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What is African-American Studies?
1. Read: African American Studies, An Intro.pdf Download African American Studies, An Intro – see attached
2. Respond to 3  peers – as they came up with different interpretations or emphasized items different than yours.  Refute or agree with their claims, but use evidence from the readings. This assessment will address Course Outcomes:
peer 1: Morgan Hicks
African-American Studies is the study of the history, culture, and politics of people of African descent. To me, it is the awareness of the impact that African American history has on everything. As well as the understanding of the experiences of people of African descent. This study allows people to take a dive into African American lives and what has impacted us to get to where we are now. African Americans are Americans who have African ancestors. These ancestors were captured in Africa and brought to America without choice. This study shows how the treatment of our ancestors plays a crucial role in our behavior, culture, and traditions. Some achievements include the creation of historically Black Colleges/Universities that focus on emphasizing Black culture and fair quality education. Likewise, the important theories that came about due to African American study are literary criticism, black feminist thought, and social change theories (Theories and Paradigms of Traditional Disciplines, 12). These theories provided new perspectives to aid in understanding and solving perpetual issues. The controversy over the mission of African American Studies comes from the study constantly challenging traditional academic boundaries (Questions, Crisis, and Criticism, 5). This leads to resistance from people who view the field as lacking in rigor or focus because your thinking is challenged. Many may label African American Studies as overly radical and political because it addresses topics like systemic racism and white supremacy. These challenges take away from the importance of African American studies and paint the wrong picture, leading to no change or understanding.
peer 2:  Lynette Friend
African American Studies is an academic discipline that focuses on the history, culture, and experiences of African Americans in the United States. African American Studies started in the early 1900’s. The studies try to get people of non-African descent to understand the contributions, struggles, and achievements of African Americans throughout history. It also explains the impact of slavery, segregation, and systemic racism on the African American community. African Americans studies also help with social policies a positive way towards the lives of Black people.  
Some of the most important achievement was a monograph series by W.E.B.DuBois  (page 3, less paragraph). An idea from Woodson where he founded the association for the study of life in history to ensure the history of African people would no longer be permitted from the worlds historical record (page 4 top of the page). Another achievement is the result of efforts by Woodson and the association that many colleges began to offer the course for black studies in America (page four paragraph two). 
African American Studies faces challenges such as a decline in the commitment and support from white colleges and universities also from black institutions (page 5 paragraph one). Another challenge is the relationship between the African Americans study programs and the communities outside the universities (page 15 paragraph two.) Lastly, a challenge of the presence and contributions of African American women in the field. (page 6 first paragraph). 
peer 3: Jayda Henderson
African American Studies can impart knowledge on what it was like to be African Americans during slavery and segregation, and I believe that African American Studies benefits minorities in education. Educating us Our understanding of why history keeps repeating itself can be improved by studying African Americans. It demonstrates why historically black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, have significance to black communities.
Those who have taken African American studies courses have been among the first to receive master’s and doctoral degrees. For both white and black students, African American Studies offers many social questions and answers that would otherwise go unanswered. It established a system of order on campus.
Due to the lack of knowledge made possible by African American Studies, African American academics had been excluded from the field’s founding. due to a lack of a representative, as well as a lack of knowledge and empowerment for kids and families.”The institutionalization of African American Studies has resulted in the disenfranchisement of the American people from the intellectual pursuits of this facility and student in the African American Studies,” states a statement on page 33 under the section “African Studies Now: Some Challenges and Direction.” 

TOPIC : [Have you ever wondered where a food was from? Where did a spice originate, or was a meat first
prepared in a specific way, or did several ingredients come together?]
Assignment: Choose a food (a plant, animal, or dish/recipe) and research its origins. Write an essay
that summarizes your findings. You may use non-scholarly sources, such as cookbooks or other
popular writing, 
but 1) no Wikipedia (not because it is necessarily wrong, but because we often can’t
evaluate the original source of its information), 2) all sources you use must be referenced on a Works
Cited page, 3) you must find at least three sources, and 4) you must cite specific pieces of
information so that we know their source. See citation instructions below. 
Each essay must be 400-500 words in length, double-spaced, with 1-inch margins and 12 point font.
Essays shorter (or longer!) than this will be penalized, although if you are asked to complete
additional documents (e.g., a list) as part of your assignment that page will not count towards the
word limit. You do not need a title page; just write the title and your name at the top of the first
page, along with the assignment topic number. Your paper must have a title that reflects the content
of your specific essay. Please include a separate “Works Cited” page if you have sources to cite – i.e.,
anything you used beyond class notes and your own experience. Be sure to check your paper for
spelling, grammar, and other typographical errors before turning it in. If you do not follow these
formatting guidelines, you will not be able to earn full points on the paper.   
Justify your points by citing relevant points, but given the brevity of these essays you may not use
lengthy quotations (avoid even a long sentence) and should avoid summary of single works in favor
of a synthesis of your own creation. You must properly cite all information presented in your paper
using parenthetical in-text citations following the format below: (Author date:page numbers). The
following are examples of the types of statements you might make in your paper and how they
should be credited:
1. Many peoples in northern China enjoy noodles as a part of everyday cuisine. [Here there
is no citation needed since this is information that you would find in a number of places
and is not an opinion or conclusion of one author].
2. Sites of the Neolithic period in China also include those of the Yangshao culture, as seen
at sites such as Banpo, where the inhabitants planted and harvested rice, millet, and
cabbage (Feder 2004:360). [Here the citation lets the reader know that the information
has been complied by a specific person in a specific way; the citation gives credit to the
author for his hard work and also points the reader towards the location of additional
information if it is needed. The page number is used even though this is not a direct
quote because it will help the reader locate the information within a longer work]. 
3. The Great Wall, just like other monuments such as Stonehenge and the ancient pyramids
of Egypt, may be “merely the incidental effects of the evolution of complex social,
political and economic structures” (Feder 2004:397). [Here you make use of the author’s
eloquence and credit his words directly with quotation marks and a page number with
the reference – you must include a page number with any direct quote].