Introduction to African American Studies

Introduction to African American Studies: A Reader chronicles the experience of African Americans in the United States from their first arrival in 1619 to present day. The reader demonstrates how African Americans and their experiences have shaped America’s historical, political, economic, and cultural history, as well as how the black experience continues to influence American life.

In Part I, students read about the continued significance of race in America and receive a primer on Africana studies. Part II examines the arrival of Africans to America, the Atlantic Slave Trade, slavery and states’ rights in the early republic, and the issue of democracy in Jeffersonian America. Part III contains readings about Jim Crow, the roots of Plessy vs. Ferguson, and the Niagara Movement. In Part IV, students learn about the impact of African American artists on literature, arts, and culture from 1927 – 1940. Part V includes readings on the Civil Rights Movement. The final part speaks to post-racial America in the age of Barack Obama.

Gathering thought-provoking and critical literature, Introduction to African American Studies is an ideal resource for foundational courses within the discipline.