THE CARIBBEAN AND ITS DIASPORAS

ENGL 374

Explore classic literary and cultural texts from three regions: Africa, the Caribbean, and African America. Consider the origins and evolution of the African diaspora, and the many forms of its expression. Consider how the African diaspora has shaped US society today, exploring significant themes such as slavery and colonialism, race and cultural identity; intra-racial/cultural and cross-continental alliances and antagonisms; gender and genre; and the paradoxical fate so far-cultural visibility but peripheral political and economic power- of global Afro-cultures. Think about how African-American writers have been influenced by the experience of the African diaspora, and also about the ways that cultural expression from around the world has shaped US culture.

AFROAMER 231

A social history of West Africans and African Americans from the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade through the modern Civil Rights Movement, paying special attention to the institution of slavery (1619-1865), emancipation and reconstruction (1861-1877), and the long civil rights movement (1877-1968). Major themes include the varied experiences of enslaved peoples, the roles Black people played in maintaining and sustaining North American colonies, and how African Americans helped to create the American Republic. Examine how Black people fought for their freedom and liberty, as well as, the challenges, successes, and shortcomings of the long civil rights movement.

ANTHRO 237

Explores the history and culture of the Caribbean by focusing on its musics, both religious and secular. Special attention will be directed to the impact of colonialism on the emergence of racially stratified societies. Music will also enable us to investigate the concepts of diaspora and creolization. Other topics include: gender and sexuality, the role of technology in the production and distribution of music, music and politics, the impact of tourism, and the global impact of Caribbean musics.

HISTORY 179

The African-descended population of the Americas is around 180 million people. Roughly two-thirds of those live outside of the United States, mostly in Brazil and the Caribbean. Provides an overview of the histories, aspirations, and problems that have most impacted peoples of the African diaspora in the years since the Haitian Revolution. As such, the focus will be thematic rather than chronological. The primary emphasis will be on the history of political, social, and intellectual movements. Topics will include slave resistance, black nationalism, socialism, and anti-colonialism. Learn about figures as varied as Toussaint L'Ouverture, Ida B. Wells, Marcus Garvey, WEB DuBois, Carolina Maria de Jesus, Frantz Fanon, Paul Robeson, and many others. Other topics to be covered include: the meaning of "freedom," the construction of black "masculinities," diasporic religious expressions, art and literature, and race and medicine.

HISTORY 278

Topics include demography and structure of the slave trade, but major focus on continuities and transformations of African cultures and social structures in the Americas--ethnicity, religion, kinship, gender, oral tradition, creolization, etc.