COMPTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE

COURSE OUTLINE

Course Number: HIST 7A Division: Social Science

Course Title: African American History I

Hours Lecture: 3 Hours Lab: 0 Weeks: 18 Units: 3

Credit Status:

AA/AS: X Non-Degree: Certificate: NonCredit:

Transfer Code: UC: X CSU: X None:

Prerequisite or Corequisite: Recommended: Completion of ENGL 12B (or ENGL 12) with a minimum grade of “C”, or equivalent.

Catalog Description:

This course surveys the history of Americans of African descent from colonial times to the Civil War. It traces the ancestral roots of African Americans and their African heritage, describes the Atlantic slave trade and slavery, discusses reform movements to end slavery, compares de jure and de facto forms of discrimination in both the North and the South, identifies the contributions of African Americans to American culture, and discusses the impact of American institutions upon the evolution of African American culture in the United States.

Needs/Justifications/Goals:

This course meets the General Education Requirement, Area D, for the Associate in Arts and Associate in Science Degrees, and is transferable to the UC and CSU Systems.

Course Outline Prepared by:

Michael Widener Date: August 1, 2005

Curriculum Committee Chair: Division Chair:

Saul Panski Dr. Cornelia Lyles

SENATE APPROVAL DATE: 11/01/05 BOARD APPROVAL DATE:11/22/05

TOP NO. 2205.00 USOE NO. 00000000 CLASSIFICATION T5/55001(a)(1)(B)

CAN NO. N/A SAM CODE E

Compton Community College August 1, 2005

Course Outline for HIST 7A

African-American History I

I. Catalog Description

HIST 7A, African-American History I 3 Units

This course surveys the history of Americans of African descent from colonial times to the Civil War. It traces the ancestral roots of African Americans and their African heritage, describes the Atlantic slave trade and slavery, discusses reform movements to end slavery, compares de jure and de facto forms of discrimination in both the North and the South, identifies the contributions of African Americans to American culture, and discusses the impact of American institutions upon the evolution of African American culture in the United States.

II. Expected Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course students should be able to perform the following activities with 70% accuracy.

A. Compare and contrast African beliefs and cultures before the enslavement period.

B. Analyze the conditions and methods used by Europeans to enslave Africans.

C. Analyze the nature and brutality of enslavement and plantation life, and the effectiveness of resistance and coping strategies by enslaved Africans.

D. Outline major revolts and key figures and analyze the role of maroons and Native Americans in these revolts.

E. Evaluate the effectiveness of African enslavers to control the Africans.

F. Analyze the factors contributing to the Civil War and the end of chattel slavery.

G. Evaluate the importance of the role played by Free Blacks and enslaved Africans in the outcome of the Civil War.

History 7A, African American History I Page 2

III. Course Content

A. Pre-enslavement Africa

1.  African civilizations and cultures

2.  West African Kingdoms and the resources available

3.  The role of African spirituality, music, and art in African cultures

B. The European invasion and the capture of Africans

1.  Age of European adventurism and exploration

2.  Origins of the enslavement and trading of Africans

3.  Inhumane nature and treatment of Africans by their enslavers from their capture, through the middle passage, to the plantations in the Americas

C. Africans in colonial North America

1.  Early African presence in colonial North America eg., Jamestown, and African contributions to society. Early role and status in society, and how it relates to racism

2.  Contributions of Africans to colonial America and the American Revolution

D. Plantation life

1.  Nature and brutality of enslavement and plantation life

2.  Resistance and coping strategies by enslaved Africans

3.  Strategies used by the enslavers to control enslaved Africans

4.  The role of Christianity as a method of control for the enslavers and as a liberator for the enslaved Africans.

5.  Domestic African trade and sexual exploitation of Africans

6.  Significance of the Underground Railroad

E. The approaching American Civil War

1.  Significance of government involvement in the enslavement of Africans such as the Fugitive Slave laws, Kansas- Nebraska Act, and the Dred Scott Decision

2.  Factors leading to the American Civil War; economic and political factors including the question of slavery

3.  Role of Free Blacks, Abolitionists, and the Black Church in the Anti- Slavery campaigns

F. Enslavement and the American Civil War

1.  Examine Lincoln’s aims and initial position regarding enslaved Africans

2.  Role of Africans as it related to the Union and Confederate armies

3.  Treatment of Africans by both Union and Confederate soldiers

4.  The Emancipation Proclamation and the end of the American Civil War

History 7A, African American History I Page 3

IV. Methods of Presentation

A. Lectures

B. Reading Assignments

C. Videos/ visual images

D. Class/ group discussions

E. Field trips

V. Assignments and Methods of Evaluation

A.  Exams and quizzes

B.  Research papers

C.  Presentations

VI. Textbook(s)

Hine, Darlene Clark, et. al. African Americans: a Concise History, Combined

Volume, 2nd Edition. Pearson. 2006.