Prof. Chris Manning Teaches First Online Summer Graduate Course

This summer, Dr. Chris Manning will teach the History Department's first-ever online graduate course, History 410: African-American Chicago. Spanning from the Migration of the Talented Tenth to neighborhood activism of the 1990s, this course will explore the history of African American in the city of Chicago through weekly readings of scholarly monographs and some scholarly articles. We will meet every week at the appointed time through video conferencing on-line.   Topics of the course will include the earliest migration of African Americans to Chicago after the Civil War, the first Great Migration, the Chicago Renaissance, the development of the Blues, the Great Depression, the Second Great Migration, the Chicago Freedom Movement, deindustrialization, the Harold Washington era, and 1980s housing activism.

Dr. Manning spoke more about the course and his goals:

Given the current political climate, nationally and locally, why is this class important now?  

We are in a time in which the circumstances of disadvantaged groups are shallowly evaluated on characterological lines. While character does make a difference in one's outcomes in life, as  portrayals of various individuals' lives in the class will illustrate, larger macro structures are incredibly significant in setting the opportunities available in life. For us then to better understand the circumstances of modern day Chicago the structural/historical forces that brought us here must be made clear.

How will this class be useful for graduate students?

This class will be useful for graduate students by giving them a deep understanding of African American history from the vantage of one of America's most complex, dynamic, and modern cities. This understanding can serve graduate students additionally as a point of comparison for African American history from other areas.

What's the benefit of doing this course online and over the summer?  

Doing the course online and over the summer offers graduate student more mobility in a time when saving money is often a priority and it will allow them all of the benefit of online study, which often facilitates the creation of broader and deeper dialogue than its brick and mortar counterpart.

Summer registrations begins on February 15th on LOCUS.