Freedom Papers: Narratives of Race and Nation

This is a 3-week online course that explores the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. constitution, the Federalist Papers, and the Emancipation Proclamation, with deeper interdisciplinary inquiry into how the principles and provisions of these documents affect the everyday lives of Black citizens starting in the seventeenth century to the present. The Black experience is woven within these documents which is part of the fabric to be examined by the evolving definition of freedom in the United States. Through an analysis of the history and writings of Black Americans that struggled with the country’s founding principles and core values. And to this day, Black Americans, more than any other group, embrace the democratic ideals of a common good. 

Through readings, lectures, videos, discussion questions and quizzes, the students will develop an understanding of the societal values and norms that frame the call for self-governance, individual rights, and free expression. Students will be asked to identify and contextualize the consequences of these practices in the United States with particular attention to the ways that Black Americans have worked to make the critical ethical codes and moral theories more inclusive.

Learning Objectives/Outcomes

Upon completion of the course, students should be able to:

• Identify the source and function of values through an analysis of the content and form of the United States founding documents, which include the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, the Federalist Papers, and the Emancipation Proclamation.
• Compare the values, norms, and ideals of freedom expressed in the U.S. founding documents and selected works by prominent Black Americans.
  Identify the importance of values, ethics, and social responsibility for the self and for contemporary society as discussed and brought out in a range of
• interdisciplinary writings and cultural materials by African Americans.
• Reflect on how values shape personal and community ethics and decision-making, both within the texts and in the societies they describe.
• Relate course discussions of values, ethics, and responsibilities to students’ own capacities to address ethical and social challenges