Intro to Africana Studies

Basil Davidson "West Africa Before the Colonial Era"

Ghana, Mali, & Songhai and the political/economic power gained from the trans-Saharan trade of gold. Complexity and connections of this trade and the strength of the empires show that west Africa exists within modernity, not outside of it.

Laurent Dubois "Haiti, the Aftershocks of History"

-Slave rebellion and declaration of independence
-Obstacles that Haiti faced after winning its independence (international isolation, economic devastation -> Continuation of Colonial structures after the end of slavery)
-Power & becoming an international symbol of Black resistance (Endurance and survival of African culture)

-People who were enslaved were able to create communities across different plantations and cities.
-Culture brings people together to plan a revolution
-Factors towards winning: trained warriors, diplomacy (alliances with Spain), disease (yellow fever), numbers

Aime Cesaire "Discourse on colonialism"

-1950 essay
-Calls for the overthrowing of western civilization by the proletariat
-Europe(colonializers) history is indefensible
-contradiction between Europe's moral values and its actions
-impact of european actions on non-european people
-colonial violence continues today

Michael Gomez "Exchanging Our Country Marks"

Racial Formations from Below
-When did POC people in the US begin to think about race
-During Barracoon process, every ethnic group in the same situation
-Identity transformation
-Middle passage 3 factors that changed identity (skin color, survival, sexual exploitation of Black women)
-Trauma changing the community
-Psychological benefit of speaking your own language
-Finding agency through language (AAVE as resistance)
-Shared language as a way of moving past ethnic identity

Gersham Nelson. "Rastafarians and Ethiopianism."

-Rastafarianism as a Pan-African religion.
-Connecting and creating community.
-Rejecting Colonializers' religions.
-Challenging skin color hierarchy
-Response to 1930s economic depression
-Addresses legacies of slavery
-Ethiopia as a symbol of liberation

Kevin Gaines "The Civil Rights Movement in World Perspective"

The US civil rights movement is not just an Ameircan issue but impacts, and was impacted by, the broader global community.
-Drew inspiration from anti-colonial movements in Africa

Harvard Sitkoff "The Struggle for Black Equality"

-Living in a post-Civil Rights Movement World
-Anxiety of white working class
--Rise of "law and order" and "get tough with rioters" politicians (Nixon, Ford)
-Continuation of the movement and struggle of quality by "keep[ing] hope alive"

Paul Gilroy "The Black Atlantic"

-What it means to be Black
-Cultural Hybridity Theory
-Critiquing Black/White Binary (White and Black aren't opposites)
-Find commonality and refuting racial purity
-Critiquing cultural insider-ism (cultures are not isolated)
-Critiquing cultural racism (racism is not biological)
-Cultural of Black people in academia as objects of knowledge, not creators of knowledge
-Critique of belief of "Pure African Culture"

African economic underdevelopment (Germs, Guns, and Steel)

-Loss of population due to slave trade causing economic shrinkage in West Africa
-Slave trade essential to the start of industrial revolution in Europe (World's Systems theory -> core, periphery) (core building economic systems like railroads that were only meant to benefit Europeans)
-Food production delayed in Sub-Saharan Africa (not as many domesticable native plants and animals, not as much available farmland, north-south axis)

"Manthia Diawara "The 1960s in Bamako: Malicke Sidibe and James Brown"

-Exploration of African identity through music and photography in the 1960s

-Habitus: result of upbringing and education

-Rise of rock and roll and youth dressing as their favorite preforms

-Pagan modernity: being modern and worshipping multiple gods

-Impact of cultural exchange between Africa and the African American experience

-Reflections on post-colonialism and the role of artists in social movements.

Melvin Oliver and Thomas Shapiro. "Black Wealth/White Wealth"

-Analysis of racial wealth disparities in America -Explores the historical and structural factors contributing to wealth accumulation and inequality between Black and White households.

William Julius Wilson "When Work Disappears"

-Examines the impact of job loss on urban communities, particularly among African Americans. -Discusses the effects of deindustrialization and economic decline on social structures and family dynamics.

Combahee River Collective. "The Combahee River Collective Statement."

-A Black feminist organization that articulated the importance of intersectionality and the interconnectedness of race, gender, and class in the struggle for liberation. -Advocated for the rights of Black women and emphasized the need for a political agenda that addresses their unique experiences.

Robin Kelly. "This Battlefield Called Life: Black Feminist Dreams."

-Explores the intersections of race, gender, and class through the lens of Black feminism. -Analyzes the historical and contemporary struggles of Black women, advocating for their dreams and visions within social justice movements.

Tanya Saunders. "Toward a Hemispheric Analysis of Black Lesbian Feminist Activism and Hip Hop Feminism: Arts Perspectives from Cuba and Brazil"

-Examines the contributions and experiences of Black lesbian feminists in Cuba and Brazil. -Highlights the cultural and social dynamics of hip hop feminism and its impact on activism in these regions.

Toure "Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness?: What It Means to Be Black Now"

-Discusses the complexities of Black identity in contemporary society.

-Challenges traditional notions of Blackness and explores how culture, politics, and personal experiences shape modern Black life.

-There isn’t one way to be Black in modern society