Civic Communication and Media

CCM 346 African American Public Discourse (4)

This course demonstrates that Black rhetors have utilized a broad range of media to challenge American conceptions of citizenship, justice, and equality. By surveying nearly 200 years of primary documents created by Black rhetors, CCM 346 conveys the variety of appeals calling for: the recognition of black humanity, the protection of the nation's African American citizens against systemic racialized violence, and the celebration of a broad range of contributions Black people make to public life. Just as current protest movements draw strength and substance from a rich tradition of African American advocacy, this tradition inspires scholars across disciplinary lines. Historians, Literary Scholars, and students of Communication alike turn to Black rhetors' discourse to better understand patterns of argument, stylistic artistry, and the multiple ways in which texts operate in context. CCM 346 engages secondary scholarship that contextualizes the people and texts students encounter to both enrich their understanding of this discourse and also to serve as models for their own analyses of African American Public Discourse.

• General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Arts & Humanities; PDE
• Offering: Annually
• Instructor: Parker Brooks