Classes
-
BLKS 200: Introduction to Black Studies
This course will serve as an introduction to the broad field of Africana/Black studies. Inherently interdisciplinary, Africana/ Black Studies draws on the fields of history and literature, arts and material culture, as well as political science, geography, and sociology. Black Studies emerged out of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements of the 1960s and offers an important and compelling angle for analyzing American history and culture. In fact, Black Studies takes on directly the interconnected nature of slavery and freedom in United States history and their enduring legacies. This class will introduce students to key themes and issues in Black Studies, as well as a range of disciplinary approaches to their study. Among these are the relationships between African Americans and Africa and the Diaspora. Offered at least once in four semesters.
-
WGST 100: Intro Women's & Gender Studies
An introduction to historical and contemporary feminist issues and to problems of special importance to Women’s and Gender Studies, which students may go on to pursue in further depth. Examples include the nature of gender in the US and cross-culturally; how gender functions within a system of privilege and oppression; how gender intersects with other forms of oppression such as race, class, and LGBTQ status; and feminist activism across the three feminist “waves.” In the course of examining these topics, students will be introduced to a wide array of feminist theoretical frameworks, Liberal Feminism, Radical Feminism, Black Feminism, and Postmodern Feminism. Students will then explore applications of these theories to various topics of historical and contemporary interest to women, such as pornography, sexuality, violence, and sexual assault, among other topics.
-
WRTG 105: Wrtg: Imagining Racial Justice
Writing Seminar lays the foundation for students to participate insightfully in both written and oral academic conversations. The course focuses on three modes of written and oral communication: communication as an ongoing persuasive dialogue with multiple audiences, communication with a reflective self, and communication with a dynamic evolving text. The course also introduces elements of information literacy and critical thinking needed to develop and evaluate academic conversation. Writing Seminar is typically taken by new students in their first two semesters, often as the introduction to general education, to our library, and to academic support services as sites of collaboration rather than remediation. As many new students' only seminar-style class, Writing Seminar can help lay the foundations of not only academic but also social success.