Program History
The African American Studies Program began at the University of Florida in 1969. The history provided below is an excerpt from a more extensive report authored in 2003 by Ms. Vanessa Fabien, (an AASP student assistant at the time) and Dr. Stephanie Y. Evans (assistant professor).- Historical, National, and Local Context
- Legal Battles for Equal Access to Education
- The Struggle for Equitable Academic Representation in Population and the Curriculum
- Local Context – African Americans at the University of Florida
- The University of Florida Afro-American Studies Program (AASP), 1969 - 2004
- Key Figures in Establishing the UF AASP, 1969
- Faculty Involved in Establishing the UF AASP, 1969
- Students Who Assisted in Organizing the AASP, 1969-1972
- Program Directors, 1970-2004
- AASP Mission, Goals, and Needs, in the Words of the Directors
- Curriculum: Selected Courses Offered in African American Studies, 1969-2004
- Certificates Awarded and Students Enrolled for Minor in African American Studies
- Historic Program Development, 1969-2004
- Reference List
Part I. Historical, National, and Local Context
A. Legal Battles for Equal Access to Education
Since Africans were brought to the New World, there has been a fight for equal human rights – this fight has included an ongoing struggle for equal access to quality formal education. In antebellum America, education for Black people was prohibited by tradition in the North and by law in the South. However, education was a noted value in Black communities and a few students managed to gain access to a college education before the end of the Civil War (In 1823, Alexander Twilight became the first African American man to earn an A. B. degree (Middlebury College, VT) and in 1862 Mary Jane Patterson became the first Black woman to graduate with an A.B. degree (Oberlin College, OH).The legal fight for desegregation of education began in 1848 when Benjamin Roberts, father to Sarah Roberts, sued the city of Boston for the right of his daughter to attend a local elementary school that was much closer than the designated Black school; the plaintiff was denied. The “separate-but-equal” Supreme Court ruling of the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson public transportation case set a standard of racial segregation that would not be legally overturned in schools until the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision.
The legal battles for access to university and professional schools solidified in the 1930s with a campaign designed by Charles Hamilton Houston. Houston was a WWI Army veteran, a 1923 Harvard Law School graduate, and the first Black editor of Harvard Law Review who began teaching at Howard University’s Law School in 1924. He served as vice-dean of the Howard Law School from 1929-1935 and served as special council for the NAACP from 1938-1940. The Houston-trained NAACP legal team, which included Thurgood Marshall and Constance Baker Motley, built a legal pathway that led to the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision (Key cases in this charge were: Murray v. Maryland (1936), Gaines v. Missouri (1938) Sipuel v. Oklahoma (1948), Sweat v. Painter (1950), and McClauren v. Oklahoma (1950). Exactly one hundred years after the failed 1848 Roberts v. Boston desegregation case, Ada Lois Sipuel in Sipuel v. Board of Regents won the legal right of admission to the University of Oklahoma Law School. Certainly, progress was slow, but steady.
Community activism remained the most effective means of enforcing legal ordinances that mandated equal access to education, teacher’s salaries, public accommodation, housing, and employment. Still, the issue of legal access remains a point of national attention. Cases such as the 1978 Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, and the 2003 University of Michigan cases Grutter v. Bollinger and Grantz v. Grutter signal a need for sustained diligence in mandating that institutions of higher learning grant equal access to African American applicants.
Desegregation has historically proven difficult to implement in educational institutions at all levels, and even where African American students have been granted access, there has been no guarantees that an equitable amount of qualified students would be admitted or that once admitted, they would be represented fairly in the school, college, or university curriculum.
B. The Struggle for Equitable Academic Representation in Population and the Curriculum
Scholarly inquiry by and about African Americans has a rich history. For example, John Russwurm (1826 A.B. Bowdoin College, Maine), founder of Freedom’s Journal and Alexander Crummell (1853 A.B., Queen’s College, Cambridge, Massachusetts), an Episcopal priest and prolific essayist, represent outstanding early scholar-activists. In 1892, Anna Julia Cooper wrote A Voice From the South, a scathing social, cultural, and economic critique of America’s subjugation of Black women and men; she later became the first known African American woman to earn a Ph.D. internationally, (1925, Sorbonne University, Paris). W. E. B. Du Bois (1895 History Ph.D., Harvard, Massachusetts), author of hundreds of manuscripts and articles, including the 1903 Souls of Black Folk, has been recognized as one of the most prolific and profound scholars – of any race – during the 20th century.In September 1915, Carter G. Woodson (1912 History Ph.D., Harvard University) established the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH) in Chicago, Illinois (The ASALH is still going strong and in 2004, its 89th Annual Convention will be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). In 1926 Woodson created Black History Week; in 1976 the national celebration was expanded to Black History Month. Woodson became a central figure in advancing scholarship by and about African Americans and Black History Month is now a mainstay in American culture. During the month of February, discussion of African American’s presence, contribution, oppression, and creative resistance has become conspicuous. However, the fight for meaningful academic representation during the other 11 months of the year has been a long one.
In the 1920s, students and community residents on college campuses nationwide protested the lack of curriculum relevant to Black students and demanded the increased presence of Black students, faculty, and staff. Many protests were also held at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to challenge the often-racist leadership of head administrators. In 1924, students and community members in Nashville, Tennessee demonstrated against Fisk University’s President McKenzie; he stepped down following the protest. Similarly, students of Hampton University in Virginia rallied in October 1927 for substantial changes.
These strikes were predecessors to the 1960s student protests for culturally appropriate curriculum and protests by Black communities wishing to engage in more egalitarian relationships with academic institutions.
The fight for social justice in America during the 1950s and 1960s is commonly known as the Civil Rights Movement, though the movement of the masses began centuries earlier. However, during the modern era, mass demonstrations permeated the nation as the disenfranchised (people of color, women, and peace activists for example) increased demand for recognition, resources, and representation. Additionally, this is the era in which African nations would initiate a large-scale anti-colonialist campaign.
The summer of 1967 was one of increased racial tension. There where over 40 rebellions that occurred in cities such as Newark, NJ; Detroit, MI; New York, NY; Washington, DC; Baltimore, MD; Chicago, IL; Atlanta, GA; and Buffalo, NY (The “Red Summer of 1919 was an example of earlier unrest. In 1967, President Johnson appointed a National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (known as the Kerner Commission). The conflict between citizens, law enforcement agencies, and government officials still continues, often giving truth to the rallying cry “no justice, no peace”). Reacting to the failure of American institutions to make substantial changes, demonstrators during the mid-1960s shifted from a demand for “rights” to a demand for “power.”
After the April 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., African Americans, including college students, increased participation in massive civil unrest to demand that America make good on its promises of democracy and equality. Part of the change demanded was greater access to higher education. Many Predominately White Institutions (PWIs) responded by granting symbolic access to Black students. Once on campus, students again protested for substantial inclusion in curriculum and increased presence of Black students, staff, and faculty.
Responding to an increasing nation-wide student activism, President Robert Smith, announced the creation of a Black Studies Department at San Francisco State University in September 1968. This is recognized as the first such department in the nation. Dr. Nathan Hare, a Sociology Professor, was named Acting Chair. In November 1968, students went on strike against the administration. Among the demands were:
- That all Black Studies courses being taught through various other departments be immediately made part of the Black Studies Department, and that all the instructors in this department receive full-time pay.
- That there be a Department of Black Studies which will grant a Bachelor’s Degree in Black Studies; that the Black Studies Department, the Chairman, faculty and staff have the sole power to hire faculty and control and determine the destiny of its department.
- That all unused slots for black students from Fall 1968 under the Special Admissions Program be filled in Spring 1969.
- That all black students wishing to be admitted in Fall, 1969 [be admitted].
- That twenty (20) full-time teaching positions be allocated to the Department of Black Studies.
- That Dr. Helen Bedesem be replaced from the position of Financial Aids Officer, and that a black person be hired to direct it, that Third World people have the power to determine how it will be administered.
- That the California State College Trustees not be allowed to dissolve the black programs on or off the San Francisco State College campus.
(Nathan Hare, “The Battle of Black Studies,” Black Scholar. 3 (May 1972), 32-27.)
Thus, it is clear that the development of the African American Studies Program at the University of Florida was part of a worldwide push for enfranchisement by Africans throughout the Diaspora and a national development of student activism for equality and equity in higher education.
As of 2004 there are many institutions that have graduate programs in Afro-American, African American, African-American, Africana, or Black Studies. Some, including Temple, Yale, Harvard, University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst offer a Ph.D. degree.
C. Local Context – African Americans at the University of Florida (souce: Dowdell & McCarthy, 2003)
- 1945-58:
- 1962:
- 1964:
- 1965:
- 1968:
- 1969:
- 1970:
- April 15, 1971:
- Actively recruit and admit 500 black students of the total freshman quota of 2,800 and continue the operation of the Critical Year Freshman Program, giving black persons a greater voice in the program
- Establish a department of Minority Affairs under the direction of a full Vice President; make Roy Mitchell that Vice President
- Hire a black administrator in Academic Affairs to coordinate the recruitment of black faculty.
- Hire a black person in the personnel division at the assistant manager level.
- Intensify the recruitment and hiring of black faculty so as to reflect the ratio of black students on the University of Florida campus.
- Have the university treat the black employees of the school fairly.
- (Added later) Approve and fund the Black Cultural Center with library facilities.
- April 27, 1971:
- In 1971, UF had 3 African American faculty members out of a total 2,600 faculty members and only 387 black students, including “foreign” black students.
- A November 1973 memorandum from Dorothy Nevill, Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs reports the following tenure status of Black faculty:
- 19 Total faculty
- 1 Tenured
- 13 Accruing, eligible
- 3 Accruing, not eligible
- 1 Not accruing, not eligible
- 1 No record
- In Fall 2001, UF enrolled 2,712 undergraduate (5.80%) and 640 (1.37%) of 46,798 total students
- In 2002, UF had 77 full time Black faculty of 2,816 (2.73%) total faculty
85 Black students applied for admission to all levels of UF. All were rejected
First African American, Willie George Allen, graduated from UF Law School
20 Black students enrolled at UF
Center for African Studies Founded; 25 Black students enrolled out of
18,000 students
103 Black students enrolled at UF; Black Student Union formed,
(not recognized by the administration until 1970)
100 Black students enrolled out of 25,000 students; 4 Black faculty at UF – Dr.
Virgil Elkings (IFAS, stationed at FAMU), Mrs. Julia Harper (P.K. Yonge teacher), Mr. Willie J. Sanders (Assistant in Anatomical Sciences), and Rev. T. A. Wright (visiting lecturer in Education); African American Studies Program developed
First 2 Black Faculty to be employed in CLAS - Ronald C. Foreman (Afro-
American Studies Program, English) and Betty Ingram (English), other new hires at UF included – Alroy Chow (Medicine), Thomas A. Wright (Lecturer), Carleton G. Davis (Food Resource Economics), Elwyn Adams (Music), Byllye Avery (Nursing), Roy Mitchell (Administration)
Sit in at President Stephen O’Connell’s office: protesters present six
demands. That UF:
After weeks of meetings and marches, 123 black students began the
withdrawal process from the University of Florida…At the end of the episode the results were as follows: 123 black students had withdrawn from UF, including [Bettye Stewart-Dowdell]; two members of the faculty resigned; the administration fired Roy Mitchell, the Coordinator of Minority Affairs and the university’s first black administrator…
Part II. UF Afro-American Studies Program, 1969 - 2004
A. Key Figures in Establishing the UF African American Studies Program (AASP), 1969
- Dr. Manning J. Dauer, Chairman, Social Sciences Division
- Dr. Harry H. Sisler, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
- Dr. Harold Stahmer, Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
- Dr. Hunt Davis, Jr., (History), served on search committee, taught AAS courses
B. Faculty Involved in Establishing the UF AASP, 1969
- Dr. Seldon Henry, (History), Program Advisor, 1969-1970; taught AAS courses
- Dr. Steve Conroy, (Social Sciences), Program Counselor, taught AAS courses
- Dr. James Morrison (Political Science), taught AAS courses
- Dr. Augustus M. Burns (Social Sciences, History), taught AAS courses
C. Students Who Assisted in Organizing the AASP, 1969-1972
- Samuel Taylor, 1970 Black Student Union President, instructor, AAS course, (Winter quarter 1970), 1971 First Black Student Government Vice President, 1972 First Black Student Government President.
- David Horne, History, doctoral candidate
- Emerson Thompson, undergraduate student
- Larry Jordan, undergraduate student
D. Program Directors, 1970-present
- Dr. Ronald C. Foreman, 1970-2000 Ph.D. University of Illinois, Mass Communication
- Dr. Darryl M. Scott, 2000-2003 Ph.D. Stanford University, History
- Dr. Marilyn M. Thomas-Houston, 2003-2004 Ph.D. New York University, Cultural Anthropology
- Dr. Terry Mills, 2004-2006, Interim Ph.D. University of Southern California, Sociology
- Dr. Faye Harrison, 2006- 2010
- Dr. Stephanie Evans, 2010- 2011
- Dr. Sharon Austin, 2011- present (Interim)
E. AASP Mission, Goals, and Needs, in the Words of the Directors
The documentation suggests that Black students were an integral part of forming the AASP’s curriculum and policy. There is also ample evidence that the formation of the AASP was established with full knowledge of the development of programs, centers, and departments nationwide. Included in the records are 1970s correspondence, syllabi, and brochures from the following colleges and universities: Harvard, Pennsylvania State, Queens College, Illinois State, Hampton, Tougaloo, Yale, Kentucky, NYU, Morgan State, Buffalo, Antioch, Atlanta, Iowa, UCLA, and USC. Additionally, documents from publishers, national organizations, journals, and dissertation abstract collections reveal the AASP administrators’ awareness of the developing field that would grow nationally and internationally into Afro-American, African American, African-American, Africana, and Black Studies.It is also clear that the AASP program developed as part of a larger, campus-wide network of “area studies.” In the early stages of development, Dr. Foreman had close professional relationships with American Studies, African Studies, and the Black Cultural Center (now the Institute of Black Culture) and collaborated with many professors by serving on committees and collaborating on grant proposals.
The following are excerpts from reports submitted by Dr. Foreman (1971, 1981, 1987), Dr. Scott (2000), Dr. Thomas-Houston (2003), and Dr. Mills. Each director’s report shows that there is a need for faculty lines in African American Studies, creation of a degree program, and increased administrative support in the AASP.
Over the years, there clearly has been a sustained and growing interest in the AASP courses and General Education courses have continued to sustain interest in introductory level courses. However, without a core junior and senior faculty to meet students’ needs by providing courses that fulfill major requirements in a degree program, the certificate program enrollment will continue to be low as students work to meet their other graduation and major requirements.
- (1971, Dr. Foreman) “The development of African American studies beyond its embryonic stage depends upon and requires enlargement of the program’s nuclear teaching staff, library acquisitions, and curriculum. The effectiveness of the curriculum must be a sustained concern of administrators and faculty who undertake responsibilities in the program…. To develop a nuclear faculty in Afro-American Studies, the College should provide the budget needed to staff at least six faculty positions – supported by non-academic career staff – for African American Studies in the immediate years ahead.”
- (1981, Dr. Foreman) “Within the flow of campus academic and population history, the Afro-American Studies Program has achieved a principal goal: to provide and support the retention of A-AS courses, to give academic advice and advisement to persons and organizations interested in them; and to maintain an academic office collaborating with institutional and administrative, library, counseling, and student personnel staff to meet the needs of the students.”
- (2000, Dr. Scott) “Recently, programs and centers that focus on cultural and diaspora studies have dominated the field. Yet research on social problems and their solutions continues to be important, especially outside of the academy. Rather than concentrating on a single trend, our program will seek to attract an intellectually diverse faculty that produces quality work in the social sciences and the humanities….For students, it is always best to build a program that reflects the breadth of the field. By recruiting core faculty with broad research interests, the program will be able to develop a strong major and a well-rounded graduate program.”
- (2003, Dr. Thomas-Houston) “The decision to develop the African American Studies Program at the University of Florida could not have come at a better time in the history of the establishment of Black Studies programs. This is particularly so since increasingly private sector employers are interested in recruiting personnel who are aware of minority and ethnic group issues and concerns. Currently, the University of Florida is not meeting the needs of students and scholars interested in understanding Black culture, Black society, or the Black experience in the Americas. Although there are a few inconsistently taught courses in various departments that have Blacks as their subject, the need can only be met through the development of a strong African American Studies program. Because societal concerns and issues do not occur in neatly disciplinary categories, the interdisciplinary and holistic foundation of studying the Black experience provides majors with critical analytical skills not obtainable in most traditional fields…. There are four major areas of development African American Studies will focus on over the next three years. 1) Build an undergraduate program that confers both a BA and BA degree and a graduate certificate. 2) Establish a strong research component that includes internationalization. 3) Develop strong community relations through a service learning component and community outreach initiative. 4) Hire dynamic and productive faculty and administrative staff…. One of the goals of the AASP is to offer a multifaceted approach to learning that will allow us to be recognized as a unique presence on campus and in the Gainesville community, and as a national competitor with other top-tiered programs. Of utmost importance for the implementation of this goal is the acquisition of outside funding to develop various resources; such as, graduate assistantships and post-doctoral fellowships, faculty exchange programs with HBCUs, study abroad programs that trace the African American Diaspora, and community history projects and exhibitions.”
- (2005, Dr. Mills) (Interim Director)
Despite the many challenges associated with the growth and transition of the African American Studies Program at the University of Florida, this was a milestone year in many respects. For example, a major accomplishment was transitioning the curriculum from consisting largely of “special topics” courses, to revising and receiving approval by the University Curriculum Committee for 5 courses that are now General Ed., and/or Gordon Rule. The impetus gained from getting theses courses approved in turn set the groundwork for the second major accomplishment for this year, which was the development of an 18 credit minor that was approved by the curriculum during Spring 2005, and will be offered starting in the Spring 2006. The foundation for development of a discipline major is now in place. Yet, despite the accomplshment, this is not a time for us to rest on our laurels. Rather, the committed "core faculty" of the modern African American Studies Program at UF are focused on completing the administrative requirements for the major in African American Studies, with a planned roll-out in 2007. Of course, the forward movement of African American Studies at UF could not have been possible without the dedication of earlier campus pioneers who blazed the trail, and made this progress possible. We will always remember those pioneers who served the African American Studies Program at the University of Florida, and we endeavor to nurish those seeds of hope that were planted more than 35 years ago.
F. Curriculum: Selected Courses Historically Offered in African American Studies
- (1969) Afro-American Studies Senior Integrative Seminar I
- (1969) Afro-American Studies Senior Integrative Seminar II
- (Spring 1970) Schedule of Courses
- African Content Courses (see Undergraduate Catalog, 1969-1970)
- Problems in Afro-American History (HY 548)
- Problems in American Society (SY 202)
- Black America: Current Problems (SY 599)
- Ethnic Literature (EH 345)
- History of Jazz (MSC 412)
- Afro-American Studies Senior Seminar II (ASC 454)
- (Spring 1970) History of Jazz
- The musical elements of jazz:
- Rhythm and meter; The scale of jazz; Harmony; Texture; Form; Instrumentation; The handling of sound; Improvisation
- The sources of Jazz
- Product of many influences – African, European, and American
- Work Song is earliest Afro-American jazz influence
- Blues developed after Civil War…
- Spiritual is a mixture of blues rhythms and American hymnody
- Ragtime is a very early development in duple-meter
- Brass bands of New Orleans used technique of improvised rhythmic subtleties
- The schools of jazz:
- New Orleans; Chicago; New York; Kansas City; Swing; Bop; Cool jazz; West Coast; Progressive
- (Fall 1970) Schedule of Courses:
- African Content Courses, Dr. Davis, et. al
- Slavery and the Civil War (HY 349), Dr. Henry
- History of the Afro-American Harlem Renaissance, Colloquium (HY 547), Dr. Conroy
- Problems in American Society (SY 202), Staff
- Minority Groups (SY 391), Dr. Warheit
- Racial and Cultural Minorities (APY 405), Staff
- Ethnic Literature (EH 345), Dr. Conroy
- Community Workshop (PCL 530), Dr. Morrison
- Violence and Politics (PCL 530), Dr. Munger
- Introduction to Afro-American Studies (ASC 201), Dr. Foreman
- (Fall 1970) Racial and Cultural Minorities (APY 405)
- General Introduction to the Study of Minorities
- Theories about Minority Group Populations
- Theories about Race
- Racial and Cultural Contacts in the Modern World
- Race Relations in the United States
- Indo-European Contacts in the Latin American Highlands
- The Brazilian Case
- Race Relations in South Africa
- Anti-Semitism: Religious Minority Group Contacts
- Indian Castes as Minority Groups
- (Winter Quarter 1970) Schedule of Courses
- Introduction to Afro-American Studies (ASC 201)
- Afro-American Senior Integrative Seminar I (ASC 453-)
- Primitive African Art (ART 314)
- Reconstruction and Race Relations in the United States (HY 350)
- Blacks and Other Minorities in American Politics (PCL 530)
- Minority Groups (SY 391)
- (Winter 1970) Schedule of Courses: (in addition to Fall 1970 courses)
- The Black Experience in the South, 1900-1954 (HY 350), Dr. Burns
- History of American Character (HY 599), Dr. Conroy
- The Peoples of Brazil (APY 541), Dr. Margolis
- Geography of World Societies (GPY 201), Staff
- Geography of Middle America and the Caribbean (GPY 485), Dr. Dickenson
- (Spring 1971) Blacks in the American Economy (ES 415)
- (Fall 1971) Afro-American Colloquium: Marcus Garvey and the Harlem Renaissance (HY 547)
- Locke, The New Negro
- Amy Garvey, Garvey and Garveyism
- Cronon, Black Moses
- (Fall 1971) Slavery, Race Subordination, and the Civil War (HY 349)
- Texts:
- Weinstein and Gatell, eds., American Negro Slavery
- Jordan, ed., The Negro Versus Equality, 1762-1826
- Crowe, ed., The Age of Civil War and Reconstruction, 1830-90
- Rawley, Race and Politics: ‘Bleeding Kansas’ and the Coming of the Civil War
- Brock, ed., The Civil War
- Course outline:
- Origins of Racial Slavery
- The Slave and Negro Equality in 18th Century America
- The Southerner as Master
- The Biracial South: A Minority within a Minority
- Peculiarities Versus Specialties as Determinates of the Southern Ethic
- North and Wet of Slavery
- The Abolitionist Crusade Reconsidered
- ‘Bleeding Kansas and the Coming of the Civil War
- Conservative Rebellion: Secession Crisis and War
- “And the War Came”
- Lincoln, Emancipation, and the Denial of Negro Equality
- (1971?) Minority Politics (PCL 419)
- Howard, The Awakening Minorities
- Litt, Ethnic Politics in America
- Berger, Equality by Statute
- Knowles & Prewitt, Institutional Racism in America
- Bailey (ed.), Negro Politics in America
- Boderick & Meier (ed.), Negro Protest Thought in the 20th Century
- Barbour (ed.), Black Power Revolt
- Young (ed.), Roots of Rebellion
- Deutsch & Howard (ed.). Where It’s At
- Silberman, Crisis in Black and White
- Stone, Black Political Power in America
- Schuchter, White Power, Black Freedom
- Carmichael & Hamilton, Black Power
- Cruse, Rebellion or Revolution
- Meier & Rudwick, From Plantation to Ghetto
- Gregg, The Power of Non-Violence
- Ng (ed.), Alternatives to Violence
- Marx, Protest and Prejudice
- (Winter 1972) Africa since 1800 (HY 344)
- July, A History of the African People
- Bennett, Mirambo of Tanzania ca. 1840-1884
- Betts, The “Scramble” for Africa
- Achebe, Things Fall Apart
- Gwassa adnd Iliffe, Records of the Maji Maji Rising
- Shepperson, “Notes on Negro American Influences on the Emergence of African Nationalism”
- Waldman, “The Fulani Jihad: A Reassessment”
- Wilks, “Aspects of the Bureaucratization in Ashanti in the 19th Century”
- Student Enrollment for AASP courses, 1970-71/1971-72
- 129 Introduction to Afro-American Studies (Fall, Winter/Fall, Winter)
- 10 Integrative Seminar I (Winter/Winter)
- 3 Integrative Seminar II (Spring ‘72)
- 50 Racial and Cultural Minorities (APY 405) (Fall/Fall)
- 24 Blacks and the American Economy (ES 415) (Winter ’72)
- 109 Ethnic Literature (LIT 345) (Spring, Fall/Spring)
- 184 Slavery and the Civil War in the U.S. (HY 349) (Fall/Fall)
- 112 Reconstruction and Race Relations Since 1865 (HY 350) Winter/Winter)
- 62 History of Jazz (MUH 412) (Spring/Spring)
- 171 Policy Conflict in American Society (PUP 412) (Fall, Spring/Spring)
- 207 Blacks and Other Minorities in American Politics (PUP 419)
- 684 Social Problems (SY 202) (Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer/Fall Winter)
- 100 Black America (SY 492) (Winter/Winter)
- 217 Minority Groups (SY 391) (Fall, Spring/Fall, Spring)
- (Fall 1974) The Music of Black Americans (MSC 417)
- The African Heritage
- New England and the Middle Colonies
- The Colonial South
- Revolutionary War and the War of 1812
- Music in the Churches
- The Mid-Nineteenth Century
- The Turn of the Century
- The Significance of Jazz
- The Black Renaissance and the Black Revolution
- Performers, Composers, Conductors
- (Spring 1986) Introduction to Afro-American Studies (AFA 2000)
- Introduction
- Music
- Up From Slavery
- The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man
- The Souls of Black Folk
- Their Eyes Were Watching God
- The Color Purple
- Poetry
- (2001) Schedule of Courses:
- Introduction to African American Studies (AFA 2000)
- Individual Study (AFA 4905)
- African-American Studies Senior Integrative Seminar I (4936)
- African-American Studies Senior Integrative Seminar II (4937)
- Africa to 1800 (AFH 3100)
- Problems in African-American History (AMH 3574)
- Slavery and Civil War (AMH 4571)
- African-American Literature I (AML 3270)
- African-American Literature II (AML 3271)
- Race and Ethnicity in American Literature and Culture (AML 4685)
- Ethnic Literature (LIT 3353)
- History of Jazz (MUH 4016)
- Minorities and Change in American Politics (PUP 4313)
- Minorities in American Society (SYD 3700)
- Social Problems (SYG 2010)
- (Fall 2003) Research Methods in African American History (AFA 3930)
- Description:
- Students will be introduced to research topics, themes, and methods in the field of African American history.
- Students will discuss this content and structure in relation to collecting, preserving, and disseminating Black cultural, political, and intellectual history.
- Course Objectives:
- To familiarize students with different approaches that researchers have taken in the field of African American history
- To assist students in formulating research questions and gaining knowledge of institutional resources to answer those questions
- To allow the students’ individual and collective research interests to provide much of the class content and context
- Action-based Learning Objectives:
- Learn various qualitative methods of research by gaining familiarity with primary and secondary sources
- Reinforce writing and critical thinking skills by analyzing historians' evidence and evaluating strengths and weaknesses of research techniques
- Produce and present a final research project in preparation for future academic and professional advancement
- (Spring 2004) An Introduction to Theories and Methods in Hiphop Cultural Studies,
- 2004-06 List of Courses in African American Studies
(ASC 453)
Dr. Henry, Dr. Conroy
Syllabus excerpt:
The course is designed as an integrative interdisciplinary course for
seniors in the Afro-American Studies certificate program. To the extent
that the introductory course, ASC 201, is envisioned as a
present-oriented
course, this seminar is intended to be future-oriented and would focus
on problem solving. It will seek to provide order and coherence to the
individualized programs of the students.
Topic I: Poverty and its Cure
Topic II: Urban Reconstruction
Topic III Ghetto Education
Topic IV Political Power
(ASC 454)
Dr. Conroy
Syllabus proposal excerpt:
I see ASC 454 as a research seminar devoted to a single topic. The
topic would undoubtedly change with time as the seminar was given. What
follows is a suggestion for a possible topic:
Fascism and the Afro-American
Lecture 1: Fascism as a political theory
Lecture 2: Fascism in History I
Lecture 3: Fascism in History I
Lecture 4: American Fascist Movements
Lecture 5: Bibliography, methods, selection of topics
(MSC 412), Goth
Syllabus excerpt:
Syllabus excerpt:
Syllabus excerpt:
An analysis of the role played by the Afro-American in the U. S.
economy,
emphasizing areas of contribution and conflict.
Topic I: The Economic Characteristics of the Negro
Population
Topic II: The Economics of Discrimination
Topic III: The Economics of the Urban Ghetto
Topic IV: Economic Problems of the Rural Negro
Topic V: Prospects for the Future
Dr. Conroy
Syllabus excerpt:
Texts:
Dr. Henry
Syllabus excerpt:
Dr. Morrison and Mr. Taylor (TA)
Syllabus excerpt:
Reading list:
Dr. Davis
Syllabus excerpt:
Reading list:
(Winter, Fall/Spring)
Dr. Poole
Syllabus excerpt:
Text: Eileen Southern. The Music of Black Americans.
(1971)
List of Topics to be Covered:
Dr. Foreman
Syllabus excerpt:
Topics:
Dr. Stephanie Y. Evans
Syllabus excerpt:
In this course students will explore various ways that African American history has been and can be researched.
¸ Students will then use similar resources and methods to formulate a question relevant to African American history, utilize primary and secondary sources to answer that question, and develop an argument based on their original research.
In this course, students will:
(AFA 3930)
Ms. Dawn Fischer
Syllabus excerpt:
This course examines current trends regarding the theories and methods
associated with Hiphop cultural studies. Hiphop culture has been a
visible
research topic in African-American studies, cultural studies, women
studies,
linguistics, anthropology and sociology for the pa st decade, and as a
site of inquiry, it provides the opportunity for new insights regarding
the re-conceptualization of categories such as "race", sex, class,
speech
community and citizenship. This course will cover a historiography of
Hiphop
as well as its comparative relationship to other popular cultural
genres.
The objective of the course is for students to gain knowledge
concerning
the theories informing Hiphop cultural studies and the related methods
that are used to conduct research in the field.
G. Certificates Awarded and Students Enrolled for Minor in African American Studies
Between 1971 and 2004, a certificate was available in African American Studies. In 2005, the University of Florida Curriculum Committee approved a Minor in African American Studies and the certificate was discontinued.- (1971) First certificates awarded, June 1971 commencement
- (1973) Certificate awarded to Margaret L. Arnold, Ph.D. student in Education
- (1981) In the first ten years, seven students received the African American Studies Certificate. “Past certificates have gone to students majoring in the social sciences, except for one radio-television major. Of the seven recipients, five were women (three black and two white) and two were white males. Two of that total earned law degrees following their graduation and are practicing attorneys. Of two certificate awardees last fall, one visited Poland on a competitive award. The other will enter graduate school at Emory University this coming fall. Several of the certificate holders have been honor graduates of the University, one was elected to Phi Beta Kappa…. Among students currently studying for the certificate, there are a number of black males at midpoints of their baccalaureate…”
- (1987) “Even though enrollments in AFA 2000, the introductory A-ASP course, have increased measurably over those of earlier years (80+ annually), the number of students who have completed the four course required for award of the certificate has remained small.”
Dissertation title: A Plan for Incorporation Black Studies into the General Education Program of a Community College. Student used Swahili as foreign language for degree.
H. Historic Program Development
- 1969
- 2nd Annual Conference on African and African American Studies at the Undergraduate College, Atlanta University
- “Life and Learning in the Ghetto”
- 1970
- “The West Indies and Pan African Liberation”
- “Racism and Personal Disorganization”
- 1984
- Dr. Foreman, editor, First Citizens and Other Florida Folks: Essays on Florida Folk Life.
- 1987
- Alachua County Regional Library
- Santa Fe Community College Library and Museum
- Thomas Cultural Center
- “Black Experience” Lecture Series
- 2002
- Public Housing Mini Conference, Friday, March 29, 2002
- University College of Cape Brenton
- University of Manitoba
- American University
- University of South Florida
- Urban Institute
- University of California
- University of Calgary
- University of Florida
- “The Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee and Its Impact on Black and White Activism: A Conversation with SNCC activists Charles Sherrod and Constance Curry” Thursday April 18, 2002
- 2003
- Connecting the African Diaspora
- Dr. Thomas-Houston and Jaime Johnson, research in Nova Scotia
- Dr. Thomas-Houston, invite to Inspector Craig Smith with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to lecture in Gainesville area middle schools
- Dr. Thomas-Houston, research in South Carolina housing authority
- Dr. Evans, research, UF Paris Research Center, Visiting Fellow, France
- Dr. Evans, research, Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Howard University, Washington D.C.
- Dawn Fischer, research, Los Angeles, Hiphop political activism
- Jaime Johnson, research for upcoming Black Studies conference
- Digitizing the Carter G. Woodson Publications for an Electronic Library
- AASP Newsletter produced, October 2003
- Undergraduate Symposium, Students enrolled in Fall “Research Methods in African American History” course, December 2003.
- The Political, Social, and Economic Structure of Ft. Mose
- School Zoning and its Affects on Segregation in Florida
- I Want My Mammy!: Black Memorabilia - Collecting Hate or Heritage?
- The Role of Education in the Formation of Black Identity in the 1950s and 1960s
- The Portrayal of Black Children in Children’s Literature
- The Race/Gender Duality in the 1890s Suffrage Movement
- Both Sides of the Yellow Tape: Black Women and Homicide
- The Intersection of Ecofeminism and Black American Feminism in the Black Nationalist Movement
- Cooper and James: Comparative Interpretations of Race within the French Empire during the Era of the Haitian Revolution
- Malcolm X: Views on Reconstructing Black Culture
- Power to the People?: Analyzing the Effectiveness of the Black Panther Party’s agenda
- The Impact of the 1964 Civil Rights Act on Black Corporate America
- 2004
- AASP Proclamation of support for the January 1, 2004 “Peace and Healing Ceremony” held by survivors and descendants of the 1923 Rosewood Massacre
- “Speaking in the Name of Martin” MLK 75th Birthday Celebration, downtown Gainesville
- Langston Hughes National Poetry Project, Oak Hall School, Friday, February 6, 2004
- Invited speaker: Dr. Maryemma Graham
- Featuring readings by:
- Ntozake Shange
- Boots Riley
- Jessica Care Moore
- Dr. Harry Shaw
- Dr. Marilyn Thomas-Houston
- With Commentary by:
- Dr. Amy Ongiri
- Ms. Natalie Graham
- Dig Nubia Exhibit, Santa Fe Community College
- Annual Ron Foreman Lecture and Award Ceremony, February 25, 2004
- Dr. Evans held meetings with Reichert House, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Gainesville, Tacachale Center for future community service-learning course development
- Harry B. Shaw Travel Grant awarded to Deborah Johnson Simon, Ph.D. candidate in Antrhopology
- Former Faculty and Student Assistants
Dr. Seldon Henry, Dr. Sephen Conroy, Dr. James F. Morrison, and Mr. Samuel Taylor
Albert Daniels, instructor, Santa Fe Junior College
Lecture in College of Education Black Studies seminar series
Dr. Pierre-Michele Fontaine, Assistant Professor, Political Science at Boston College
Lecture Co-Sponsored with Political Science
Dr. John D. McCarthey, Vanderbilt University
Partnerships with:
“There’s No Place Like Home: The Politics of Planning and Participation in Public Housing Policy” Keene Faculty Center.
Presenters from:
Student research topics:
Invited Lecturer, Dr. Faye Harrison
Former faculty who taught for African American Studies include Jaime Johnson and Dawn Fisher, graduate students in Anthropology. As with the founding of the AASP, students play a crucial role in the operation of the AASP. 2002-2003 students included Vanessa Fabien, Jacynta Williams, Natalie Graham, Brian Staton, Sheila LaMarre, Velouse Dorestin, Rolanda Joanice
Reference List
- Primary documents from the African American Studies Program (letters, memos, syllabi, course catalogs, press releases, brochures, newsletters, UF reports, etc.)
- Program Reviews from 1970-71, 1980-81, 1986-87, and 2002-03
- CLAS Notes (November 2000, Spring 2003)
- AASP website, http://www.clas.ufl.edu/afam/, accessed January/February 2004
- African American History in Special Collections, Exhibit Summary, UF Smathers Library, (February 2004)
- Dowdell and McCarthy, African Americans at the University of Florida (2003)
- Anderson, The Education of Blacks in the South, 1860-1935 (1988)
- Black Issues in Higher Education, multiple issues, renamed Diverse Issues in Higher Education in 2005
