HIST 205-01, The Transatlantic Slave Trade, Fall 2011

Abstract

This class will help you to understand how “race” came to function as an axial concept. It structured how Europeans came to see themselves and to represent others. This congealed into a worldview by the end of the nineteenth-century with fateful consequences in the twentieth century. This seminar will also examine how “race” and racism have been contested and re-articulated in a number of anti-colonial and civil rights struggles that pose continuing questions for us today. The course is also designed to introduce students to the varieties of academic approaches to the topic of racism within the academy. Finally, as a writing intensive class we will focus on strengthening our expository prose. Consequently, students will read and critically evaluate both primary and secondary sources, and write a set of reflective essays, as well as longer evaluative essays.