GOVT-425 Jazz and the Civil Rights Movement (3)

The twentieth-century African American civil rights movement is both wider and longer than is conventionally viewed and taught. This course examines how the jazz community advanced the cause of African American freedom by confronting racial discrimination through direct action on racial segregation and discrimination, providing financial support to civil rights organizations, drawing attention to institutional inequities through the content of art and music, and creating a social movement outside the conventional boundaries of American politics. Readings, video documentaries, guest speakers, and the use of oral histories and first-person accounts provide students with a unique insight into course topics. The major class project allows students to use their talent and experience to create a multimedia and/or interactive presentation that draws on the historical context of the course to address a contemporary issue, question, or problem. AU Core Integrative Requirement: Diversity and Equity. Usually Offered: spring. Prerequisite: junior standing. Restriction: minimum 2.5 GPA.

Close Window