This course deals with various religious topics, such as Mass Religious Conversion.

This course is designed to be an exploration of the rise of the new Black elite and their contributions to business in America, their lifestyles, and the intraracial diversity of their socioeconomic origins. Little social science research has considered the unique location of Black American professionals within America's racialized class structure. Despite marked gains since the Civil Rights Movement, American Blacks still comprise just 2% of executives and senior manager-level employees, and just a handful (<1%) of Fortune 500 companies are led by Black CEOs. Notably, Black women currently account for only 1.6% of vice presidents and 1.4% of C-suite executives compared to white men who hold 57% and 68% of those positions, respectively. Together, we will examine the origins and worldviews of the old Black elite compared to the new Black professional class and how their variegated racial, ethnic, and class experiences in corporate America remain tethered to the "peculiar" history of Black slavery and our enduring racial stratification system. Whatever their socioeconomic origins, Black professionals are well-credentialed to assume leadership roles both inside and outside the Black community in the U.S. The use of the delimiter 'Black' nonetheless recognizes how race interacts with social class to prevent Black Americans from attaining social and economic parity with whites even at the top of the class hierarchy; for Blacks, social class is racialized concept intrinsically linked to the legacy of structural racism in all its economic, political, cultural, and social manifestations Bearing all this in mind: Who is the new Black professional class? What are their origins and how do they reflect the ideals and attitudes of 21st Century Black America? What are their contributions to corporate America? In what ways does structural racism differentially impact their career trajectories and structural integration into the corporate mainstream? How do they cope with white racism and lack of representation beyond middle management? And, what lessons can we learn from their professional and personal experiences to shed light on the enduring legacy of Black inequality and the structural impediments all Blacks in the U.S. face as they strive to acquire intergenerational mobility? We will study the historical presence of Blacks in certain industries since 1865, how racial, ethnic, gender, and class diversity within Black America have affected access and opportunities for advancement, as well as the legacy of deliberate federal programs and policies that have stymied Black professional advancement. Particularly salient to our discussion here is the steering of Blacks into

In his 1995 documentary Black Is, Black Ain t Marlon Riggs traces a black cultural tradition while simultaneously destabilizing the very notion of blackness itself. He testifies that: Black is black, and black is blue. Black is bright. Black is you. Black can do you in. In Riggs configuration, black is a color, black is a feeling, black is a sound, black is materiality, and black is a life sentence. In an effort to raise critical questions around blackness, performance, race, and feeling, this course follows in the tradition of Riggs work. In other words, this graduate level course examines the notion of blackness through theorizations of performance. It pursues the following questions: What is blackness? How is blackness embodied, felt, heard, represented, and seen through performance? How is black performance political? Discussions and written work will interrogate the slipperiness of, desire for, and policing of blackness in order to trouble conceptions of race as a biological essence. Organized by keywords in the field of Black Performance Theory - and exploring varying performance forms (the play, the dance, the film, the photograph, the performance of everyday life, the television program, the exhibit, and even the tweet) - This course foregrounds the micro-politics through which black racialized subjects are shaped in the realm of culture. Performances will be consulted each meeting which we will use to interpret and complicate the day's readings. In examining blackness through a number of performance mediums, we will consider the politics of black creative labor and the processes of racialization produced through black bodies.

The Indian Ocean region represents an area with interwoven centuries of interactions, politically, historically, geographically and culturally. This area has witnessed continuous migrations of peoples, the circulation of goods and ideas, and the interaction with foreign forces. The Indian Ocean world has served as an epicenter of global economy in pre-modern world and as such, it gave rise to trading networks and political empires. As part of the Indian Ocean World, the eastern and southern shores of Africa are both the recipients and the transmitters of cultural and political icons. The existence of many islands that separate Africa from Asia stand as hybrid cultures that are influenced by forces from different continents. Political and cultural relations between African regions and the rest of the Indian Ocean world are evident with the presence of African-descent populations in these places, as well as the prevalent of cultural practices of African origin. Signs of interaction between the Indian Ocean world and the African shores are apparent in several archeological sites, as well as in the cultural practices of religion, language, architecture and modes of dress. The European colonial expansion, has allowed the populations in the Indian Ocean world to share strategies during their independence movements to thwart western political hegemony. With the current advanced forms of globalization, this region is moving more towards economic and political cooperation and in addressing the transnational natural and man-made threats.

Arabic language is used by many societies not only in communication but also in correspondence and in documenting the affairs of their daily lives. Arabic script is adopted by many groups whose native languages are not Arabic, in writing their languages before some moved to the Roman alphabet. In many historical documents specific style of writing and handwriting are dominant. This specificity is influenced by the dialectical variations, the historical development of each region and the level of Arabic literacy and use. The aims of this course which will focus on the Arabic writing tradition of Africa and the Middle East are as follows: (1) Reading and interpreting hand-written Arabic documents from Africa and the Middle East with focus on different historical eras. (2) In-depth understanding of the historical and language contexts of the selected documents. (3) Examining different handwriting styles that are in vogue in Africa and the Middle East.

Why are African Americans and some other minority groups disproportionately incarcerated and subjected to penal sanctions? What are the political, social and economic consequences for individuals, communities, and the wider society of mass incarceration in the United States? What types of reforms of the criminal justice system are desirable and possible? This advanced seminar analyzes the connection between race, crime, punishment, and politics in the United States. The primary focus is on the role of race in explaining why the country's prison population increased six-fold since the early 1970s and why the United States today has the highest incarceration rate in the world. The class will likely take field trips to a maximum-security jail in Philadelphia and to a state prison in the Philadelphia suburbs.

On the stage of modern world history, Haiti plays the unique role as both the exceptionally victorious and tragic character. This course interrogates archival documents, oral histories, historical texts, and prose created within the nation and her diaspora in order to establish a nuanced image of the projection of Haiti's modern history. Using two classic Haitian texts, Marie Vieux-Chauvet's Love, Anger, Madness (1968) and Michel-Rolph Trouillot's Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History (1995),this course examines how, why,and to what end Haiti's history and popular narratives about the country have served to construct and dismantle global movements, popular culture, and meanings of race, gender, and citizenship in the Americas. In our historical examination, we will question some of the iconic representations of Haiti through literature that deepen the affective historical profile of Haiti with interrogations of culture, sexuality, political, and media performance. Students will become familiar with the post -colonial history of Haiti and the region, meanings of race, and the production of history. The course is a research and historical methods seminar. Students will conduct archival research and write narratives from primary source material. This course qualifies as a "methods" course for Africana Studies undergraduate majors and minors.

Topics vary. See the Africana Studies Department's course list at https://africana.sas.upenn.edu for a description of the current offering. After an examination of the philosophical, legal, and political perspectives on Human Rights, this course will focus on US policies and practices relevant to Human Rights. Toward that end, emphasis will be placed on both the domestic and the international aspects of Human Rights as reflected in US policies and practices. Domestically, the course will discuss (1) the process of incorporating the International Bill of Human Rights into the American legal system and (2) the US position on and practices regarding the political, civil, economic, social, and cultural rights of minorities and various other groups within the US. Internationally, the course will examine US Human Rights policies toward Africa. Specific cases of Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa and Egypt, as well as other cases from the continent, will be presented in the assessment of US successes and failures in the pursuit of its Human Rights strategy in Africa. Readings will include research papers, reports, statutes, treaties, and cases.

This course is an examination and analysis of the changing images and achievements of African Americans in motion pictures and television. The first half of the course focuses on African-American film images from the early years of D.W. Griffith's "renegade bucks" in The Birth of a Nation (1915); to the comic servants played by Steppin Fetchit, Hattie McDaniel, and others during the Depression era; to the post-World War II New Negro heroes and heroines of Pinky (1949) and The Defiant Ones (1958); to the rise of the new movement of African American directors such as Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing), Julie Dash (Daughters of the Dust), Charles Burnett, (To Sleep With Anger) and John Singleton (Boyz N the Hood). The second half explores television images from the early sitcoms "Amos 'n Andy" and "Beulah" to the "Cosby Show," "Fresh Prince of Bel Air," and "Martin." Foremost this course will examine Black stereotypes in American films and television--and the manner in which those stereotypes have reflected national attitudes and outlooks during various historical periods. The in-class screenings and discussions will include such films as Show Boat (1936), the independently produced "race movies" of the 1930s and 1940s, Cabin in the Sky (1943), The Defiant Ones (1958), Imitation of Life (the 1959 remake) & Super Fly (1972).

The purpose of this course is to engage students in the rigorous process of mining experiences for material that can be transformed into a public performance piece. In-class writing, group discussions, and field work in the Philadelphia area. AUGUST WILSON AND BEYOND. The people need to know the story. See how they fit into it. See what part they play. - August Wilson, King Hedley II. In this seminar, students will read groundbreaking playwright August Wilson's 20th Century Cycle: ten plays that form an iconic picture of African American traumas, triumphs, and traditions through the decades, told through the lens of Pittsburgh's Hill District neighborhood. Other readings include supporting material on Wilson's work and African American theatre, the works of contemporary playwrights whom Wilson has influenced (such as Suzan-Lori Parks and Tarell Alvin McCraney), and context on Penn's relationship with West Philadelphia. As an Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) course,this seminar gives students the opportunity to enhance their understanding of the plays, and history and culture that shaped them, by forming meaningful relationships with West Philadelphia residents. Wilson's plays provide the bridge between the two groups. The course culminates with students writing an original theatre piece inspired by the readings and relationships, which they will share at an end-of-semester performance.