San Diego Community College District Page 1

Course Syllabus

BLAS 140A (63313)

HIST U.S./BLACK PERSPECTIVES
2011 - SPRING

INSTRUCTOR: DARIUS SPEARMAN

TELEPHONE: (619) 388-3187
E-MAIL VIA WEBCT

OFFICE HOURS: MON & WED 9:30-11:00AM;

TUE & THUR 11:05AM-12:35PM
AND BY APPOINTMENT,
ROOM A-1(E)

CLASS MEETS: ONLINE

FROM 1/24/2011 TO 5/21/2011

ADVICE: English 51 and passing score on English 51 exit exam

THIS SYLLABUS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
Students will be notified of syllabus changes during a regularly scheduled class. It will be the students’
responsibility to ensure they possess the latest version of the class syllabus.

NOTE: Controversial subjects may be the topic of discussion or readings.

WHAT’S INSIDE:
REQUIRED TEXTS ........................................................................................................................................... 2
COURSE DESCRIPTION & STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES .......................................................................... 2
COURSE REQUIREMENTS ................................................................................................................................ 3
ATTENDANCE AND GRADING ......................................................................................................................... 4
HONEST ACADEMIC CONDUCT ...................................................................................................................... 5
DISABILITY SUPPORT SERVICES (DSS) STATEMENT ..................................................................................... 5
COURSE SCHEDULE ........................................................................................................................................ 6
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Course Syllabus

REQUIRED TEXTS
1. Hine Darlene Clark, et.al., African Americans: A Concise History (Combined Edition
3/E), Prentice Hall, 2009, ISBN: 0136002781
2. Davis, Angela. Women, Race, and Class, First Vintage Books Edition, 1983; ISBN 0-
394-71351-6
3. Lapp, Rudolph, Blacks in Gold Rush California, Yale University Press (1995); ISBN
0300065450
4. Voeks, Robert. “African Medicine And Magic In The Americas” (Online Reading)

COURSE DESCRIPTION & STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

An in-depth study of the African-American experience from African origins to the conclusion of
the Civil War, with emphases on the Atlantic slave trade and American slavery, the African in
the New World and the United States Constitution.

Upon successful completion of the course the student will have gained experience in:

1. Discuss the main features of African culture prior to the enslavement of Africans in
America.
2. Critically analyze evidence that suggest the presence of Africans in the Americas before
Columbus, and compare and contrast aspects of African and Native American cultures.
3. Trace the course of African enslavement in the Americas and explain the European
rationale for the enslavement of Africans.
4. Explain the importance of the mercantilism and the Atlantic economy in the development
of the economic and social systems in the English colonies.
5. Analyze the role played by slave trade in the Atlantic trade, Industrial Revolution, and the
development of European capitalism.
6. Discuss the role of African labor in the economies of the English colonies.
7. Describe the role culture, political institutions, and economic developments played in the
emergence of representative government in the English colonies.
8. Discuss the development of colonial laws legalizing slavery and racial oppression.
9. Explain the role played by African Americans, on both sides of the conflict during the
American Revolution, and the impact of Revolutionary ideas on the institution of slavery.
10. Discuss the philosophical ideas held by the framers on such questions as: the origins and
purpose of government, the relationship between individuals and government, and the
relationship between government and society.
11. Summarize the basic principles of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and identify
fundamental American political values that flow from the Constitution.
12. Identify and discuss Constitutional provisions that legitimized slavery and racial
oppression, and analyze the contradictions inherent in as society founded on the
principles of freedom and equality, and the persistence of slavery and racial oppression.
13. Discuss the emergence of de facto and de jure racial discrimination in the post-
revolutionary America and its impact on African Americans.
14. Explain why African Americans found it necessary to establish separate social, religious,
educational, economic and cultural institutions after the Revolution and identify the
specific institutions they founded.
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Course Syllabus

15. Identify factors that account for the persistence of slavery after the Revolution and
discuss the role that slavery played in western territorial expansion.
16. Discuss the development of an African American culture and analyze its relationship
with, and influences on, the European American culture.
17. Discuss the methods used by enslaved Africans to resist slavery and how this resistance
led to the enactment of laws to suppress it.
18. Summarize the arguments of pro-slavery and anti-slavery advocates and explain the
differences among anti-slavery groups such as the Abolitionists and the advocates of free
soil.
19. Analyze the ideological, economic and political issues that led to the break up of the
Union and the Civil War, and explain how slavery was at the core of the conflict between
the North and the South.
20. Compare and contrast the resources and social experiences of the Union and the
Confederacy during the war and explain the role and contributions of African Americans.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS
4 Response Papers (50 points each)
Write a 500-700 word typed paper on a prompt to be determined in class. To adequately
address each question, we would suggest a minimum of 3 main points explored in a fair
amount of detail. The assigned readings should be sufficient to adequately address the topic,
and should be the only materials referenced in your essays. DO NOT CITE FROM
OUTSIDE SOURCES.
Key points must be supported and cited with evidence from the required readings. You
MUST cite from at least two sources per paper – i.e. (Author, p. 10). Allow the material to
speak to you and for you. Doing so should also permit you to be creative in how you piece
the material together. Be SPECIFIC in your answer. Eliminate the following words from
your vocabulary: “this,” “these,” “that,” “they,” “its.”
Please see the Response Paper Grading Rubric for specific details on how you will be
assessed for this assignment.

Class Discussion/Participation (300 Points)

Your participation in the weekly discussions, your ability to answer questions, and to initiate
dialogue based on the required readings, will be graded. Each student is expected to have
read the assignments and have given them careful thought. You will be given a weekly
prompt for discussion and will be graded based on the posted rubric. Each week’s discussion
is worth 20 points.
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Course Syllabus

Honors Option (100 Points) *

In ADDITION to the Oral Presentation (see above), write a 7-10 page research paper on the
topic of your choice. Your paper should include no less than four print sources such as books
or scholarly journals – no more than two of those sources may be from texts used in the
classroom. Please discuss and clear your topic with me by 3/4/2011.

Computer Skills Advisory

Enter level of computer skills expected or types of assignments requiring computer skills. (In
most college courses students are expected to have a basic familiarity with computer terms
and use: word processing, document manipulation, spreadsheets, email, and online services.
These skills can be learned at any of the colleges or Continuing Education.)

ATTENDANCE AND GRADING

Attendance Requirements
Students may be dropped after four (4) week without an active log in OR after having missed
four (4) assignments. The 4 week/4 assignment rule is at my discretion, though, so please
keep me informed of any issues as they arise and allow me to help you work through them.
It is the student’s responsibilisty to drop all classes in which (s)he is no longer participating.
• Deadline to drop classes with no “W” recorded is 2/4/2011.
• Withdrawal deadline is 4/1/2011. No drops may be accepted after this date.
Students who remain enrolled in a class beyond the published withdrawal
deadline, as stated in the class schedule, will receive an evaluative letter grade in
this class.
Grading will be on a point scale and will be assigned as follows:
REGULAR SCALE HONORS OPTION*
A = 500-450 Points A = 600-540 Points
B = 449-400 Points B = 539-480 Points
C = 399-350 Points C = 479-420 Points
D = 349-300 Points D = 419-360 Points
F < 300 Points F < 360 Points
Points for individual assignments will be broken down as follows:
• Response Papers: 200 points
• Class Discussion/Participation: 300 points
• Optional Honors Paper: 100 *
Credit/No Credit
Beginning Fall 2009, the title “credit/no credit” will change to “pass/no pass” in accordan
ce with Title 5, section 55022.

All assignments are considered due by the posted due date and time:

*
Please contact the Honors Department for details in room A1-N (619) 388-3512, or http://www.sdcity.edu/honors/.
*
Please contact the Honors Department for details in room A1-N (619) 388-3512, or http://www.sdcity.edu/honors/.
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Course Syllabus

LATE WORK WILL BE FORGIVEN ONCE (FOR ANY REASON) – AFTER THAT NO LATE WORK
WILL BE ACCEPTED

HONEST ACADEMIC CONDUCT

Students are expected to be honest and ethical at all times in their pursuit of academic goals.
Students who are found in violation of district Procedure 3100.3, Honest Academic Conduct,
will receive a zero (0) grade on the assignment in question with no opportunity to make up
the grade. Additionally students may be referred for disciplinary action in accordance with
Procedure 3100.2, Student Disciplinary Procedures. This policy applies to all work submitted
in class or online including, but not limited to, emails, discussion postings, assignments,
essays, and exams.

DISABILITY SUPPORT SERVICES (DSS) STATEMENT

Please meet with me to discuss any academic accommodations that may be necessary for
students with disabilities. An alternate from of this syllabus and other class handouts is
available upon request. Further accommodations can be made upon arrangement with myself
and the Department of Disability Support Programs and Services (DSPS), Room A-115 (619)
388-3513
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Course Syllabus

Course Schedule

UNIT 1: ANCIENT AFRICA AND SURVIVAL IN THE WEST (4 WEEKS)

WEEK DATE TOPIC ASSIGNMENT
Week 1 1/24 - 1/30 Introductions (Ungraded Topic)
Discussion #01: Introduction to Africa in Historical Hine, CH 1
Week 2 1/31 - 2/6
Context
Lapp, CH 1
Week 3 2/7 - 2/13 Discussion #02: Acculturation - Healing as Resistance
Voeks (Online Article)
Week 4 2/14 - 2/20 Discussion #03: The Middle Passage Hine, CH 2

UNIT 2: BLACKS’ SURVIVAL IN A SLAVE SOCIETY (4 WEEKS)

Hine, CH 3
Week 5 2/21 - 2/27 Discussion #04: African American Frontiers
Response Paper 1 Due
Discussion #05: The Enslavement of Blacks in Colonial
Week 6 2/28 - 3/6 Hine, CH 4
America
Week 7 3/7 - 3/13 Discussion #06: African Americans and the Revolution Davis, CH 1
Discussion #07: Women, Race & Class and the
Week 8 3/14 - 3/20 Hine, CH 5
Definition of Gender

UNIT 3: REFORM, EXPANSION AND SECTIONAL STRIFE (4 WEEKS)

Hine, CH 6-7
Week 9 3/21 - 3/27 Discussion #08: African American Slavery
Response Paper 2 Due
Week 10 3/28 - 4/3 Discussion #09: The "Free" Black Dilemma Lapp, CH 3
Week 11 4/4 - 4/10 Discussion #10: The Reform Era Davis, CH 2
Week 12 4/11 - 4/17 Discussion #11: The Underground Railroad Hine, CH 8-9

Week 13 4/18 - 4/24 ** Spring Break**

UNIT 4: THE CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION (4 WEEKS)

Lapp, CH 4-5
Week 14 4/25 - 5/1 Discussion #12: Blacks on the Frontier (Revisited)
Response Paper 3 Due
Week 15 5/2 - 5/8 Discussion #13: America's First Black Regiment Hine, CH 10-11
Week 16 5/9 - 5/15 Discussion #14: Slavery by Another Name Hine, CH 12
Davis, CH 4-5
Week 17 5/16 - 5/22 Discussion #15: The Meaning of Emancipation
Response Paper 4 Due