Summer Courses 2020
Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
CAS AA 207
Examines the fundamental theoretical and empirical approaches regarding race/ethnicity and the current state of race relations in the U.S., exploring both contemporary social problems and the deep historical roots of those problems through a sociological lens. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS. Also offered as CAS SO 207. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, The Individual in Community, Research and Information Literacy. 4 cr. Tuition: $2880
Summer 1 (May 21-June 30)
A1 (IND) Mon./Tues./Thurs. 1-3:30 pm
Location: HAR 315 | 11 Open Seats
Saida Grundy
Mts w/CAS SO207
The Poetics and Politics of Hip Hop
CFA MH 410
Students engage with hip-hop history, including aesthetic trends, some important artists and works, regional styles, and relationship with the larger sociocultural context. Students critique and remake hip hop canons. The course investigates how hip hop is shaped by race, class, and gender issues. Students acquire and apply listening, viewing, and reading skills to interpret primary and secondary sources and bring their analyses of these sources to bear. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness. 4 cr. Tuition: $2880
Summer 1 (May 20-July 1)
A1 (LEC) Mon./Wed. 1-4:30 pm
Location: CFA 216 | 34 Open Seats
Michael Birenbaum Quintero
History of Jazz
CFA MH 432
No prereq; open to all students. A chronological study of the history of — and topics in — jazz, from its beginnings to the present, focusing on styles, major performers and recordings, individuality and sound, instruments, voices, and forms, as well as social and cultural issues, such as race, popularity and commercialism, the individual versus and within the group, American identity and global rejection/admiration. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking. 4 cr. Tuition: $2880
Summer 1 (May 21-June 30)
A1 (IND) Tues./Thurs. 1-4:30 pm
Location: CFA 216 | 15 Open Seats
Andrew Shenton
Topics in African American Studies
CAS AA 200
Topic for Summer 2020: Race, Gender, and Representation. Through abolitionism, women’s suffrage, workers’ rights, AIDS activism, the Movement for Black Lives, and anti-prison organizing, we explore the relationship between visual culture and representation in U.S. history, and examine marginalized and minoritized peoples’ mobilization of visual and print media to clapback and correct pervasive stereotypes and misrepresentations in popular culture. 4 cr. Tuition: $2880
Summer 2 (July 6-August 12)
B1 (IND) Mon./Wed. 1-4:30 pm
Location: CAS 214 | 10 Open Seats
Paula Austin
Topic: Race, Gender, and Representation Mts w/CAS HI290
Sociology of Race, Class & Gender
CAS AA 335
Prereq: at least one prior 100- or 200-level sociology course, CAS WS 101/102, or consent of the instructor. Examines race, class, gender, and sexuality as intersecting axes of stratification, identity, and experience. Draws heavily from feminist theories in both sociology and history in order to analyze how these intersections can be applied to understanding social problems and structures.4 cr. Tuition: $2880
Summer 2 (July 6-August 5)
B1 (IND) Mon./Tues./Wed. 6-9 pm
Location: SOC 241 | 8 Open Seats
Sarah Miller
Mts w/CAS SO335 and CAS WS335 Non-standard course dates
Popular Music & Culture
CFA MH 433
Topic for Summer 2020: Motown, R&B, and Classic Funk: Soundtracks of Empowerment and Civil Rights. Rhythm and Blues, the classic Motown sound, and Funk are seminal influences in the development of rap, hip hop, fusion, and contemporary urban and R&B styles. But even more, these styles provided the soundtrack of African- American empowerment and community, and were central to the civil rights movement, the relationship between music and politics, and the larger development of popular music in the 20th century. This course follows the trajectory of funk from its roots in rhythm and blues and the highly influential Motown sound through its classic formulation in the 1970s. It concludes with a discussion of the urban transformation and revival of funk over the last two decades. We will place these styles within their cultural and social contexts, as well as examine their evolving musical characteristics in some detail through works by Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, James Brown, George Clinton, and many others. This course is intended for the general university student and neither assumes nor requires previous training in music. 4 cr. Tuition: $2880
Summer 2 (July 7-August 13)
B1 (IND) Tues./Thurs. 1-4:30 pm
Location: FLR 209 | 18 Open Seats
Victor Coelho
Literature of the Harlem Renaissance
CAS AA 507
Studies the Harlem Renaissance (1919-1935), focusing on literature with overviews of the stage, the music, and the visual arts. Authors include Du Bois, Locke, Garvey, Schuyler, Hurston, McKay, Larsen, Fisher, Hughes, Cullen. 4 cr. Tuition: $2880
Summer 2 (July 7-August 13)
B1 (IND) Tues./Thurs. 9 am-12:30 pm
Location: AAS 101 | 17 Open Seats
Maryanne Boelcskevy