The African American Experience from Martin Luther King to Barack Obama

This course traces the history and culture of African Americans since World War II, focusing on individuals as well as social trends that informed the twentieth century struggle for racial equlity. While most attend will centre on the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, and the leadership of Martin Luther King, the course also explores the more extreme expressions of black militancy and separatism tied to 'Black Power' and the leadership of Malcolm X.

Moving into the post-civil rights era, we will chart the 'progress' made by African Americans in the United States after 1968, emphasizing the emergence of a black middle class alongside black politicians and a black entertainment industry, dominated by musicians, actors and sporting heroes. But also by scrutinizing the experiences of the black poor in this period, we will remain attuned to the persistence of racial disadvantage in America and raise fundamental questions about the nation's future to address the systemic roots of inequality.

Finally, the course will conclude optimistically with an assessment of the Obama phenomenon and its meaning in the context of twenty-first centure American race relations.