African American Studies

1) For this blog post, choose at least four (4) key concepts from Grazian Ch. 1 and use them as inspiration to describe four questions about Blackface Minstrelsy, which you learned about from the Lott reading and the online exhibit, The History of Minstrelsy. Explain to the reader why these concepts provoke the questions you have, and how answering those questions will help us understand blackface as a cultural object, the context within which it is produced and consumed, and/or what we learn about America and the United States by studying blackface critically. Use specific references to class readings and to the cultural objects you encountered in the online exhibit. Cite using basic MLA or Chicago style parenthetical citations with a bibliography at the end of your post as necessary. 2)Write 1-2 sentences on a list of what you consider to be the five (5) most important terms or concepts from Grazian, Ch. 1. Look the whole Chapter over and think about what the main arguments of the chapter are and then decide what terms or concepts best lead toward that overall argument. 3)From reading this chapter and learning about blackface minstrelsy, why do you think Lott describes America’s original popular cultural object in terms of love and theft? What (or who) is being loved? What (or who) is being stolen? Write a short paragraph in your notebook exploring these questions.

Research Paper discussing the sometimes subdued accomplishments of the Buffalo Soldiers from 1866-WWII. must contain Abstract and strong thesis statement

How does Racism towards African Americans affect Police Brutality in the U.S? One outside source per paragraph.

Construct an essay based on the following question: How did African-Americans fight to make the Civil War about emancipation and freedom? Your essay should use evidence from three primary sources provided below and should be based on your reading and analysis of the primary source documents. Your paper should be 2 to 3 pages in length and use double-spacing and 12-point font. Please use MLA style. Primary Source Documents Choose one primary source from each of the following sections: *Slaves Thirty Years a Slave: From Bondage to Freedom by Louis Hughes Selections from the WPA Interviews of Formerly Enslaved African Americans on Slavery *Soldiers Selections from the WPA Interviews of Formerly Enslaved African Americans on being a Civil War Soldier “I Hope to Fall With My Face to the Foe” by Lewis Douglass Letters from Spotswood Rice Letter to President Lincoln *Emancipation Selections from the WPA Interviews of Formerly Enslaved African Americans on Emancipation Maryland Slave to the President George W. Hatton: Retaliation in Camp Black Residents of Nashville to the Union Convention

Module 4 (half- module)- Theme 10: African Experiences in Film Required Reading(s): Khan, Mariama. (Chapter 10) “The Reincarnation of Colonial Imaginaries in Nollywood Films.” In Africa, History& Culture. Edited by Mariama Khan & Grasian Mkodzongi, Kendall Hunt Publishers, 2020. https://he.kendallhunt.com/product/africa-history-and-culture Assigned Film: Liberian Film Siatta Will Kill Me New Liberian Movie 2017 Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goXzXAdlvFU Theme 11: African Futures Required Reading(s): Khan, Mariama & Grasian Mkodzongi (chapter 11) “Advancing the Need for decolonized African Knowledge: A Case Study on Senegambia Knowledge Systems.” In Africa, History& Culture. Edited by Mariama Khan & Grasian Mkodzongi, Kendall Hunt Publishers, 2020. https://he.kendallhunt.com/product/africa-history-and-culture Assignments Due: Final paper Due Augu Assignments: Final Paper Due Date: Thursday, August 6, 2020, at 11:59pm Individual Research Project (Final Paper) Task Using examples from the readings and films assigned for Module 4 and other selected outside sources write and submit a response to the prompt below. The 10-pages (double spaced) should include full references and proper in-text citations. Identify an issue/theme of your choice that is related to the reading(s) and films assigned for Module 4. Frame it as a debate question. Develop your own response to the question choosing a stance that is either for or against the motion. Again note: (You can right “for” or “against” the issue you have identified). The response should do the following: 13. Examine how relevant the issue you have identified is in contemporary Africa 14. Examine how that issue is affecting African society. You can draw examples from a selected African country 15. Discuss why you think the selected issue needs urgent attention . 16. Use different methodological and disciplinary approaches to discuss the evidence you present in your group research project.

This assignment is a 200-word journal. What is the “theme” of The poem Sympathy.

Must include: 1) The artist’s background 2) The artist’s A) genre & B) the aesthetic qualities of their art 3) Your evaluation of whether the artists’ cultural products meet the three criteria for Black art as defined by Karenga in Introduction to Black Studies (364-365). Answer the following questions using supporting evidence and examples from the course readings and the credible/scholarly resources you found in your research for the annotated bibliography: • A) Is the artist’s literature functional? (Is it useful? Does it urge social purpose, inform, instruct and inspire the people, and is it unapologetically partial to Black people?) • B) Is the literature collective? (Was the it done for all? Was it inspired by all Black people and their cultures? If so, what aspects of Black culture does it reflect? Was it rooted in life-based language and images that were full of everyday relevance? Provide supporting examples. Was it understandable without being overly simplistic?) • C) Is the literature committing? (Did it commit Black people to the historical project of liberation and achievement of a higher level of human life? Did it demand and urge involvement in the struggle to build a new world and new people to live in it? Did it teach Black people to dare victory?) 4) Discuss new understandings, perspectives, appreciation, or insight you gained from working on this project. (For instance how it relates to you or your community, your perspective on whether the artist should be judged from the committed-art perspective. Why or why not?) Rubric: You will be graded on the following- (logical organization; relevance; supporting evidence, examples & citations; evaluation & analysis; clarity) Logical organization – Ideas and information are well organized, presentation has strong introduction and conclusion. Interview’s relevance to the assignment’s instructions and African-American culture topics Supporting/background evidence and examples provided from credible & scholarly sources & cited in Chicago style: A) course reading, B) credible source, C) scholarly source Evaluation & analysis- A) of three Black art characteristics B) of understandings, perspectives, or appreciation gained Clarity – paragraph structure, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, wording, and grammar in the presentation

This assignment is a 7 page paper on the hypersexualization of and responses to black women in music. There should be an analysis on the intersection of gender/sexuality and race/ethnicity, more specifically, misogynoir and colorism. You should analyze the music (song lyrics, musical and visual analysis) of a certain musician (Beyonce) and/or you can explore a certain concept (misogynoir, colorism) in the examples of multiple musicians (Beyonce, Whitney Houstan, Nicki Minaj, Donna Summer, Mariah Carey, Missy Elliot, Janet Jackson)

For this research assignment, I am expected to write an 8-page double-spaced paper. This paper should be in APA format and include all of the following: Cover Page Introduction Argument/Background/Research Question Literature Review Methodology(discussion of methods) Data Analysis/Findings(articulation of your findings) Conclusion Reference Page Research Question: How is African American hair affected in the workplace? My argument: African Americans are discriminated against on a regular basis simply due to the look and texture of their hair. They are always expected to bow down to the standards of corporate America and wear styles that society considers “professional” in the workplace, even if it means taming our tresses for the likings of others. One of the main reasons I know this to be true is because I am a hairstylist specializing in African American hair care and the first-hand experiences I hear from my clients who work in healthcare and many other fields send me into disbelief; the stories are also never-ending. I notice there is a certain look that is expected of African American hair, which is to be not too excessive or eye-catching and deemed presentable to the public. Meanwhile, those same standards aren’t placed on their counterparts. Upon research, I found that African Americans may deal with mental health problems stemmed from the stressors creating by corporate grooming policies. Anxiety, PTSD, and depression are a few to name.   Methodology/Discussion of Methods: The disciplines that I believe are most relevant to my research topic are sociology, African American diaspora studies, and psychology. Methods that are valued in these fields are surveys, interviews, and experiments; these methods fall under the Social Sciences which is qualitative and quantitative research. Surveys and interviews are what I’ll be using to further explain the data found.

v  Give an overall summary of the content of the reading. v  Provide a description of your thoughts/view of the reading to include questions for further exploration. v  Consider any emerging themes from the reading and how they might be relevant in your current context. v  How does the writer address the subject matter of African American Culture? v  When placing the selected reading in the larger context of this class what might you discover?