INSTRUCTIONS
Before you begin, review the discussion guidelines and sample discussion post located in the Course Overview section. Unless your instructor specifies otherwise, choose ONE of the following questions to answer, and then give a substantive response to at least TWO other students or the professor. Aim for around 300 words per initial discussion post. A substantive response is not just a one-liner post that agrees or compliments your peer. Instead, substantive posts ask relevant questions, offer new insights, and dig deeper into the topic in order to create an academic discussion. Aim for around 100 words in each response.
Week 1
- Discuss your exposure to African American History in K–12 schools to the present. In your response, include church, children/youth groups, girl scouts/boy scouts, and other environments that intentionally provided information on the African American experience. Do you believe your exposure sufficiently equipped you to understand African American identity? Why or why not?
- Discuss your thoughts as they relate to colorism. Feel free to share your own personal experiences with colorism and explain how you navigated those experiences. If you are a parent, please share how you address colorism with your children.
- Explain DuBois's concept of double consciousness. How does this concept resonate with you today? How does double-consciousness compare with code-switching? Everyone engages in code-switching to some extent, regardless of race, gender, or class. Feel free to include your own experiences with code-switching in order to explore this concept using real-life examples.
- Discuss the influence of gender, class, and sexuality on racial identity. What are some of the challenges related to properly identifying members of the LGBTQ communities?
- Identify the major milestones in the establishment of African American Studies as a legitimate academic discipline in higher education. Do you believe that African American Studies should be a required general education course like English or Math? Why or why not?