SC4 is offering an exciting new online history course this fall. Professor Patricia Frank completed her master’s thesis on African-American history and is looking forward to sharing her expertise with students enrolled in HIS 233 —African American History.
The course focuses on the time period from 1619 up until Reconstruction and includes materials through the lens of the African-American experience. The class begins with a review of major African kingdoms and their early interactions with Europeans and Muslims. The Atlantic Slave trade is then covered, with the capture of Africans, the horrific Middle Passage and sale in the Americas. The course also includes material regarding life and work among enslaved people and free blacks, rebellions and revolts, abolitionists, the Civil War, and the era of Reconstruction.
According to Frank, “The text is heavily biography based, so not only will students learn the broad outline of American history and the African American experience, but this format allows them to ‘meet’ specific individuals which should help them feel a more intimate connection to the material.”
Understanding African American history is crucial to understanding American history and will benefit students in the world today. “I hope students understand that there would be no America as we know it without the toil, suffering, and contributions of African-Americans,” said Frank.
To quote Martin Luther King, Jr, “When the history books are written in future generations, the historians will say, “There lived a great people – a black people – who injected new meaning and dignity into the veins of civilization.”
“I also hope students will reflect on the constitutional promises the United States made to all of its citizens, be aware of the struggles that have been fought to try to realize those promises, and join the work yet to be done to fulfill the claim that ‘all people are created equal’ with rights to ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’,” continued Frank.
Professor Frank is eager to teach this course as it allows her to revisit an important topic in history. “I especially like seeing how this field has changed and evolved,” expressed Frank. “I’ve spent the past several months preparing course materials.”
Registration is now open for fall semester, which begins Aug. 23. There is still time to enroll in HIS 233 as well as other diversity, equity and inclusion relation courses. Check out a full list of classes being offered at sc4.edu/schedule.
New to campus, visit sc4.edu/starthere. Professor Frank and the SC4 campus community look forward to welcoming you to campus.
