Education 187 Contemporary Issues in Pan African Education Mondays & Wednesdays 9:00-10:50 Winter 2010, Moore Hall 2120 Professor: Office: 1022B Moore Hall; Hours: MW 11-12:30; Email: morrell@gseis.ucla.edu; Phone (310) 966-0538 (cell) Overview: This upper-division undergraduate seminar involves a survey of the historical and contemporary schooling conditions for African children on the continent and in the Diaspora. We will focus on the relationships between colonialism, capitalism, institutional racism, academic attainment, identity development, and the reproduction of social, economic, and racial inequality on a global level. This course begins with the understanding that it is important in our time to situate current issues of race and urban education within a larger historical and international perspective. Toward this end, we will read seminal pieces from history, sociology, African and African-American studies as well as educational studies that explore the conditions of educational apartheid as well as the contexts in which African and Diaspora students thrive. There will be space for students to develop final projects that explore aspects of race and education that are of interest to them (these are not limited to African and Diaspora education), and to explore these issues in the context of Pan-African education. Course Activities Class Readings and Class Discussion: Meaningful class discussion is a crucial part of the learning experience for students and instructors. Because I expect everyone to complete the class readings and come prepared for discussion, we will not have reading responses. This will give more time for individual writing projects. As such, preparing for class discussions will rely on students and the instructor thinking deeply about assigned readings—developing defensible interpretations, negotiating meanings, and drawing connections to other works, concepts, or phenomena. Anchoring a Discussion: During several of the class sessions, I will ask a small group to anchor a discussion over a set of readings. What this means is that the group in charge will come with a set of activities and questions to get the class involved in the readings for the session. Activities and discussions should last about an hour. Final Project For this final project, you will develop an original piece of scholarship related to Race and Education. You will have the option of doing something that is more conceptual or historical and library-based, something that draws upon theory to inform a practice (classroom, program, etc.) or something empirical where you are conducting primary research: An analysis of a pedagogical intervention in an urban K-12 classroom. An analysis of a whole school reform effort An analysis of a project or intervention in a community setting An historical analysis of an individual or of a cultural movement (i.e. Freedom Schools, Cuba Literacy Campaign, Zapatista Movement, Civil Rights Movement, Chicano Blowouts, etc.) A syllabus or curriculum that you might design for a K-12 class Works in Progress Conference During the final two class sessions, everyone will have a chance to share their ongoing or prospective work as it relates to the issues of the course. You should plan to give a 10-15 minute talk showing how your work intersects with the issues of race and urban education that are central to this course. You should also plan to distribute a handout (front and back side of a page) for your colleagues in the class. Course Texts: There are three key texts for the course: Woodson, C.G. (1933/2006). The Miseducation of the Negro Morrell, E. (2008). Contemporary Issues in Pan-African Education. Westwood, CA: UCLA. This course reader is available at Course Reader Material. 1081 Westwood (Entrance on Broxton) (310) 443-3303. Morrell Course idisk: http://idisk.mac.com/profmorrell Name: profmorrell; Password: morrell Themes and Course Topics THEME 1: Education, Colonization, and Resistance (3 WEEKS) WEEK I. Miseducation in colonial and postcolonial America JANUARY 4, 2010; Introduction JANUARY 6, 2010; READINGS: Woodson (1-74) WEEK II. Education as a tool of colonization JANUARY 11, 2010; READINGS: Woodson. The Miseducation of the Negro (US) (75-199) JANUARY 13, 2010; READINGS: DuBois, W.E.B. Souls of Black Folk (US); Fanon, F. A Dying Colonialism. (69-98) (Caribbean/Africa) WEEK III. Education as a tool of resistance to colonization JANUARY 20, 2010; READINGS: Hooks, b. Teaching to Transgress. 13-22; 59-76. (US), Biko, S. I Write What I Like (Africa), Black Panther 10-point program (US), Marcus Garvey pp. 17 (Caribbean/US) THEME 2: Geographical Perspectives (3 weeks) WEEK IV. Education of Africans in the United States JANUARY 25, 2010; READINGS: Anderson, J. The Education of Blacks in the South (US): Watkins. White Architects of Black Education. (1-33) (US) (53-88; 129-163) JANUARY 27, 2010; READINGS: U.S. Dept of Ed Data (website), Allen, W. Stony the Road We Trod, IDEA ED Opportunity Report for African-Americans (on course idisk) WEEK V. Education of Africans in Latin America & the Caribbean FEBRUARY 1, 2010: READINGS: Cuba Literacy Campaign & Cuba Early Grades (course idisk) FEBRUARY 3, 2010; READINGS: Caribbean Education Strategy (World Bank), The State of Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNESCO), & Global Education Digest (UNESCO) (on course idisk) WEEK VI. Education of Africans in Africa FEBRUARY 8, 2010: READINGS: General History of Africa pp. 678-705, Cabral, The Weapon of Theory (Cabral is on course idisk) FEBRUARY 10, 2010: READINGS: Global Education Digest (UNESCO) Education for All-Africa (UNESCO) (on course idisk) THEME 3: Toward an Empowering Pan-African Education (4 WEEKS) WEEK VII. Language, Culture, and Education FEBRUARY 15, 2010; READINGS: Fisher, “Spoken Word in Diaspora Communities,” Lee, “A Culturally Based Cognitive Apprenticeship” (both on course idisk) FEBRUARY 17, 2010; READINGS: Black Linguistics Essays on South Africa, pp. 117-132 WEEK VIII. Critical Pedagogy and African-American Education FEBRUARY 22, 2010; READINGS: Duncan-Andrade and Morrell (105-157) FEBRUARY 24, 2010: READINGS: Pollard and Ajirotutu. African-Centered Schooling in Theory and Practice pp.1-33. WEEK IX. Culturally and Socially Relevant Pedagogies MARCH 1, 2010; READINGS: Smitherman & Watson. Educating African-American Males (55-102) MARCH 3, 2010; READINGS: Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (L.I.F.E.) (UNESCO) (on course idisk) WEEK X. Works in Progress Conference & Potluck MARCH 8 & 10, 2010 Grading Class attendance and participation: 30% Anchoring a group discussion: 10% Presentation at Works-in-Progress conference: 20% Final Assignment: 40%