Girls Stories: Race, Politics, and Pedagogy
The course questions how girls’ stories are primary documents useful for understanding the meanings of race, racial identity, and lived racial experiences when race is a marker of inequality. The course investigates how girls’ stories are used by young women as tools of political action and organizing while being attentive to how these stories can be used very differently by others. The class explores multiple examples of how girls’ stories serve as academic and public pedagogy. This course focuses primarily, although not exclusively, on the United States in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Black Women’s Political Activism
This course examines black women’s participation in American politics as citizens, residents, voters, activists, candidates, and elected officials. Topics include traditional political action such as voting, campaigning, and protesting and less traditional engagement such as education, research, media, sports and art. We will consider the intersections of race, gender, class, and sexual orientation and identity.
POL 210: Race, Class, Social Justice
What is social justice? How are identities, experiences, and structures of race, ethnicity, and class intertwined with social justice in the American context? Why does social justice matter? What can individuals and communities do to develop socially justice outcomes?
POL 223: Introduction to African American Politics
This course provides an introduction to the political experience of African Americans. The course is contemporary in focus. Topics include African American political thought, voting and participation, urban politics, race and elected office, and issues of gender, class, age, and sexual identity at the intersections of black politics. This course is decidedly introductory and is not meant to be comprehensive.
FALL 2018
POL 286: America’s First Ladies
This seminar explores American first ladies as political and social actors. Our primary question is: what does American history and politics look like when told through the stories of women with great access to power but with little formal power of their own. We will trace the evolution of the role of First Lady and explore how individual women who have played this role have understood it and adapted it.
SPRING 2018
POL 113: Introduction to American Politics
This course provides an introduction to the character of politics, political principles, and political institutions in the United States. This section emphasizes application of lessons to contemporary politics through the use of weekly discussion and debates. Students are encouraged to engage in a wide variety of experiences beyond the classroom to understand how American politics remains a site of contestation among elites and ordinary residents.
This course explores the intersections of race, ethnicity, gender, and power in the politics of rural America and the production of American food. Students will engage issues of race, gender, social justice, environmental stewardship, farming, food production and food service. The class ensures students are familiar with the existing literature and offers opportunities to apply course knowledge to real world issues.
Wake the Vote: Midterms Matter
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