Curriculum

AJC Curriculum

Main Courses

Introduction to African American Politics

Spring 2012
Wednesdays 2:00-4:30
This course provides an introduction to the political experience of African Americans. The course is contemporary in focus. Topics include African American political thought, voting and participation, urban politics, race and elected office, and issues of gender, class, age and sexual identity at the intersections of black politics.

Download Full Syllabus

America’s First Ladies

Spring 2012
Wednesdays 9:00-11:30
This seminar explores American first ladies as political and social actors. Our primary question is: what does American history and politics look like when told through the stories of women with great access to power but with little formal power of their own? We will both trace the evolution of the role of first lady and explore how individual women who have held this role have understood it and adapted it. This is an upper level course. Every student is required to read all assignments and be prepared for a class discussion each week. You will be expected to write, read, and analyze regularly. There will be no lectures; this is entirely a seminar and reading course based on a graduate education model.

Download Full Syllabus

Women in Politics, Media, and the Contemporary United States

Fall 2011
Wednesday 3:30-6:00
This course is an introduction to the various roles and experiences of women in contemporary American politics, media, and society. We will explore changing definitions of womanhood and women’s identity during the late 20th and early 21st century. We will discuss women who hold positions of leadership and relative privilege and women who find themselves in the most powerless and difficult circumstances in contemporary America. We will explore cross-cutting issues of class, race, sexuality and gender identity to help understand the many experiences of women in America.

Download Full Syllabus Student Bibliography Student Bibliography Student Bibliography

Supplemental classes that address the core themes of race, gender, and politics

COMM3650-01: Feminist Documentation & New Media

Betsy Weiss
W: 3:00-5:30 & 6:00-8:30
CRN: 12378
A service-learning, praxis-oriented course in which students develop analytical and reflective skills by critiquing and creating feminist documentation in various media. Study of history and theory of feminist documentary filmmaking and new media will be complemented with learning production and post-production skills. Weekly volunteer work will be done with an organization serving women and girls in New Orleans.

HISU6945-01: Conservative Women

Karissa Haugeberg
W: 3:30-6:00
CRN: 20224
This course will focus primarily on U.S. women, with occasional readings on women in Europe and Central America. For the purposes of this course, “conservative” will be defined broadly to include diverse groups of women, ranging from Loyalists to anti-suffragists to anti-desegregationists to women who opposed the ERA. The common thread will be that—for the most part—these women wanted to uphold the status quo when they perceived it was under threat from progressive change.
Readings will cover the 18th c.-the late 20th c.

HISL3780-01: Women in Latin American History

Gertrude Yeager
TR: 2:00-3:15
CRN: 20171
An exploration of the pivotal role Latin American women have played in the area’s historical development. Attention is given to how women acquired and exercised power in a male-dominated society and how class, race, sex and sex roles, and traditions have influenced and shaped women’s roles.

POLA3031-01: Southern Politics

Rosalind Cook
MWF: 12:00-12:50
CRN: 17437
This class is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of politics in the American South. Topics covered in this class will answer critical questions: Why study southern politics? Why should we even be concerned about southern politics? For spring 2012, we will be looking at the presidential campaign in the Southern states and those running for the US House of Representatives in the South. Students will explore the economic, historical, and social factors that shaped the “Old South,” and the dynamics that transformed the politics of the region. It will also address the question of whether or not a “New South” has emerged.
POLS6950-01: Law and Politics of Domestic Violence Sally Kenney
TR: 3:30-4:45
CRN: 20385
In this service learning class, students will monitor domestic violence cases in court while engaging interdisciplinary scholarship on violence.

SPHU3811-01: Women, Health Inequality & Change

TR: 3:30-4:45
Phyllis Raabe
CRN: 20409
This course examines women’s health problems and inequalities in the United States and locally (Louisiana and New Orleans). We consider the past and continuing impacts of patriarchy and the intersections of class, racial-ethnic, and gender inequalities–and the gender biases, lack of policy supports, and associated stresses in combining “work and family” activities. In addition to describing and analyzing women’s health problems, the course also emphasizes social change initiatives and policies, nationally and locally. Our course will be enhanced by New Orleans examples provided by guest speakers and, if possible, field trips.
POLA3010-01: Intro to African-American Politics Melissa-Harris Perry W, 2:00-4:30
CRN: 10288

POLS6950-01: Law and Politics of Domestic Violence

Sally Kenney
TR: 3:30-4:45
CRN: 20385
In this service learning class, students will monitor domestic violence cases in court while engaging interdisciplinary scholarship on violence.

LOUS2800-01: New Orleans Political Culture

Stephen Hayes
M: 5:45-8:45 (Open to SCS students only until 1/13/12)
CRN: 12336