53-559 The Great Migration across Media (ENG-7, ENG-7a, ENG-13, AA7, AA11, LAA10, LAA13, AA-MA01, AA-MA02, AA-MA03, AA-MA05, IAA22, IAA23, IAA24, IAA25, BAC1, BAC2, BAC3, BAC5, IAA41, IAA42, IAA43)

Lehrende: Prof. Dr. Astrid Böger

Veranstaltungsart: Seminar II

Anzeige im Stundenplan:

Semesterwochenstunden: 2

Unterrichtssprache: Englisch

Min. | Max. Teilnehmerzahl: - | 25

Weitere Informationen:
Zur Beachtung: für alle Lehrveranstaltungen (ausgenommen Vorlesungen) gilt seit 1.10.19, dass unentschuldigtes Fehlen in der ersten Sitzung umgehend zum Verlust des Kursplatzes führt, um bei Überbuchung Restplätze schneller zur Verfügung stellen zu können!

Kommentare/ Inhalte:
In this seminar, we will take a close look at the mass movement of Black people from the
South to the Northern cities of the U.S. in the early decades of the 20th century known as the
Great Migration. Rather than use a mono-medial approach, we will study this important
moment in U.S. American cultural history across a variety of media including the oral history
collection Born in Slavery (1936-38), Richard Wright’s photodocumentary book 12 Million
Black Voices (1941), and Jacob Lawrence’s collection of paintings now known as The
Migration Series (1940-41). We will, moreover, also include a section on the Black
Metropolis and Blues Culture, in particular, by drawing on contemporary research by cultural
historians. Finally, the independent film Daughters of the Dust (1991) by Black filmmaker
Julie Dash will provide us with a specifically female perspective on the experience of Black
Americans. Set in 1902, the film tells the story of three generations of Gullah women on
Saint Helena Island off the coast of South Carolina as they prepare to leave the island, and
the Southern United States altogether, toward the North. By studying the Great Migration
through up to five media, then, we will gain a thorough understanding of this seminal period
of U.S. American history whose legacy is still very much alive today, not least thanks to
these rich and varied media archives of Black American cultural history.

Important note:
All course materials will be provided via AGORA.

Course Requirements:
The requirements for receiving full course credit include: Regular attendance and active
participation, excellent knowledge of the assigned texts, shorter written assignments and/or
in-class presentations, as well as a term paper to be completed at the end of the semester.