Active Outline

General Information

Course ID (CB01A and CB01B)
AFAMD025.
Course Title (CB02)
Introduction to Black Feminism
Course Credit Status
Credit - Degree Applicable
Effective Term
Fall 2024
Course Description
This course is an interdisciplinary, multi-perspective, critical analysis, and comparative study of Black Feminism. Students will examine some key theories and ideas of Black Feminism and Black Feminist Thought, including womanist theory, the theory of intersectionality, and standpoint theory. The course will consider how Black women have challenged the intersecting effects of racism, sexism, classism, colonialism, homophobia, media exploitation, and other forms of social violence. Students will read major works, learn to engage in critical dialogue, and articulate their own positions concerning the basic ideas and principles of Black Feminism. The values, experience, and cultural contributions of Black feminist and/or Black womanist individuals in the United States will be identified, examined, and authenticated.
Faculty Requirements
Course Family
Not Applicable

Course Justification

This course belongs on the AA degree in Intercultural Studies. It is UC/CSU transferable. This course introduces the student to the theoretical framework of Black feminism.

Foothill Equivalency

Does the course have a Foothill equivalent?
No
Foothill Course ID

Course Philosophy

Formerly Statement

Course Development Options

Basic Skill Status (CB08)
Course is not a basic skills course.
Grade Options
  • Letter Grade
  • Pass/No Pass
Repeat Limit
0

Transferability & Gen. Ed. Options

Transferability
Transferable to both UC and CSU
°®¶¹´«Ã½ GEArea(s)StatusDetails
2GC2°®¶¹´«Ã½ GE Area C2 - HumanitiesApproved
2GDX°®¶¹´«Ã½ GE Area D - Social and Behavioral SciencesApproved
CSU GEArea(s)StatusDetails
CGC2CSU GE Area C2 - HumanitiesApproved
CGDYCSU GE Area D - Social SciencesApproved
IGETCArea(s)StatusDetails
IG3BIGETC Area 3B - HumanitiesApproved
IG4XIGETC Area 4 - Social and Behavioral SciencesApproved

Units and Hours

Summary

Minimum Credit Units
4.0
Maximum Credit Units
4.0

Weekly Student Hours

TypeIn ClassOut of Class
Lecture Hours4.08.0
Laboratory Hours0.00.0

Course Student Hours

Course Duration (Weeks)
12.0
Hours per unit divisor
36.0
Course In-Class (Contact) Hours
Lecture
48.0
Laboratory
0.0
Total
48.0
Course Out-of-Class Hours
Lecture
96.0
Laboratory
0.0
NA
0.0
Total
96.0

Prerequisite(s)

Corequisite(s)

Advisory(ies)

EWRT D001A or EWRT D01AH or ESL D005.

Limitation(s) on Enrollment

(Not open to students with credit in the cross-listed course(s).)

(Also listed as WMST D025.)

Entrance Skill(s)

General Course Statement(s)

(See general education pages for the requirements this course meets.)

Methods of Instruction

Lecture and visual aids

Discussion of assigned reading

In-class exploration of Internet sites

Homework and extended projects

Collaborative learning and small group exercises

Collaborative projects

Quiz and examination review performed in class

Assignments

  1. Reading
    1. Reading assignments from the textbook and outside sources.
    2. Supplemental readings are assigned to provide more in-depth knowledge on specific topics and issues
  2. Writing
    1. Analytical essays.
    2. One research paper displaying the ability of the student to gather information, analyze perspectives, and create a coherent argument based on factual evidence from researched sources.
  3. Group Project
    1. Students will participate in a group project in conjunction with a specific topic pertaining to the course
    2. Each individual will write a paper analyzing the topic of their project.
  4. Class Discussion
    1. Students will actively participate in weekly class discussions on various topics throughout the course.
    2. Students will analyze and discuss various media content shown via class.

Methods of Evaluation

  1. Writing assignments such as analytical essays and a research paper to evaluate student's ability to synthesize course material and to discuss critically issues related to Black Feminism and Black Feminist Thought.
  2. Midterm and final exam with essay questions discussion content from lectures and readings to evaluate student's ability to provide a historical and aesthetic understanding of Black Feminism.
  3. Small group projects and class discussions to evaluate the student's ability to analyze and apply an understanding of differing perspectives.

Essential Student Materials/Essential College Facilities

Essential Student Materials: 
  • None.
Essential College Facilities:
  • None.

Examples of Primary Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisherDate/EditionISBN
Guy-Sheftall, Beverly, ed. Words of Fire: An Anthology of African American Feminist Thought. Introduction. New York: The New Press, 2011.
Cooper, Brittney C. Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower, New York: St. Martin's Press, 2018.
Taylor, K. How we get free: Black feminism and the Combahee River Collective, Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2018.
Collins, Patricia Hill. Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge,Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. Boston: UnwinHyman, 1990.
Hooks, Bell. Ain't I a woman : Black women and feminism. Boston, MA: South End Press, 1981.

Examples of Supporting Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisher
Hooks, Bell. Feminist theory from margin to center. Boston, MA: South End Press, 1984.
Hooks, Bell. Talking back: thinking feminist, thinking black. Boston, MA: South End Press, 1989.
Bowen, Angela. "Take Your Pageant and Shove It." In Radically Speaking: Feminism Reclaimed, ed. Diane Bell and Renate Klein. North Melbourne, Australia: Spinifex Press, 1996.
Brown, Ruth Nicole. Black Girlhood Celebration: Toward a Hip-Hop Feminist Pedagogy. New York: Peter Lang, 2009.
Sharpley-Whiting, T. Denean. Pimps Up, Ho's Down: Hip Hop's Hold on Young Black Women. New York: New York University Press, 2007.
Sharpley-Whiting, T. Denean. Pimps Up, Ho's Down: Hip Hop's Hold on Young Black Women. New York: New York University Press, 2007.
Bailey, Moya and Alexis Pauline Gumbs. "We Are the Ones we've Been Waiting For: Young Black Feminists Take Their Research and Activism Online." Ms. 20, no. 1 (Winter 2010): 41-42.
Coleman, Robin Means. "'ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES!' Black Women, Black Feminism in Feminist Media Studies." Feminist Media Studies 11, no. 1 (2011): 35-41.
Allen, Carol. Black Women Intellectuals: Strategies of Nation, Family, and Neighborhood in the Works of Pauline Hopkins, Jessie Fauset, and Marita Bonner. New York: Garland, 1998.
Byrd, Rudolph P., Johnnetta Betsch Cole, and Beverly Guy-Sheftall. I am Your Sister: Collected and Unpublished Writings of Audre Lorde. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
Harris, Laura Alexander. "Queer Black Feminism: The Pleasure Principle." Feminist Review 4, no. 4 (1996): 3-30.
Lorde, Audre. I Am Your Sister: Black Women Organizing Across Sexualities. Latham, NY: Kitchen Table, Women of Color Press, 1986.
Cooper, Denise. "Hip Hop Feminism: From Bitches to Queens and the Varied Experiences in Between." In Voices of a New Generation: A Feminist Anthology, eds. Sara Weir and Constance Faulkner. Boston: Pearson, 2004.
Crenshaw, Kimberle. "Beyond Racism and Misogyny: Black Feminism and the 2 Live Crew." Boston Review 16, no. 6 (1991): 6-33.
Wallace, Michele. "When Black Feminism Faces the Music and the Music is Rap." New York Times 29 July 1990, 12.
Brooks, Evelyn. "The Feminist Theology of the Black Baptist Church, 1880-1900 (1980)." In Class, Race, and Sex: The Dynamics of Control, eds. Amy Swerdlow and Hanna Lessinger. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1983.
Cole Johnnetta Betsch and Beverly Guy-Sheftall. Gender Talk: The Struggle for Women's Equality in African American Communities. New York: One World Ballantine Books, 2003.
Douglas, Kelly Brown. Sexuality and the Black Church: A Womanist Perspective. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1999.
McClaurin, Irma, ed. Black Feminist Anthropology: Theory, Politics, Praxis, and Poetics. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2001.
Mullings, Leith. "African-American Women Making Themselves: Notes on the Role of Black Feminist Research." Souls 2, no. 4 (Fall 2000): 18-29.
James, Joy and T. Denean Sharpley-Whiting. "The Black Feminist Reader." New York: Wiley-Blackwell, 2000.
Burack, Cynthia. Healing Identities: Black Feminist Thought and the Politics of Groups. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2004.
Combahee River Collective. The Combahee River Collective Statement: Black Feminist Organizing in the 1970s and 1980s. Lanham, New York: Kitchen Table, Women of Color Press, 1986.
Guy-Sheftall, Beverly. ":African American Women: The Legacy of Black Feminism." In Sisterhood is Forever: The Women's Anthology for a New Millennium, New York: Washington Square Press, 2003.

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

Course Objectives

  • Examine the historical roots of Black Feminism in the United States.
  • Analyze the historical, social, and cultural roles that gender, race, and identity play within institutions in the United States and learn how Black feminist navigate these roles.
  • Explore the intersection of Black feminist thought between dominant-culture feminist theory and Black racial identity.
  • Develop a critical consciousness around issues of gender, race, sexuality, and class on an individual and institutional level.
  • Examine the civic engagement of Black feminist in social, cultural, and political institutions in the United States.
  • Synthesize the course material in order to analyze and understand one's own social position and ways of transforming it

CSLOs

  • Demonstrate an awareness of some of the key theories and concepts of Black feminism.

  • Engage in critical dialogue about the basic ideas and principles that guide Black feminist theories in an inclusive and safe learning environment.

  • Analyze and articulate current issues from a Black feminist perspective.

  • Research local organizations which support the goals of Black women, and engage in community activities.

Outline

  1. Examine the historical roots of Black Feminism in the United States.
    1. Understand social constructions of identity.
    2. Learn the conceptual history of the terms "feminism" and "feminist."
    3. Understand the role of Black feminism in the Civil Rights Movement.
    4. Understand the role of Black feminism in the Women's Liberation Movement.
  2. Analyze the historical, social, and cultural roles that gender, race, and identity play within institutions in the United States and learn how Black feminists navigate these roles.
    1. Consider how Black feminism has affected the categories of "woman," "gender," "blackness," and "politics."
    2. Understand the social foundations of Black feminist thought.
    3. Analyze major Black feminist thinkers.
    4. Consider how Black feminists have resisted rage, alienation, and oppression.
  3. Explore the intersection of Black feminist thought between dominant-culture feminist theory and Black racial identity.
    1. Examine racism and its impact on the identity development of Black feminism and Black feminist.
    2. Evaluate sexism and its impact on the identity development of Black feminism and Black feminist.
    3. Critique intersecting oppressions and its impact on the identity development of Black feminism and Black feminist.
    4. Understand internalized oppression and its impact on the identity development of Black feminism and Black feminist.
  4. Develop a critical consciousness around issues of gender, race, sexuality, and class on an individual and institutional level.
    1. Examine the influences of privilege and oppression on the lives of Black women and their varied responses from a historical and contemporary perspective.
    2. Identify one's own complicity in the production and perpetuation of social hierarchies.
  5. Examine the civic engagement of Black feminists in social, cultural, and political institutions in the United States.
    1. Understand the role of Black feminism in larger social justice issues grounded in the United States.
    2. Assess the diversity and commonality among Black women intellectuals, both academic and nonacademic
  6. Synthesize the course material in order to analyze and understand one's own social position and ways of transforming it
    1. Reflect a sense of self
    2. Reflect on one's socialization process around concepts of feminism, gender roles, racism, and critical analysis.
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