throughout the course that will assess your analysis of the week's
content. These quizzes’ point values will range from 20-30 points apiece. These consist of a
combination of short responses and identifications.
Blogs
You will have three blog responses due over the course of our class. Your topics will be relevant
to the week’s lessons and specific instructions will be provided for each assignment inside of that
week’s lessons folders. Each blog will be worth 15 points apiece.
Video Responses
You will record two video responses during Week 4 that will relate to cultural moments between
the 1960s and 1980s. Each response includes specific questions that you will consider as discuss
your ideas about poetry and music with me via video. These assignments are worth 20 points
each.
Creative Writing
Twice during this course, you will be asked to imagine yourself as an African American living
during specific political instances in the 1960s and 1990s, and why you would or would not
support certain ideals. These exercises will require that you give diligent attention to readings
and videos provided during those weeks so as to best understand the political climates you will
be engaging. These assignments will be worth 25 points each.
Papers
There is one paper (worth 40 points) due in the course. This essay will be 1-2 pages in length
and is to be typed in Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spaced, with 1” margins. Your
topic will be available in the according week.
AHA! Moment—Personal Reflections
At the end of our course, I will ask you to write a 10- point blog that evaluates what you
expected to learn in this course, what you did learn, what surprised you, and how you now look
at the totality of American history. This exercise is generally fun for students (and me!) because
it is a chance to candidly talk about and engage history as living, breathing ideas. As William
Faulkner once said, “The past is never dead. It isn’t even past.”
6
Exams The course includes three tests--two exams and one final. All will consist of a
combination of multiple choice questions, short identifications, and essays. Each test is worth
100 points.
Course Schedule
Week
Lesson
1:
Reconstruction
May
26-June
1
2:
Philanthropy
& Self-Help
3: The Color
Line
June 28
4: World War I
Learning Activities
• PowerPoint lecture
• Reading: From Slavery to Freedom Chapter 11:
Promises and Pitfalls of Reconstruction (p. 235259)
• NBC Learn Video: What the Compromise of
1877 Meant
• NBC Learn Video: The Fourteenth Amendment
• NBC Learn Video: “Colored Rule in
Reconstructed (?) State” Cartoon
• NBC Learn Video: Black Codes
• PowerPoint Lecture
• Reading: From Slavery to Freedom Chapter 13:
The Era of Self Help (p. 287-326)
• Industrial Education for the Negro
• The Talented Tenth
• NBC Learn Video: Two Strategies Among Black
Reformers at the 20th Century
• PowerPoint Lecture
• Reading: From Slavery to Freedom Chapter 12:
The Color Line (p. 261-286)
• NBC Learn Video: Jim Crow Laws in the South
• NBC Learn Video: Plessy v. Ferguson
• NBC Learn Video: Growth of Southern Cities
• NBC Learn Video: Whites Unleash Vengeance at
Lynch Mobs
• PowerPoint Lecture
• Reading: From Slavery to Freedom Chapter 14:
In Pursuit of Democracy (p. 327-350) & Chapter
15: Voices of Protest (p. 351-380)
• NBC Learn Video: Marcus Garvey and the
Universal Negro Improvement Association
Assignment
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Quiz 1
Blog 1—The
Principal vs.
The Professor
Blog 2—Jim
Crow Laws
All Due
Monday, June
1 at 11:59 PM
Quiz 2
Paper 1
Exam 1
All Due
Monday, June
7
5: Harlem
Renaissance
6: New Deal
America
7: Activism of
the Courts
June 915
8: World War
II—Double V
for Victory
9: Civil Rights
Movement—
1950s
June
16-22
10: Civil
Rights
Movement—
1960s
• NBC Learn Video: The Great Migration
• In Death I Shall Be a Terror to the Foes of Negro
Liberty
• Marcus Garvey’s Inferior Complex
• PowerPoint Lecture
• Reading: From Slavery to Freedom Chapter 16:
The Arts at Home and Abroad (p. 380-416)
• Mamie Smith—Crazy Blues
• NBC Learn Video: White House Salute—Writers
of the Harlem Renaissance—Langston Hughes
• PowerPoint Lecture
• Reading: From Slavery to Freedom Chapter 17:
The New Deal Era (p. 417-448)
• “Radical Organizing During the Depression,” by
Robin G. Kelley in Major Problems in AfricanAmerican History, Vol. 2: From Freedom to
“Freedom Now,” 1865-1990s, ed. Thomas C.
Holt & Elsa Barkley Brown (p.231-239) (Scanned
in and provided by instructor)
• NBC Learn Video: FDR and Civil Rights for
African Americans
• PowerPoint Lecture
• Reading: From Slavery to Freedom p. 492-509
(begin with “Labor Civil Rights”)
• Brown v. Board of Education decision
• NBC Learn Video: Significance of Brown V.
Board of Education
• PowerPoint Lecture
• Reading: From Slavery to Freedom Chapter 18:
Double V for Victory (p. 449-472)
• NBC Learn Video: The First Black Paratroopers
• NBC Learn Video: The Tuskegee Experiment
• PowerPoint Lecture
• Reading: From Slavery to Freedom Chapter 20:
We Shall Overcome (p. 510-548)
• NBC Learn Video: Earnest Green’s Story—
Integrating Central High School
• NBC Learn Video: The Rise of Martin Luther
King, Jr.
• PowerPoint Lecture
• Reading: From Slavery to Freedom Chapter 20:
We Shall Overcome (p. 510-548) *continue from
previous lesson and “Black Power’s Antecedents”
in Chapter 21: Black Power (549-557)
• Letter from a Birmingham Jail (pdf)
8 at 11:59 PM
•
•
•
•
•
Quiz 3
Blog 3—“The
Significance of
Silas Hunt”
Both Due
Monday, June
15 at 11:59
PM
Exam 2
Video
Response—
“Phenomenal
Woman”
8
Letter from a Birmingham Jail (video)
• The Ballot or the Bullet (pdf)
• The Ballot or the Bullet (video)
• NBC Learn Video: The Struggle for School
Integration
• NBC Learn Video: Fannie Lou Hamer’s
Testimony at the 1964 Democratic Convention
• PowerPoint Lecture
• Reading: From Slavery to Freedom Chapter 21:
Black Power (p. 549-582)
• NBC Learn Video: Tommie Smith
• NBC Learn Video: What did the Black Panthers
Really Accomplish?
• “Phenomenal Woman” (transcript)
• “Phenomenal Woman” (video)
• PowerPoint Lecture
• Reading: From Slavery to Freedom Chapter 22:
Progress and Poverty (p. 583-606)
• Chapter 1, “Generation Remixed,” in Marcus
Reeves’ Somebody Scream
• 911 is a Joke
• Oh My God
• It’s Tricky
• PowerPoint Lecture
• Reading: From Slavery to Freedom Chapter 22:
Progress and Poverty (p. 583-606) (continued
from previous lesson)
• Jesse Jackson 1988 Democratic National
Convention Address
• NBC Learn Video: Minorities Encouraged by
Supreme Court Ruling in Weber Case
• NBC Learn Video: African American Groups
Oppose Supreme Court Nomination
• NBC Learn Video: Clarence Thomas Confirmed
to Supreme Court
• PowerPoint Lecture
• Reading: From Slavery to Freedom Chapter 22:
Progress and Poverty (p. 606-611)
• Clinton as the First Black President
• NBC Learn Video: Rodney King Trial and Its
Aftermath
• NBC Learn Video: Fires, Looting in LA After
Verdict in King Case
• NBC Learn Video: The Million Man March
•
11: Black
Power
12: Urban
Decay
13: The
Conservative
Thrust of the
1980s
June
23-27
14: Clinton
and the New
Left
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Creative
Writing—“The
Rise of Black
Power”
Video
Response—
“Early Hip-Hop
Artists”
All Due
Monday, June
22 at 11:59
PM
Quiz 4
Creative
Writing—“The
Problem of Bill
Clinton as the
‘First Black
President’
AHA! Moment:
Personal
Reflection
Exercise
Final Exam
All due
Saturday,
June 27 at
11:59 PM
9
15: Course
Review
Prompts Political Discussion
• PowerPoint Lecture
10