Black Manhattan: A Cultural History of New York City

Level: Undergraduate

Division: The New School for Public Engagement

School: School of Undergraduate Studies

Department: Humanities

Course Number: NHUM 3030

Course Format: Lecture

Location: NYC campus

Permission Required: No

Topics:

• Cultural Studies
• Ethnic Studies
• Urban Studies

Description:
This course focuses on the rich history of African-American culture in New York City beginning with the slavery period in the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam. We look at the pre-Civil War struggles in the Black community in the years following statewide emancipation, culminating in the New York Draft Riots. We then trace the rise of the Harlem Renaissance and its influence across the nation and around the globe. We pay particular attention to the ways women and Caribbean immigrants helped shape one of the most dynamic and creative periods in American history. In the final sessions, we explore the role of African-Americans in World War II and the 1940s racial violence in Harlem---which helped ignite the modern civil rights movement---as well as the political and public roles of Malcolm X, Adam Clayton Powell, Al Sharpton, and others.