Topics in Social Issues

This course is designed to introduce students to the parallel and overlapping freedom movements of the "long 1960s" (social movements that span the 1950s to the 1970s) - The Black Freedom Movement (Civil Rights and Black Power), American Indian Movement, Chicanx/Latinx Movement, and Asian American Movement. While each respective movement will be studied at length independently, our lectures, readings, and discussions will question the assumed racial homogeneity of each movement. A key concern of the course will be a collective exploration of social movements, political ideas, and individual activists that crossed racial, gendered, and national boundaries in their pursuit for freedom and dignity. Additionally, connections will be made to contemporary social justice movements, such as the abolition of police, prisons, and borders, indigenous sovereignty, student movements for Ethnic Studies, and local efforts to build solidarity economies. Credit/Evaluation: Attendance and Engaged Participation; weekly group discussion posts, facilitating discussion about an assigned reading; two 4-5-page essays, and a final group project. Required Texts: While all readings will be available via the Canvas, the following is a list of selected course readings. Please keep in mind, we will not read these texts in their entirety, only specific chapters. Select Reading List: Robyn Spencer, The Revolution Has Come: Black Power, Gender, and the Black Panther Party in Oakland Johanna Fernandez, The Young Lords: A Radical History Carlos Munoz Jr., Youth, Identity, and Power: The Chicano Movement Kent Blansett, A Journey to Freedom: Richard Oakes, Alcatraz, and the Red Power Movement; Daryl Maeda, Chains of Babylon: The Rise of Asian America