Fall 2008

African American Studies 3362, Up From Slavery, section 3457; and Anthropology 4930, Up From Slavery, section 9762.

Periods (2-3 and 3): Tuesdays, 8:30 am – 10:25 am, Turlington 2328;
Thursday, 9:35 – 10:25 am, Turlington 2334 

Instructor:  Dr. Willie L. Baber

Office Hours:  Tuesdays and Thursday 10:30 am – 12:00 pm, or by appointment, B133 Turlington Hall, 392-7887,  e-mail: wbaber@anthro.ufl.edu

Course Description:  An analysis of Booker T. Washington's Up From Slavery; knowledge of its historical and social context including early evolutionism and reactions to early evolutionary theory and methods; analysis of economic and social change.

Prerequisite:  AFA 2000.  In order to understand Washington’s view of social change we must also involve W. E. B. Du Bois, an important protagonist of Booker T. Washington.  Du Bois wrote the classic The Souls of Black Folk in response to Booker T. Washington’s classic, Up From Slavery.  If you have not read The Souls of Black Folk, I highly recommend that you read chapter four “Of the Meaning of Progress.”

Objectives:

At the conclusion of this course you will have critically engaged and learned the following:

1.     …that the impact of Booker T. Washington in American Society and the world is largely reflections of both early evolutionism and universalism, leading to the 1896 Supreme Court Decision "separate but equal" [races].

2.    …varying perspectives on the "race" politics of Booker T. Washington   and W. E. B. Dubois.

3.   …the decline of early evolutionism and the rise of social protests, leading to the Brown versus Board of Education 1954 Supreme Court decision.

4.    …why Up From Slavery is a classic work related directly to early evolutionism and universalism.

5.     …why Souls of Black Folk is a classic work and a refutation of early evolutionism as race hierarchy.

6.  …critical thinking and writing skills related to understanding  

     Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. Du Bois, and early 20th century

     race relations.

Required Texts (Available at Orange & Blue Textbooks,  309 NW 13th Street, Gainesville, FL  32601 352-375-2707):

Washington, Booker T (edited by William L. Andrews), Up From Slavery, Norton Critical Edition, 1995.

Patterson, James T., Brown versus Board of Education, Oxford University Press, 2003.

Moore, Jacqueline M., Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Dubois, and the Struggle for Racial Uplift.  Scholarly Uplift, 2003.

Jacqueline Fear-Segal, Nineteenth-Century Indian Education:  Universalism versus Evolutionism, Journal of American Studies, 33(1999), 323-341, Cambridge University Press.  Available on-line at http://courses.temple.edu/neighbor/Hampton&carlisle.pdf

Gordon Rule Composition Requirement [E2]:  The Gordon Rule Composition requirement ensures students both maintain their fluency in writing and use writing as a tool to facilitate learning.  To accomplish this end, they must complete [2,000/4,000/6,000] written words on assignments during the semester, excluding exam essay questions and informal, ungraded  writing assignments.  This is a Gordon Rule 2000 course (E2), requiring you to submit a draft of your eight-page essay before your final draft is graded.

Attendance Policy:  Students are expected to attend all sessions of this course.

Make-up exam policy: You must have a legitimate excuse, such as a doctor’s note, if you miss an exam.  All make-up exams will be essay format.

Cell phone policy:  Please turn off or use “manners” mode on all cell phones.

Special Accommodations Policy:  Students requesting classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office. The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the Instructor when requesting accommodation.

Grading system:

Course participation, preparation and attendance.............50

First exam.................................................................................. 50

Short essay related to Washington and Du Bois............... 50

Second exam............................................................. ................ 50

Total points……………………………………………………………………200

Grading scale:  90-100% =A, 88-89% = B, 80-87% = B, 78-79% = C+, 70-77% = C, 68-69% = D+, 60-67% = D.

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Part I: Up From Slavery and Early Evolutionism

1. August 25: Orientation and Definition of Key Terms

Early evolutionism, universalism, race, culture and society (at the turn of the last century).

Reading:  read the preface in each of your textbooks, listed above, and please note that you should read each item listed below BEFORE each class session.

2. August 27: Booker T. Washington National Monument, Franklin County, Virginia

Reading:  Up From Slavery, chapters 1 through 3.                                                                                                        

3. Sept. 2/4:  Evolutionism and Universalism

Reading: Jacqueline Fear-Segal, "Nineteenth-Century Indian Education:  Universalism versus Evolutionism," Available on-line at http://courses.temple.edu/neighbor/Hampton&Carlisle.pdf (please note the capital H and C)

Reading:  Up From Slavery, Chapter 4 "Helping Others."

4. Sept. 9/11: Reconstruction, Race, and "Progress."

Reading:  Up From Slavery, pp. 40 through 81

5. Sept. 16/18:  The Atlanta Exposition Address:  Race Hierarchy or Universalism?

Reading:  Up From Slavery, pp. 81 - 146.

6. Sept. 23/25:  Up From Slavery:  Social Context and Letters

Reading:  Up From Slavery, pp. 157-172.

7. September 30/October 2:  The Souls of Black Folk

Reading:  W. E. B. Du Bois, " Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others," pp.  175 - 185 in Up From Slavery.

 

Part II:  Race Politics and Booker T. Washington

8. October 7/9:  Critics, Part A

Kelly Miller, pp. 185 - 192, August Meier, pp. 192 - 204, Louis R. Harlan, pp. 204 - 219, all in Up From Slavery.

Jacqueline M. Moore, Chapters 1 and 2:  Jim Crow and the Rise of Segregation.

9. October 14:  Critics, Part B

Sidonie Smith, pp. 219 - 239, Houston A. Baker, pp.  239- 249, William  L. Andrews, pp. 249 - 258, all in Up From Slavery.

Jacqueline M. Moore, Chapters 3 and 4:  The Du Bois and Washington conflict.

First exam, October 16, 2007 (covers material through October 9th).

10. October 21/23: Alternatives to Washington and Du Bois

Jacqueline M. Moore, Chapter 5.

 

Part III:  Economic and Social Change:  Brown vs. Board of Education

11. October 28/30:  Race and Schools Before the Brown Decision

Patterson, chapters 1 and 2.

12. November 4/6:  Reversal of Plessy versus Ferguson, 1896 Supreme Court Decision (early evolutionism defeated).

Patterson, chapter 3 and 4

13. November 11/13:  New Racial Tactics:  "Communism" as Racial Equality, and Cold War Politics.

Patterson, chapters 5 and 6.

14. November 18/25:  Response to New Racial Tactics:  Racial Balance and "Affirmative Action."

Patterson, chapters 7 and 8.

Note:  I will attend the American Anthropological Association Meeting; the November 20 class session is cancelled.

15. December 2/4:  Legacies and Lessons learned

Thanksgiving, November 27, 2008

The December 4th session will include course evaluation and a review for the second exam.

December 9, 2007, second exam.
Your essay is due by the final exam date for this course, December 17, 2008.