AFR 344
Asian/African American Cultural and Political Theory
Last Offered Fall 2021
Division II
Cross-listed PSCI 333 / AMST 325
This course is not offered in the current catalog

Class Details

Contrasted as “model minorities” or “incorrigible minorities” Asian Americans and African Americans have been pitted against one another in social standing and political objectives. However, throughout the twentieth century, African/Asian solidarity and alliances existed in political movements and literary and cultural productions. From Ho Chi Minh’s anti-lynching writing, the founding conference of the WIDF (Women’s International Democratic Federation) in China in 1945, through the Bandung Conference, coalitions against U.S. wars in Southeast Asia, and alignments with Chinese anti-imperialist endeavors, black and Asian peoples have joined in international political formations. Contributions to theory include the writings and activism of Langston Hughes, W.E.B. Du Bois, Richard Wright, Robert Williams, Yuri Kochiyama, Grace Lee and Jimmy Boggs, Ishmael Reed, and Amiri Baraka; films of Bruce Lee; music of Fred Ho; revolutionary praxis of Mao Tse Tung’s Little Red Book and his writings on art and society; the Marxism of the Black Panther Party; the Afro-futurism of Sun Ra and Samuel Delany; and contemporary “Afro-pessimism.” Such cultural works depict futurities and possibilities for Black and Asian diasporas. This seminar examines theory, politics, literature, film, and music produced from and linked to twentieth-century movements against capitalism, racism, colonialism, and imperial wars to think through how Black and Yellow Power have shaped solidarity to challenge white supremacy and racial capitalism. Requirements: One midterm paper (5-6 pp.) = 30%; final paper/project (10-12 pp.) with a creative option = 50%; short response paper and GLOW posts = 10%; participation (attendance and class discussion) = 10% Course cap: 19 Priority given to AMST majors, Africana concentrators
The Class: Format: seminar
Limit: 19
Expected: 19
Class#: 1381
Grading: no pass/fail option, yes fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: One midterm paper (5-6 pp.) = 30%; Final paper/project (10-12 pp.) with a creative option = 50%; Short response paper and GLOW posts = 10%; Participation (attendance and class discussion) = 10%
Prerequisites: None
Enrollment Preferences: AMST majors, Africana concentrators
Distributions: Division II
Notes: This course is cross-listed and the prefixes carry the following divisional credit:
PSCI 333 Division II AFR 344 Division II AMST 325 Division II
Attributes: AMST Comp Studies in Race, Ethnicity, Diaspora
AMST Critical and Cultural Theory Electives
PSCI Political Theory Courses

Class Grid

Updated 1:32 pm

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