The course offers an introductory overview of African-American history. During the course of the semester we will trace the history of African Americans from Ancestral Africa to America, from slavery to the post-Civil Rights Era. We will discuss the cultural, social, and political status of the African-American community throughout the history of the United States, focusing on such important periods as Colonial America, the American Revolution, the Antebellum Period, the Civil War, the Reconstruction Era, World War I, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, World War II, and the modern Civil Rights Movement.

During the semester we will discuss the history of sports in America, its significance within the social and political construct of American culture. The objective of the course is to depict some of the distinctive characteristics, values of sports in the U.S. Meanwhile also discussing how sports has become a platform for political activism – a stage of resistance –, where social and cultural views are challenged by athletes who have found their voice and use their public profile to address various issues. Therefore, we will study the history of sports in the United States, while also reflecting on the following topics of discussion: segregation, racial integration, civil rights and activism, race and gender, protest and politics in sports, college athletics and the NCAA, the business side of sports, and sports as a form of mass entertainment.