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Looking at the period from the mid-19th century through the 1970s, we will examine the ways in which ¿the rest of the world¿ figured into black American intellectual programs for combating discrimination at home, and we will explore the attempts made by black civil rights advocates to capitalize on forums around the world to press for political change. Throughout the course, we will consider the ways in which African American ideas about the rest of the world were shaped by their own backgrounds and experiences as ¿Americans¿ or, conversely, by their perceptions of themselves as part of a global coalition of oppressed peoples. We will ask to what degree they were successful at challenging racism and paternalism¿and to what degree they reified it¿in their various approaches to the international scene. How did black activists and intellectuals import and engage with ideologies of anti-imperialism, anti-fascism, Communism, and pacifism to further their own domestic agenda of equal rights for all? What effect did the harnessing of these international doctrines have on their home-grown political philosophies, encouraging or hindering their ability to realize their goal of civil rights? And how were African American interventions in international political arenas received by those with whom they sought to forge alliances?
COURSE FORMAT: Seminar
Level: UGRD Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS HIST Grading Mode: Graded
Prerequisites: NONE Links to Web Resources For This Course.
Last Updated on MAR-30-2006
Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459