Interpreting the Movement: Civil Rights and Black

Course Description
How do we interpret the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements of the post WWII era? What role do journalist, activists, and scholars play in shaping how we remember the past? How do African-American communities give meaning to the "movement." Do we understand the "movement" in terms of understanding the leaders, determining the nature of the political climate, or by examining community traditions? When do we begin our exploration---in the 1950s, 1960s or perhaps sooner? Does the emergence of newly independent nations in Africa and Asia shape activist conceptions of civil rights, human rights, violence, nonviolence, citizenship or nation building? The questions we ask about the past, tell us something about what we hope to gain from our inquiries. During the semester, students will have an opportunity to examine primary documents and engage in the kind of thinking processes that scholars who chronicle social movements do. As a class we will critically examine the questions that scholars and activists have raised about the "movement" but will also develop questions of our own? MCP, PRS, REA, WRI