END-OF-BOOK RESEARCH ASSIGNMENTS
Project 1: Debating the Concepts of Separatism vs. Integration
Towards the end of the semester, divide the class into several groups and organize an
in-class debate based on student response to the following question: How have
African Americans addressed the complex issue of separatism vs. integration in the
past three hundred years of U.S. history? Allow the students to take two weeks to
meet in groups, conduct research, and arrive at various positions and answers on the
subject. Historical evidence from the text as well as films shown in class should be
marshaled by each group to explain how black institutions, people, and movements
have responded to racism and segregation over time.
Project 2: Connecting Current Events to Historical Themes
Design an assignment covering the entire semester that asks students to collect
contemporary and recent news article on a wide range of issues in black history from
the internet or other useful sources of historical current events. Students should
designate a special folder to collect the articles and provide a written summary of
each article in a journal during the semester. The students should collate their articles
with the idea of writing both an essay and designing an oral presentation on how
current news stories reflect the relevant themes, trends, and findings in black history
presented in the textbook.
Project 3: Analyzing Web Pages
Divide the class into several groups and assign a web-based project that asks each
group to locate and analyze 25 scholarly-based websites that focus on any subject
related to African American history. Each group will need to divide up the work
fairly for all students involved in the project. Be sure to either explain to students or
have them read an article about the important differences between scholarly vs.
amateur websites. The instructor or the class as a whole will need to develop a set list
of criteria in which to analyze the websites. Some of the criteria may include: How
does the site use visual imagery to convey historical information? What elements
does the website omit from its presentation of black history? What qualifies as an
excellent vs. mediocre black history-based website? Each student will turn in a six-
page essay based on their findings. Each group will also provide a group presentation
on the various types of sites they found, and the usefulness of each site.
Project 4: Understanding Museum Presentations
Locate the relevant history-based museums and other institutions in your community
that cover black history and provide students with a map or internet link to find the
sites. These museums should range from county and town institutions to larger state
and national sites if available in the local community. The assignment consists of
students visiting the locations, taking notes in visual and written form, and writing a
six-page essay based on how museums convey information about black history.
Assign a relevant article that will assist students in analyzing museum displays.
Students may discover that museums omit or downplay black history in favor of other
, subjects in U.S. history. Students should also be prepared to present their findings in
an oral presentation of fifteen to twenty minutes conducted at the end of the semester.
Project 5: Discovering Oral History
At the start of the semester, assign a lengthy oral history project for individual
students to complete through the writing of a research paper of eight or more pages.
The assignment also includes a fifteen to twenty minute oral presentation at the end of
the semester based on student findings. Students will need to locate one or more
people of African American descent willing to participate in an interview about the
history of their family. Students will also need to design specific questions to ask
their subject regarding family history and its intersection with overall trends in black
history. Be sure to have students read an article on the ethics and mechanics of
conducting oral history interviews before assigning the project. Hold a class
discussion about the proper methods of doing oral history, and the problems to avoid
in the process.
CHAPTER 1: AFRICA
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
Africa was the birthplace of humanity and African-American history and culture over one
million years ago. The geography of Africa divides the continent into North Africa and sub-
Saharan Africa. The Sahara desert, both barrier and pathway, helped to shape a broader
African experience from the foundations of civilization in ancient Egypt to the tribal and
Muslim kingdoms of West Africa before the arrival of Europeans. Africans adopted a wide
range of religious practices while herding livestock and growing grain crops. African
civilizations competed against one another for regional supremacy, lands, and resources,
including access to a slave trade controlled by Muslim states.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1-1 What are the geographical characteristics of Africa?
1-2 Where and how did humans originate?
1-3 Why are ancient African civilizations important?
1-4 Why is West Africa significant for African-American history?
,1-5 What did Kongo and Angola have in common with West Africa?
1-6 How did the legacies of West African society and culture influence the way
African Americans lived?
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. A Huge and Diverse Land
a. Climatic zones shaped African history. (See Lecture Starter 1 and MyLab Activity 1.)
b. The Sahara Desert limited contact between sub-Saharan Africa and the outside
world.
c. A huge savanna stretches from Ethiopia to the Atlantic Ocean.
d. The rain forest extends east from the Atlantic coast over most of central Africa.
e. Another region of savanna borders the rain forest to the south, followed by the
Kalahari Desert.
f. A coastal strip lies at the continent’s southern extremity. (See Short Assignment 1.)
II. The Birthplace of Humanity
a. Humans, gorillas and chimpanzees descended from a common ancestor in Africa
five to ten million years ago.
b. The origins of humanity lie in the savanna regions of Africa.
c. The earliest known hominids were the Ardipithecines, who emerged about 4.5
million years ago.
d. 3.4 million years ago, descendents of Ardipithecines, known as Australopithecus,
used primitive stone tools.
e. 2.4 million years ago, Homo habilis had developed a larger brain than Ardipitecus or
Australopithecus
f. Homo habilis lived in small bands.
g. Homo habilis may have spread to southeastern Europe.
, h. Homo erectus emerged in Africa about 1.6 million years ago and spread from Africa
to eastern Asia and Indonesia.
i. Homo sapiens, modern humans, evolved from Homo erectus.
j. Paleoanthropologists agree that modern humans, Homo sapiens, evolved from Homo
erectus, but they disagree on how: according to the multiregional model, modern
humans evolved throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe from ancestral regional
populations of Homo erectus and archaic Homo sapiens; according to the out-of-
Africa model, modern humans emerged in Africa some 200,000 years ago and began
migrating to the rest of the world about 100,000 years ago, eventually replacing all
other existing hominid populations. (See Lecture Starter 2.)
III. Ancient Civilizations and Old Arguments
a. Egypt emerged in the Nile River valley in the fourth millennium bce.
b. Village life in Egypt became hierarchical and specialized.
c. The race of the ancient Egyptians is controversial. (See Classroom Activity 2.)
d. Egyptians did not use modern racial terminology.
e. The Nile provided resources and protection from outsiders.
f. Egypt became a unified kingdom around 3150 bce.
g. Egypt became an empire around 1550–1100 bce. (See Classroom Activity 1.)
h. After 1100 bce, Egyptian culture declined because of outside attack.
i. The Roman Empire conquered Egypt in 30 bce.
j. Egyptian culture influenced Nubia.
k. Nubians established Kush as an independent kingdom.
l. Kush fell to the neighboring Noba people.
m. Noba fell to Axum, the first Christian state in sub-Saharan Africa.
IV. West Africa
a. Most African Americans descend from West Africa.
b. West African agriculture began around 1000 bce.
Project 1: Debating the Concepts of Separatism vs. Integration
Towards the end of the semester, divide the class into several groups and organize an
in-class debate based on student response to the following question: How have
African Americans addressed the complex issue of separatism vs. integration in the
past three hundred years of U.S. history? Allow the students to take two weeks to
meet in groups, conduct research, and arrive at various positions and answers on the
subject. Historical evidence from the text as well as films shown in class should be
marshaled by each group to explain how black institutions, people, and movements
have responded to racism and segregation over time.
Project 2: Connecting Current Events to Historical Themes
Design an assignment covering the entire semester that asks students to collect
contemporary and recent news article on a wide range of issues in black history from
the internet or other useful sources of historical current events. Students should
designate a special folder to collect the articles and provide a written summary of
each article in a journal during the semester. The students should collate their articles
with the idea of writing both an essay and designing an oral presentation on how
current news stories reflect the relevant themes, trends, and findings in black history
presented in the textbook.
Project 3: Analyzing Web Pages
Divide the class into several groups and assign a web-based project that asks each
group to locate and analyze 25 scholarly-based websites that focus on any subject
related to African American history. Each group will need to divide up the work
fairly for all students involved in the project. Be sure to either explain to students or
have them read an article about the important differences between scholarly vs.
amateur websites. The instructor or the class as a whole will need to develop a set list
of criteria in which to analyze the websites. Some of the criteria may include: How
does the site use visual imagery to convey historical information? What elements
does the website omit from its presentation of black history? What qualifies as an
excellent vs. mediocre black history-based website? Each student will turn in a six-
page essay based on their findings. Each group will also provide a group presentation
on the various types of sites they found, and the usefulness of each site.
Project 4: Understanding Museum Presentations
Locate the relevant history-based museums and other institutions in your community
that cover black history and provide students with a map or internet link to find the
sites. These museums should range from county and town institutions to larger state
and national sites if available in the local community. The assignment consists of
students visiting the locations, taking notes in visual and written form, and writing a
six-page essay based on how museums convey information about black history.
Assign a relevant article that will assist students in analyzing museum displays.
Students may discover that museums omit or downplay black history in favor of other
, subjects in U.S. history. Students should also be prepared to present their findings in
an oral presentation of fifteen to twenty minutes conducted at the end of the semester.
Project 5: Discovering Oral History
At the start of the semester, assign a lengthy oral history project for individual
students to complete through the writing of a research paper of eight or more pages.
The assignment also includes a fifteen to twenty minute oral presentation at the end of
the semester based on student findings. Students will need to locate one or more
people of African American descent willing to participate in an interview about the
history of their family. Students will also need to design specific questions to ask
their subject regarding family history and its intersection with overall trends in black
history. Be sure to have students read an article on the ethics and mechanics of
conducting oral history interviews before assigning the project. Hold a class
discussion about the proper methods of doing oral history, and the problems to avoid
in the process.
CHAPTER 1: AFRICA
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
Africa was the birthplace of humanity and African-American history and culture over one
million years ago. The geography of Africa divides the continent into North Africa and sub-
Saharan Africa. The Sahara desert, both barrier and pathway, helped to shape a broader
African experience from the foundations of civilization in ancient Egypt to the tribal and
Muslim kingdoms of West Africa before the arrival of Europeans. Africans adopted a wide
range of religious practices while herding livestock and growing grain crops. African
civilizations competed against one another for regional supremacy, lands, and resources,
including access to a slave trade controlled by Muslim states.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1-1 What are the geographical characteristics of Africa?
1-2 Where and how did humans originate?
1-3 Why are ancient African civilizations important?
1-4 Why is West Africa significant for African-American history?
,1-5 What did Kongo and Angola have in common with West Africa?
1-6 How did the legacies of West African society and culture influence the way
African Americans lived?
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. A Huge and Diverse Land
a. Climatic zones shaped African history. (See Lecture Starter 1 and MyLab Activity 1.)
b. The Sahara Desert limited contact between sub-Saharan Africa and the outside
world.
c. A huge savanna stretches from Ethiopia to the Atlantic Ocean.
d. The rain forest extends east from the Atlantic coast over most of central Africa.
e. Another region of savanna borders the rain forest to the south, followed by the
Kalahari Desert.
f. A coastal strip lies at the continent’s southern extremity. (See Short Assignment 1.)
II. The Birthplace of Humanity
a. Humans, gorillas and chimpanzees descended from a common ancestor in Africa
five to ten million years ago.
b. The origins of humanity lie in the savanna regions of Africa.
c. The earliest known hominids were the Ardipithecines, who emerged about 4.5
million years ago.
d. 3.4 million years ago, descendents of Ardipithecines, known as Australopithecus,
used primitive stone tools.
e. 2.4 million years ago, Homo habilis had developed a larger brain than Ardipitecus or
Australopithecus
f. Homo habilis lived in small bands.
g. Homo habilis may have spread to southeastern Europe.
, h. Homo erectus emerged in Africa about 1.6 million years ago and spread from Africa
to eastern Asia and Indonesia.
i. Homo sapiens, modern humans, evolved from Homo erectus.
j. Paleoanthropologists agree that modern humans, Homo sapiens, evolved from Homo
erectus, but they disagree on how: according to the multiregional model, modern
humans evolved throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe from ancestral regional
populations of Homo erectus and archaic Homo sapiens; according to the out-of-
Africa model, modern humans emerged in Africa some 200,000 years ago and began
migrating to the rest of the world about 100,000 years ago, eventually replacing all
other existing hominid populations. (See Lecture Starter 2.)
III. Ancient Civilizations and Old Arguments
a. Egypt emerged in the Nile River valley in the fourth millennium bce.
b. Village life in Egypt became hierarchical and specialized.
c. The race of the ancient Egyptians is controversial. (See Classroom Activity 2.)
d. Egyptians did not use modern racial terminology.
e. The Nile provided resources and protection from outsiders.
f. Egypt became a unified kingdom around 3150 bce.
g. Egypt became an empire around 1550–1100 bce. (See Classroom Activity 1.)
h. After 1100 bce, Egyptian culture declined because of outside attack.
i. The Roman Empire conquered Egypt in 30 bce.
j. Egyptian culture influenced Nubia.
k. Nubians established Kush as an independent kingdom.
l. Kush fell to the neighboring Noba people.
m. Noba fell to Axum, the first Christian state in sub-Saharan Africa.
IV. West Africa
a. Most African Americans descend from West Africa.
b. West African agriculture began around 1000 bce.
