Professor Janelle Poe | Fall 2020
M|W 12:30 -1:45 PM
M/W | Live Sessions via Zoom
Office Hours via Zoom R 2:30-3:30 PM or by appointment
“I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.” ~ Fannie Lou Hamer (Aug. 1964)
The Africans of the slave bark “Wildfire”–The slave deck of the bark “Wildfire,” brought into Key West on April 30, 1860. Library of Congress, 1860. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/98501624/
“If I didn’t define myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive” ~ Audre Lorde (Feb. 1982)
Welcome to the course website for BLST 10100_34045 SEEK section. In efforts to increase student participation and accessibility, this course is designated as OER (Open Educational Resources) and ZTC (Zero Textbook Cost). Nearly 50% of the courses are asynchronous, and taught online, with live weekly Zoom sessions.
Beginning with a clear understanding of “self and other” and race as a social construct, the course timeline zooms in on 1619 and the 400th anniversary of the documented arrival of the first enslaved Africans on North American soil, covering four centuries of the Black experience in North America and considers the diaspora, while focusing on both prominent and lesser heard voices. Students are encouraged to learn not only critical thought and writing skills as they read and respond to these texts, but to also see themselves as contributors to current scholarship and creative work in the discipline of Black Studies.