Last modified: 20 Jun 2025 15:13
Since 2012, #BlackLivesMatter protests have renewed the struggle for racial equality in the US. This module illustrates a longer history of efforts to establish rights and equality for US African Americans since emancipation. We will explore a diverse range of movements and approaches, and will interrogate the common (mis)understanding of Black civil rights activism.
| Study Type | Undergraduate | Level | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | First Term | Credit Points | 30 credits (15 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
| Co-ordinators |
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This module will use a range of vibrant primary sources and exciting new historical literature to contextualise and historicise African American activism in the United States. We will go beyond a traditional focus on a ‘short’ Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s, led by apparently respectable, moderate, and Christian Black Americans. On this module, you will expand your understanding and knowledge of the diverse and complex struggles for rights and freedom undertaken by Black activists since the end of slavery and the defeat of Reconstruction.
Throughout this module, we will explore how inextricably connected were struggles for racial justice with labour, feminist, and queer movements. This course will also examine how the struggle for equality often intersected with global dynamics, including war and imperialism, and you will consider how these movements shaped, and were shaped by, the US’s evolving place in the world. By the end of this module, you should have a strong understanding of current debates regarding both racial politics, and how history shapes these contemporary political issues.
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 50 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 20 | Feedback Weeks | 24 | |
| Feedback |
Feedback will be delivered through standard feedback form delivered via e-mail with the return of annotated copies of essays, a feedback paragraph, and through individual feedback sessions. |
Word Count | 3000 | |
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Develop knowledge and understanding of how multiple interconnected factors, including gender, class, sexuality, and global events shaped African American protest |
| Conceptual | Analyse | Critically analyse historiographical and theoretical approaches to studying the Civil Rights Movement |
| Factual | Apply | Understand and explain developments in African American protest from 1865 to today |
| Reflection | Apply | Use argumentative and communicative skills to demonstrate understanding of these debates and their contemporary relevance |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19 | Feedback Weeks | 19 | |
| Feedback |
Feedback will be delivered through e-mail with a mark and brief comments on seminar contributions. This form of assessment will address issues of accessibility, i.e. if students are unable to attend due to illness, they can e-mail their thoughts or speak to tutors during office hours. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Critically analyse historiographical and theoretical approaches to studying the Civil Rights Movement |
| Factual | Apply | Understand and explain developments in African American protest from 1865 to today |
| Reflection | Apply | Use argumentative and communicative skills to demonstrate understanding of these debates and their contemporary relevance |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 40 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 14 | Feedback Weeks | 16 | |
| Feedback |
1,500-word primary source analysis. Students will receive feedback through standard feedback form delivered via e-mail, MyAberdeen, and in-person through feedback sessions. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Develop knowledge and understanding of how multiple interconnected factors, including gender, class, sexuality, and global events shaped African American protest |
| Factual | Apply | Understand and explain developments in African American protest from 1865 to today |
There are no assessments for this course.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 60 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback | Word Count | 3000 | ||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
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| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 40 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback | ||||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Develop knowledge and understanding of how multiple interconnected factors, including gender, class, sexuality, and global events shaped African American protest |
| Reflection | Apply | Use argumentative and communicative skills to demonstrate understanding of these debates and their contemporary relevance |
| Conceptual | Analyse | Critically analyse historiographical and theoretical approaches to studying the Civil Rights Movement |
| Factual | Apply | Understand and explain developments in African American protest from 1865 to today |
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