Professor Constance Hilliard

Wooten Hall Rm. 245

(940) 565-4972

Office Hours: MWF 2-3 p.m. (by appointment only)

Hist: 4455:

The History of Black Women in America

Course Description:

This course will offer a historical exploration into the characteristics, lifestyles and reflective thought of Black women in America. Beginning with an overview of the West African cultural environment from which Black women were brought to America in chains, this course will also examine the gender roles conditioned by slavery, as well as the historical and ongoing challenges and cultural output of this group. It will employ a multidisciplinary approach as it examines both the historical accounts and literary presentations of African-American women.

Required Texts:

Books:

A Shining Thread of Hope: The History of Black Women in America by Darlene Clark Hine and Kathleen Thompson, Broadway Books, New York, 1998, 353 pp

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (an autobiography) by Maya Angelou, Bantam Books, 1983, 289 pp

Course Requirements and Grading:

Mid-Term Exam25%

Final -Exam25%

Term paper25%

Quizzes10%

Book Report10%

Soul Project05%

The Term paper (12 to 15 pages typed) should present a factual, well-reasoned examination of an issue relating to the history of Black Women in America. The topic chosen must be approved by the instructor. This paper should also demonstrate clarity of thought and an effective use of source materials. Term papers will also be expected to followed accepted practices of form and style for academic writing, and make accurate use of citations, footnotes, and bibliography. Term papers without citations will receive a failing grade.

The Book Report (2-3 pages) will constitute a summary and analysis of a novel or autobiography written by an African-American woman.

The Soul Project will count as a quiz grade. It represents an opportunity for students to explore the expressive culture of Black women in America, through presentation of a creative work of their own creation inspired by the subject matter of this course. It may involve such activities as the writing of a poem, short story, essay, artistic expression in preparing a drawing, sketch, sculpture, craft making, cooking an African-American recipe, a short dance, singing or instrumental performance, and so forth. Students’ “Soul Projects” will be presented in front of the class. As this project represents an opportunity to express your own creativity, please refrain from merely reciting someone else’s poetry or writings. The grading of these projects is pass/fail.

DISABILITY STATEMENT:

Any student with special circumstances covered by the Americans with

Disabilities Act should register with the Office of Disability

Accommodation (ODA), Suite 322, University Union Building, and also

inform the instructor of the class. Reasonable adjustments will be made

to accommodate the special needs of students with disabilities where

such adjustments are necessary to provide equality of educational

access. Students who have registered with the ODA should make an appointment to

discuss their disabilities accommodation requests with the instructor.

Course Outline:

Historiographical Issues

  1. What is historiography?
  2. Post-Modernism
  3. Epistemology
  4. The four-quadrant paradigm of knowledge

Essentialism

The Status of Women in West Africa Prior to the Transatlantic Slave Trade

I.Early history of West Africa

II.Gender roles and social structures

III.Ecological variables

West African Women: Spirituality

I.Ancestor Worship

II.Animism

III.Gnosticism

IV.Dualism

V.Empiricism

VI. Holism

Early African women in America

I. The Construction of the American slave institution

II. The construction of the white and black races

III.Tituba and the Salem Witch trials

IV.The Early slave experience

Gender Role Differentiations incubated by slavery

I.Black Women

II.Black Men

III.White Women

IV.White Men

The Slave Hierarchy and implications

I.Plantation Field Hands

II.Artisans

III.Domestics

IV.Free blacks

Child-Rearing Practices among Slaves

I.The Role of the Slave Mother

II.Psychological demands placed by slavery on plantation field hands

III.Socialization for Survival

IV.Influences on contemporary black family life

Some Early 19th Century Black Women

I.Phillis Wheatley (c.1753- 1784)

II.Sally Hemings (1773 - 1835?)

  1. Jarena Lee (1783 - c.1850)
  2. Sojourner Truth (c.1797 - 1883)

Black Women’s Power of Self-Definition

I.Response to defining images

II.Respect

III.Self-Reliance and Independence

IV.Relationships

Black Female Artists

I.Singers/Musicians

II.Writers

Black Nationalism

I. Booker T. Washington

II. Marcus Garvey Movement

III. Nation of Islam

Black Women’s Involvement in the Civil Rights Movement

I.NAACP

II.Rosa Parks

III.Little Rock Nine

IV.SNCC

V.Voting Rights Act

Black Feminism

I.Black Feminism?

II.Womanism

III.Sexism and Black Nationalism

IV.Bell Hooks

Black Sexual Politics

Survival Skills

I.Expressiveness

II.Interior Knowledge and Self-Definition

“Body Wisdom”

Hip Hop Feminism