You only have to do two questions and the easiest without background is questions 2 and 5. DO ONE PAGE FOR EACH QUESTION. Responses should be approximately one page single-spaced typewritten pages.

AAAS 2000: Introduction to African American Studies

TEST 1

READ INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY!!!

Answer 2 (TWO) questions. You may answer question 3 or 4, not both.

This exam has 6 questions.

There are 6 pages.

Question 6 is based on the film clip “Slavery According to Uncle Ruckus” (Moodle Weeks 1-2).

Your answers should reflect your knowledge, context, and understanding of the course material. All material covered / referenced on this test was uploaded to Moodle prior to the start of the semester. The test is also in sync with the content to test schedule on the syllabus.

Responses should be approximately one single-spaced typewritten page.

The exam MUST be submitted via Turnitin portal on Moodle with your initials followed by the number 1.

This exam is due by 10 pm on September 18, 2020.

Your Answers must be numbered. If you are answering Question 6, YOU MUST write QUESTION 6 above your answer.

Documents MUST use MS Word

Kindle use an academically acceptable font, size 12.

Only exams submitted via Turnitin will be accepted. Do not email the exams directly to me.

Below is a sample question and answer. The answer is an example of the expectations for this test.

SAMPLE QUESTION

Using DuBois as a frame of reference, explain the meaning of double consciousness, and highlight some implications of double consciousness.

SAMPLE ANSWER

Double consciousness describes the individual sensation of feeling as though your identity is divided into several parts, making it difficult or impossible to have one unified identity. Du Bois spoke of this within the context of race relations in the United States. He asserted that since American blacks have lived in a society that has historically repressed and devalued them, it has become difficult for them to unify their black identity with their American identity. Double consciousness forces blacks to not only view themselves from their own unique perspective, but to also view themselves as they might be perceived by the outside world.

As a result, blacks can suffer from a damaged self-image shaped by the perceptions and treatment of white people. Black life in turn can easily become shaped by stereotypes perpetuated by mainstream culture. According to Du Bois the prejudices of white people elicit “self-questioning, self-disparagement, and lowering of ideals” among black people. The internalization of anti-black sentiment from the outside world thus begins to shape the black American experience. Through the concept double consciousness DuBois becomes better able to explore the social problems he studied in his earlier work “The Philadelphia Negro”.

Double consciousness also creates an element of conflict within the black American, as they struggle to reconcile their identity as a black person and as an American citizen. DuBois cites the example of the black artisan in “The Souls of Black Folk”. Conflicted between producing goods that reflect his unique perspective and life experience and goods that are marketable and acceptable to a broader population he is engaged in a battle of double aims. By working to create what is the best expression of himself he will be deemed unsuccessful and by creating what makes him successful he fails to express himself and in some ways may appear to be rejecting his true self. This example exemplifies the black struggle to unite the different components of black identity.

Question 1

Use textual evidence to explain the importance of African American Studies in examining race relations in the United States.

Question 2

Using the passage below as a frame of reference, explain how Marable situates “race” in his argument. You may also refer to other course readings.

Manning Marable: “Black Studies, Multiculturalism and the Future of American Education.”   launch our series “Real piece by the late

African-American studies, broadly defined, is the systematic study of the black experience, framed by the socioeconomic, cultural, and geographical boundaries of sub-Saharan Africa and the black diaspora of North America, the Caribbean, Brazil, and Latin America and increasingly, Europe itself. At its core, it is also the black intellectual tradition as it has challenged and interacted with Western civilization and cultures. In the social sciences and the humanities, that intellectual tradition has assumed a complex burden over many generations, seeking to engage in a critical dialogue with white scholarship on a range of complex issues, and most significantly, the definition and reality of race as a social construct, and the factors that explain the structures of inequality which greatly define the existence of black people across the globe. This definition was at the heart of W.E.B. Du Bois’ assertion nearly a century ago, that “the problem of the [twentieth] century is the problem of the color line.”

From Du Bois’ point of departure, we can assert that the problem of the twenty-first century is the challenge of “multicultural democracy”—whether American society can and will be restructured to include the genius and energy, talents and aspirations of millions of people of color—Latinos, Asian Americans, American Indians, Arab Americans, African Americans, and others.

I would like to explore three interrelated issues, which provide a framework for discussing the study of the contemporary African-American experience, and questions of racial and ethnic diversity within a democratic society. The first topic is to consider the debate over black studies and more generally, what has been termed “multiculturalism,” especially in the context of higher education. The critics of both multiculturalism and black studies have linked the concepts with the concurrent controversy surrounding “political correctness” on campuses and in public school curricula. But we need to go beyond rhetoric to define multiculturalism properly.

Second, what is the social context for a discussion of racial diversity and pluralism within American society as a whole? Because I am a social scientist of the African-American experience, my commentary will focus briefly on the disturbing trends away from equality within the national black community. These inequalities are leading us to two unequal Americas, divided not simply by racial identity, but by sharply divergent levels of skills, learning, and access to educational opportunities.

And finally, there is the larger issue of the future of race and ethnicity within American society itself. The question of difference within any society or culture is always conjunctural, ever-changing, and conditional. “Race” is not a permanent social category, but a historical product of slavery and human exploitation, an unequal relationship between social groups. We must rethink old categories and old ways of perceiving each other. We must define the issue of diversity as a dynamic, ever-changing concept, leading us to explore problems of human relations and social equality in a manner that will expand the principles of fairness and opportunity to all members of society.

For any oppressed people, questions of culture and identity are linked to the structure of power and privilege within society. Culture is the textured pattern of collective memory, the critical consciousness and aspirations of a people. When culture is constructed in the context of oppression, it may become an act of resistance.

A working definition of multiculturalism begins with the recognition that our nation’s cultural heritage does not begin and end with the intellectual and aesthetic products of Western Europe. Multiculturalism rejects the model of cultural assimilation and social conformity, which, within the context of our schools, has often relegated African Americans, Latinos, and other people of color to the cultural slums. The mythical melting pot in which a diverse number of ethnic antecedents were blended into a nonracist and thoroughly homogenized blend of cultures never existed.

Assimilation always assumed that the price for admission to America’s cultural democracy for racial and ethnic minorities was the surrender of those things, which truly made us unique: our languages and traditions, our foods and folkways, our religions, and even our names.

Question 3

Using textual evidence, trace the emergence of African American Studies as an academic discipline in the United States.

Question 4

African American Studies as an academic discipline emerged out of the context of confrontation.  Discuss this statement using relevant textual evidence from course readings / films.

Question 5

Develop an argument articulating the meaning and ideas behind the term “America’s Golden Age” as used by the president and his cabinet in Derrick Bells Essay, “The Space Traders.” See excerpt below. You may also use the film, Space Traders as a frame of reference.

In the few hours since the Space Traders' offer, the white House and the Congress had been inundated with phone calls and telegrams. The President was not surprised that a clear majority spontaneously urged acceptance of the offer.

"Easy for them to say," he murmured to an aide. "I'll bet most of those who favor the trade didn't sign or give their names." "On the contrary," the assistant replied, "the callers are identifying themselves, and the telegrams are signed."

At least a third of the flood of phone calls and faxes urging quick acceptance of the offer expressed the view that what the nation would give up-its African-American citizens-was as worthwhile as what it would receive. The statements accurately

reflected relations at the dawn of the new century. The President had, like his predecessors for the last generation, successfully exploited racial fears and hostility in his election campaign. There had been complaints, of course, but those

from his political opponents sounded like sour grapes. They, too, had tried to minimize the input of blacks so as not to frighten away white voters.

The race problem had worsened greatly in the 1990s. A relatively small number of blacks had survived the retrogression of civil rights protection, perhaps 20 percent having managed to make good in the increasingly technologically oriented

society. But, without anyone acknowledging it and with hardly a peep from the press, more than one half of the group had become outcasts. They were confined to former inner-city areas that had been divorced from their political boundaries. High

walls surrounded these areas, and armed guards controlled entrance and exit around the clock. Still, despite all precautions, young blacks escaped from time to time to terrorize whites. Long dead was the dream that this black underclass would ever” overcome.”

The President had asked Gleason Golightly, the conservative black economics professor, who was his unofficial black cabinet member, to attend the meeting. Golightly was smart and seemed to be truly conservative, not a man ready to sing

any political tune for a price. His mere presence as a person of color at this crucial session would neutralize any possible critics in the media, thought not in the black civil rights community.

The cabinet meeting came to order. ”I think we all know the situation,” the President said. “Those extraterrestrial beings are carrying in their ships a guarantee that America will conquer its present problems and prosper for at least all of this new

century.” ”I would venture, sir,” the Vice President noted, “that the balance of you term will be known as ‘America’s Golden Age.’ Indeed, the era will almost certainly extend to the terms of your successor.”

The President smiled at the remark, as -on cue- did the cabinet. “The VP is right, of course,” the President said. “Our visitors from outer space are offering us the chance to correct the excesses of several generations. Furthermore, many of the men

and women-voters all-who are bombarding us with phone calls, see an added bonus in the Space Traders’ offer.” He looked around at his attentive cabinet members. ”They are offering not only a solution to our nation’s present problems but also

one-surely an ultimate one-to what might be called the great American racial experiment. That’s the real issue before us today. Does the promise of restored prosperity justify our sending away fifteen percent of our citizens to Lord knows what fate?”

Question 6

Using the film clip, “Slavery According to Uncle Ruckus” (Moodle Weeks 1-2), offer critical commentary on Uncle Ruckus’ ahistorical version of slavery.

END OF EXAM