Women in African-American Families

Women in African-American Families

AFST 150

2-3:30 PM, TR, ISC 1111

Spring 2020

Instructors and Office Hours

Prof. Makayla Cutter: ISC 4093, 3-5 PM Mondays

Prof. Abraham Lin: ISC 4116, 1-4 PM Wednesdays

Prof. Joseph Nguyen: ISC 4220, 9:30-11:30 AM Thursdays

 

Course Description

This 10-week course provides an opportunity for students to learn about African-American women and families. The first half of the course will consist of reading articles on African-American family structure, the various roles of African-American women, and sociocultural explanations for their roles. The second half of the course will consist of listening to oral histories from African-American women to provide a firsthand understanding of their experience. Before each class period, students will read an article or listen to an oral history to discuss during class.

 

Content Learning Objectives

By the end of the course, students should understand:

1. The role of African-American women in families
2. The structure of African-American families
3. Structural, social, and cultural explanations of the aforementioned topics

 

Skill Objectives

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

1. Search for journal articles through online databases
2. Interpret and draw information from oral histories and transcripts
3. Synthesize information from journal articles and primary sources to produce cohesive narratives

 

Required Texts

All required materials can be found on Blackboard.

 

Grading

10% Reading Summaries

25% Class Participation

25% Midterm Paper

40% Final Paper

 

Reading Summaries

A discussion board post is due on Blackboard at 1 PM before every class. This post should contain a brief (~1 page) summary of the reading or listening for the class as well as three discussion points based on it.

 

Class Participation

Students are expected to attend and participate in class discussions. Grades will be assigned based on attendance, as well as the quality and quantity of comments during classes. Each student is permitted to miss two classes without penalty.

 

Papers

The midterm paper (1400-1700 words) and the final paper (1700-2000 words) will be due halfway through the course and at the end of the course, respectively. Students may write about any topic related to the course’s readings or oral histories, but must receive instructor approval no later than one week before the due date. Primary sources, books, oral histories, and journal articles may be used (citation guide on Blackboard). Late assignments will not be accepted.

 

Schedule

• Week 1 (1/27 – 1/31): Introduction
  • 1/28: “The Negro Family: The Case For National Action” (Moynihan 1965)
  • 1/30: “African-American Families In The New Millennium” (Marriage and Family Encyclopedia)
• Week 2 (2/3 – 2/7): Structural Roots
  • 2/4: “The Origin of Black Female-Headed Families” (Ricketts 2007)
  • 2/6: “Where Have All the Black Men Gone?” (Maciag 2019, from Governing)
• Week 3 (2/10 – 2/14): Structural and Cultural Roots
  • 2/11: “The Origins of African-American Family Structure” (Ruggles 1994)
  • 2/13: “The Growing Racial and Ethnic Divide in U.S. Marriage Patterns” (Raley et al. 2015)
• Week 4 (2/17 – 2/21): Consequences
  • 2/18: “Role Strain in African-American Women: The Efficacy of Support Networks” (Lewis 1989)
  • 2/20: “African American Women Stand Out as Working Moms Play a Larger Economic Role in Families” (Economic Policy Institute)
• Week 5 (2/24 – 2/28): Midterm Paper
  • 2/25: In-Class Midterm Paper Workshop
  • 2/27: No Class, MIDTERM PAPER DUE
• Week 6 (3/2 – 3/6): Spring Break
• Week 7 (3/9 – 3/13): Oral Histories
  • 3/10: “Elnora Daniel Recalls her Schooling and Authoritarian Upbringing” (The History Makers)
  • 3/12: “Rochelle Brown Remembers Women In The Neighborhood Who Mentored Her As A Young Girl” (The History Makers)
• Week 8 (3/16 – 3/20): Oral Histories
  • 3/17: “Dr. Patricia Bath Remembers Her Home Life” (The History Makers)
  • 3/19: “Marian Edelman Recalls The Tradition Of Independent Women In Her Family” (The History Makers)
• Week 9 (3/23 – 3/27): Oral Histories
  • 3/24: “Billie Allen Describes The Women In Her Maternal Family” (The History Makers)
  • 3/26: “Dina Ruth Andrews Talks About Her Mother’s Blindness And Moving To Valinda, California” (The History Makers)
• Week 10 (3/30 – 4/3): Final Paper
  • 3/31: In-Class Final Paper Workshop
  • 4/2: No Class, FINAL PAPER DUE