Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, and Negritude draws its inspiration from the French revolutionary slogan, Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité to draw into relief the experience of people of African descent in the French colonial project. It departs from the position that from the onset French claims of universalism were undermined by the presence of enslaved Africans in their colonies. The course will demonstrate how people of African descent in the colonies or in the metropoles demanded that France meet these claims of freedom to all from the colonial period through the 21st century.  The course will cover demands for full citizenships made by enslaved people, colonized people, and French citizens living in the hexagon and the ways in which the French government and its people reacted, either limiting rights (politically or socially). The course will turn to the words of people of African descent directly making students familiar with the writings of Afro-francophone intellectuals and activists. The readings will be multi-disciplinary in nature and the lectures will be bolstered by documentaries and films.
Days: MO WE  10:00-10:50 AM

This course explores Black organizing traditions that continue to inform movements today. Students will familiarize themselves with the strategies employed by nineteenth-century Black activists, organizers, enslaved and formerly enslaved people to undermine slavery, challenge racist legal codes, sustain their communities, and mobilize politically. By looking at insurrections, emigration, vigilance and equal rights committees, the Colored Conventions movement, Black women’s clubs, and many more, this course highlights how the Black radical tradition shaped the long nineteenth century.
Days: TU TH  09:30-10:50 AM