They're back! Spelman Students Visit Black London and Liverpool.
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See a student created video on YouTube
Black London and Liverpool Course Goals
Short term study abroad courses for the African Diaspora and the World move beyond the parameters of the first-year sequence, ADW 111-112, to examine issues of migration, displacement, community formation and identity in specific geographic sites.
In making globalized connections between Europe, Africa and its diasporas, these courses offer new, informed and interdisciplinary perspectives on issues shaping the world today. With the opportunity to explore interests and fascinations through travel, these courses enable students to challenge preconceptions, to discover and discard values, and develop a greater sense of global citizenship.
Student Learning Outcomes
At the end of this course, students will be able to do the following:
- Observe and reflect, through reflective journaling, upon the current, evident demographics of African and African –descended people in both cities and relate them to contemporary issues of Black British identity
- Identify and outline, for African descended people in London and Liverpool, transnational interactions and practices in relation to nation, citizenship, heritage tourism and expatriate policies
- Expand and assess the role played by both London and Liverpool in the history of the Transatlantic trade, slavery, abolition, and imperialism.
- In the context of this specific geopolitical site, explain and assess the historic and contemporary manifestations of globalization and its social, political and environmental consequences.
- Effectively prepare and present a diaspora-related research proposal with strategies and ideas for implementation beyond the course
Required Texts
Brown, Jacqueline Nassy. Dropping Anchor, Setting Sail: Geographies of Race in Black Liverpool
(Selections)
Black, Stephanie. Life and Debt. A Tuff Gong Pictures Production, 2001 (film)
Emecheta, Buchi. In the Ditch or Kahinde
Equiano, Olaudah. The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings
Selwyn, Samuel. The Lonely Londoners
Wells, Ida B. Crusade for Justice (Selections)
Wright, Michelle, M., Becoming Black :Creating Identity in the African Diaspora . Durham and London: Duke UP, 2004 (Selections)
Recommended Texts
Gerzina, Gretchen Holbrook. Black London: Life Before Emancipation
Gomez, Michael A. Reversing Sail: A History of the African Diaspora. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005
Okpewho, Isidore, Carole Boyce Davies and Ali A. Mazrui, The African Diaspora: African Origins and New World Identities. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 2001
Course Method, Assignments and Evaluation
In addition to required orientation meetings for all study abroad and travel experiences at Spelman College, this class will meet six (6) times during the semester before travel for two hour sessions each meeting. Dates and times will be announced soon after registration is final. There will also be 3-5 required academic lectures and 7-10 site visits in country to foster a greater understanding of the material you study before travel.
Quizzes, tests and/or short in-class essays on the required readings will be given each week. A required comprehensive exam on course materials will be given during the last designated class meeting, but not during the orientation session. The travel component will include approximately 10 days in country with visits to sites relevant to that country and the specific course learning outcomes. Upon return the U.S. and Spelman College, there will be a mandatory two-hour video-taped session in which course participants will articulate seminal aspects of their experience along with what they have identified as a research goal derived from the travel. The dates for this session will be announced no later than two weeks after return.
Required Assignments
- Videotaped* guided group discussion/project/presentation after return for archives – 20%
- Reflective Journals on lectures and guided tours -20%
- Quizzes, short essays and comprehensive exam on course readings before the trip-25%
- 2-3 page paper proposing a topic for research that will be conducted or realized in subsequent academic, service, or professional work after return -15%
- Attendance/Participation (on-campus and in country) 20%
The grading scale for assignments, exams, and final course grade will be as follows. Standards and grading for written assignments and requirements for ethical standards on written assignments are attached to the end of this syllabus.
A= 90-100
B=80-89
C=70-79
D=60-69
F=Below 6
Policy on Attendance and Late Assignments
You are expected to attend all the scheduled on-campus class meetings. You will be permitted one excused absence from these meetings but will be required to make-up any films and secure notes from class discussion. If you miss more than one class meeting, you will be required to consult with the director about whether you can remain in the course. In other words, more than one excused absence puts you at risk of not being able to participate in the study travel component and/or complete the course. With regard to the travel component, attendance is mandatory at all lectures, discussions, seminars, site visits and group travel in country.
Finally please be aware that without prior notice and arrangement of at least five (5) days in advance of a scheduled quiz, in-class essay or exam, make-up tests or assignments will not be permitted.
Late Assignments
If due on Tuesday and submitted on Wednesday 5 pts.
Thursday 10 pts
Friday 15 pts
Monday 20 pts
Tuesday 25 pts
If due on Thursday and submitted on Friday 5 pts
Monday 15 pts
Tuesday 20pts
Wednesday 22 pts
Thursday 25 pts
Academic Integrity
The Spelman community is committed to maintaining the integrity of the College and its academic progress. It seeks the cooperation and support of every member of the College community in contributing to an institutional culture that affirms honesty, trust and mutual respect. Each student is required to abide by the college’s code of conduct to produce work that reflects her own ideas. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated . Plagiarism is a crime.
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to cheating on quizzes, tests, midterms, and final examinations and submitting plagiarized work (including papers, portfolios, projects, digital assignments, performances or journals). A student plagiarizes when she fails to acknowledge ideas, interpretations, analysis, or productions that are not her own.
Students must fully cite and credit their sources, using an appropriate documentation format as determined by the instructor. Academic dishonesty also includes the submission of falsified documents that support class absences, a request for an extension on an assignment, or an incomplete grade. It also includes fraudulent signing and submission of attendance sheets and/or attendance 11 slips for anyone other than yourself. A student who is charged with and found guilty of violation of the academic code of conduct will receive a grade of “F” for the course in which the offence occurs.
Papers cannot be turned in for more than ONE class or by more than one student. Such papers will be treated with a response consistent with incidents of academic dishonesty.
Students with Disabilities
Special needs of students with disabilities will be accommodated. Please speak with the Office for Disability Services and your instructor as soon as possible, and remember to submit the required documentation to that office.
Study Abroad Application, Travel Policies and Travel Expectations
You will have to be approved for participation in this course. In addition to obtaining a positive faculty recommendation, you will have to fulfill a number of other requirements with regard to immunizations, passports, visas , and forms for clearance from appropriate offices and departments at Spelman College. A complete list of requirements can be found in Spelman’s International Travel Policy available from the Office of Student Affairs. In addition to signed permission forms, you will also be required to submit signed Health Forms, a Liability Waiver and an Acknowledgement of Risks. You will also be required to sign the form and adhere to the Code of Conduct for Spelman College Study Abroad attached to the end of this syllabus.
Please remember that during the travel component of this course, you are to view yourself as an ambassador of Spelman College. At all times you are to treat others with respect and care. You must never act in a way that draws attention, especially for illegal activities, to yourself, your travel mates or the College.
Calendar of On-Campus Meetings
Class Meeting #1 The Past: Blacks in Britain and Early Migrations
Class Meeting #2 The U.K. and the Transatlantic Moment
Class Meeting #3 Slavery, Colonialism and Imperialism
Class Meeting#4 Abolition and Pan African Conversations in the U.K.
Class Meeting #5 Postcolonial Diasporas, Transnationalism and Identity
Class Meeting #6 Globalization, Tourism, and the Environment
