African Diaspora Syllabus Instructor: J. Fernandez

“The darkest thing about Africa has always been our ignorance of it.”

-George Kimble

Course Overview

African Diaspora examines the movement of all humans from Africa to places around the world. Studying the African Diaspora is a huge undertaking and it will take more than one school year to do justice to a subject of this magnitude and importance.

Grading Policy

• Participation: 25%• Research Projects & Presentations: 25%• Tests & Quizzes: 20%• Major Writing Assignments: 20%• Homework: 10%

Part I: (1st Quarter)

Conditions that Produced the AfricanDiaspora:

African History as it pertains to the Diaspora, Pre-Colonial Africa,

Racism’s Historical Roots and The African Slave Trade

• Major Reading: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Part II: 2nd Quarter

The Face of Africa around the World:

The African Diaspora of Latin America and the Caribbean

• Major Reading: The Black Diaspora by Ronald Segal (excerpted)

Part III: (3rd Quarter)

The African Diaspora and the United States:

The State of its Beginnings through the Civil Rights Era

• Major Reading: Black Boy by Richard Wright

*Special Focus on Peekskill’s African-American History

Part IV: (4th Quarter)

The African Diaspora Today:

A Twenty-First Century Look at the Lives of the Descendents of the Diaspora

• Major Reading: The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama; “Black in America” Focus (an assortment of readings and short videos adapted from Soledad O’Brien’s documentary).

Instructional Tools

• In addition to novels, I use a multitude of contemporary learning tools to teach the depth and breadth of the African Diaspora such as:

• The documentaries: Hidden Colors, African American Lives, The Human Family Tree

• The films: Skin, Roots• An assortment of editorials, personal accounts,

historical documents, etc.

Socratic Seminars BKA“Real Talk Fridays”

Every Friday, African Diaspora students participate in a student-led seminar that I have affectionately named “Real Talk Friday”. The purpose of the seminar is a simple one: Enlightenment. Students explore topics of their choice; however, these topics are all related to the issues of members of the Diaspora. A comprehensive explanation is available if you would like more information.