AFRA 630 - Expressive Cultures in the African Diaspora

Credit(s): 3

EXPRESSIVE CULTURES
Component: Discussion
This graduate readings course seeks to expose students to the different conceptual frameworks and methodologies scholars have used to examine expressive cultures in the African Diaspora from the post-emancipation period until the present. The course will examine various forms of “expressive culture” including adornment practices, beauty culture, performance, music, dance, sport, and photography. In addition, the course will highlight the crucial intersections among these expressive cultures and major social and political movements in post-emancipation era Afro-diasporic communities. While the course is designed for historians, it explicitly incorporates scholarship in other disciplines to encourage students to develop interdisciplinary approaches to the study of Afro-diasporic expressive culture. In this manner, students will be encouraged to tackle the following semester-long challenge: How can scholars productively employ interdisciplinary approaches to the histories of Afro-diasporic cultural production? Thus, the class invites students to familiarize themselves with the distinct, yet interconnected scholarship on Afro-diasporic cultural production in a manner that highlights the movement of cultural practices across the Americas.

Repeatable for Credit: N Allowed Units: 3 Multiple Term Enrollment: N Grading Basis: Student Option