Documenting Black Power: Writing the History of the African American Freedom Struggle

Documentary writing course exploring the African American Freedom Struggle in the United States from the Civil War era to the present. Focus on the American South and black social movements from World War II until 1980. Students engage wide ranging archival material including documentary research, traditional historiography, interviews, memoirs, fiction, poetry, music and film. Students write weekly essays and a final documentary history project on a topic of their choosing.