Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2017 - HIST 440 D100

Selected Topics in US History (4)

Myths and Realities of Martin L.King & MalcolmX

Class Number: 2995

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 5 – Dec 4, 2017: Wed, 9:30 a.m.–1:20 p.m.
    Vancouver

  • Prerequisites:

    45 units, including nine units of lower division history.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

An examination of selected topics in United States history. Content may vary from offering to offering. See course outline for further information. HIST 440 may be repeated for credit only when a different topic is taught.

COURSE DETAILS:

Without a doubt, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. are the most iconic figures of the civil rights era in the United States. Both men have been memorialized  in t.v., film, and music; on postage stamps; by street names; and, in King’s case, by a national holiday. Despite this recognition, the facts of their life have been hidden or distorted by mythology, including a predominant one about their binary opposition. These simplistic renderings obscure what are much more complex and interesting life stories than popular and official memory has allowed. This course will examine both men’s lives, exploring the similarities and differences in their ideas and their activism, as well as their rise to fame (or infamy). This course will offer students a new lens through which to understand African American history and the history of race in the United States.

Grading

  • Informed and Enthusiastic Participation 20%
  • Weekly Blog Submissions 15%
  • Paper Proposal 5%
  • Primary Source Analysis 10%
  • Annotated Bibliography 15%
  • Final Paper 35%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

David Levering Lewis, King: A Biography (Champaign-Urbana, University of Illinois Press, 2013).

Manning Marable, Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention (New York: Penguin Books, 2011).

Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and the Civil Rights Struggle of the 1950s and 1960s, David Howard-Pitney, ed. (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s 2004).

Registrar Notes:

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://students.sfu.ca/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS