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HI406C: SPECIAL SUBJECT: THE BLACK RADICAL TRADITION (2022-2023)

Last modified: 31 Jul 2023 11:19


Course Overview

'The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line.’ So declared African American intellectual W.E.B. Du Bois at the dawn of that era.

In the period since this influential claim was made – and indeed in our own time – Black-led movements have challenged multiple structures of domination (racism, colonialism, patriarchy, capitalism) in the Americas, Africa, and Europe. This module focuses on the intellectual history of these transformative movements using the framework of a “Black Radical Tradition”.

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 4
Session First Sub Session Credit Points 30 credits (15 ECTS credits)
Campus Aberdeen Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Dr Owen Walsh

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

  • Either Programme Level 4 or Programme Level 5
  • History (HI)
  • Any Undergraduate Programme (Studied)

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

  • HI456C Special Subject: the Black Radical Tradition (Passed)

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

This module explores the connections between race, resistance, and intellectual production during the twentieth century. It examines contributions to political thought that have emerged from what Paul Gilroy called “the Black Atlantic.” These intellectual movements have influenced many of the most transformative movements in world history in the past century.

The course explores Black engagements with socialism and Marxism, feminism and Christianity. The locations of this intellectual history range from conventional university settings to jail cells, and from California to London.

Though focused on the US, the module encourages students to critically engage with the global history of Black thought. It also encourages students to consider “intellectual history” in expansive terms, asking whether artistic creation or acts of political protest can be considered as modes of intellectual production.

Topics covered on the module will likely include:

  • WEB Du Bois and the pan-African movement
  • Race, nation, and class in the Marxist tradition
  • Black feminism: from “triple oppression” to intersectionality
  • The political ideas of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • Black liberation theology
  • Cultural production and political resistance
  • Prison abolition

This is a history of ideas that have changed our world, and which continue to do so.

 

Associated Costs

DescriptionValue
Additional library resources may be required to ensure a full range of bibliographic material. GBP 0.00

Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 31 August 2023 for 1st half-session courses and 22 December 2023 for 2nd half-session courses.

Summative Assessments

Online Exam comprising of gobbet discussions and essay-style questions

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 60
Assessment Weeks 16 Feedback Weeks 19

Look up Week Numbers

Feedback

Students will complete an exam comprising of gobbet discussions and essay-style questions drawn from material throughout the course.

Collective feedback will be provided to the class. Individual feedback will be provided on request.

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualAnalyseDraw comparisons, similarities, and differences between a range of intellectuals and movements in the Black Atlantic
ConceptualEvaluateUnderstand and evaluate historiography around intellectual histories of the Black diaspora and histories of radicalism
FactualUnderstandDevelop understanding of Black intellectual history, and histories of resistance, during the twentieth century
ReflectionApplyUse effective writing skills to communicate complex historical and theoretical ideas in a clear and engaging way

Essay

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 40
Assessment Weeks 16 Feedback Weeks 19

Look up Week Numbers

Feedback

Students will produce a 3000-word essay, submitted at the same time. Relevant support will be provided.

Feedback will be provided through standard feedback form delivered by e-mail and available on MyAberdeen, as well as one-to-one feedback sessions.

Word Count 3000
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualAnalyseDraw comparisons, similarities, and differences between a range of intellectuals and movements in the Black Atlantic
ConceptualEvaluateUnderstand and evaluate historiography around intellectual histories of the Black diaspora and histories of radicalism
FactualUnderstandDevelop understanding of Black intellectual history, and histories of resistance, during the twentieth century
ReflectionApplyUse effective writing skills to communicate complex historical and theoretical ideas in a clear and engaging way

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualEvaluateUnderstand and evaluate historiography around intellectual histories of the Black diaspora and histories of radicalism
FactualUnderstandDevelop understanding of Black intellectual history, and histories of resistance, during the twentieth century
ReflectionApplyUse effective writing skills to communicate complex historical and theoretical ideas in a clear and engaging way
ConceptualAnalyseDraw comparisons, similarities, and differences between a range of intellectuals and movements in the Black Atlantic

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