Course Title: The Social Organization of Black Communities 

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This course introduces the experiences, cultural histories, and community formations shaping the social organization of Black American communities across the 20th and 21st centuries. Situated in the UCDC “Cultural and Historical Narratives” area, the course analyzes how historical memory, identity, politics, and culture interact with institutional power to shape contemporary Black life. Drawing on sociology, history, political science, and Africana studies, we explore DC’s unique landscape—its Black neighborhoods, cultural institutions, archival collections, and policy sites—to understand how Black communities narrate their past and build futures.

 There are four interrelated aims for this course: 1)Introduce students to significant drivers of the social organization of Black American communities, 2) Improve student’s thinking and writing on topics and themes at the nexus of race, place, and American history and contemporary realities, and 3) Expose students to a variety of scholars, disciplines, and experiences used to examine, analyze and explain the social organization of Black American communities, and 4) Analyze how historical and cultural narratives shape contemporary policy debates and public discourse.