Perceptions of Blackness in the Ancient World 

AF AMER M25 - Perceptions of Blackness in the Ancient World 

<p>(Same as African American Studies M25.) Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Exploration of depictions of people of African descent in antiquity beginning with the ancient Greeks and Romans who referred to African peoples as Aithiops. Extensive connections through trade, politics, warfare, and religious practices made the people of northeast Africa a source of fascination in Greco-Roman histories and geographies, as they represented the exotic, distant other. When Greeks and later Romans adopted and modified Egyptian temple rites for Isis and Serapis, they chose to feature black people as priests and worshippers to lend a sense of authenticity to their rites. Depictions of African peoples were both positive and negative. Blackness came to have symbolic resonance in Christianity adopted partially from earlier writings about African people in the Hebrew Bible and from the larger Greco-Roman cultural sphere. Elsewhere in the ancient world Persians, Indians, Japanese, and Chinese people created their own portrayals of blacks. P/NP or letter grading.</p>

Ancient Near East

College of Letters and Science

Near Eastern Languages and Cultures

General Education — Historical Analysis (Society & Culture)

General Education — Literacy & Cultural Analysis (Arts & Humanities)

AN N EA M25 - Perceptions of Blackness in the Ancient World 

Develop the skill of close reading of difficult texts (primary and secondary sources) through the use of collaborative annotated readings in order to analyze historical, political, economic, and cultural events that shaped social interactions between groups.

Better understand the perspective of others whose histories, experiences, cultures, and social conditions may differ from your own. Frames of difference in this course consist of race in ancient societies

Listen to and communicate effectively in diverse groups, minimizing assumptions/judgments made about others, and promoting mutual understanding and respect 

Develop a broad, chronological understanding of the processes through which perceptions of blackness developed 

Become comfortable discussing race in the public setting of the lecture and in section both of which are created as safe spaces in which to grapple with challenging subjects

Develop writing skills through writing and revising an analytical paper which investigates an Ancient Case History related to the phenomenon of perceptions of blackness in the ancient world

Explore information literacy topics including intellectual property, file sharing, citing and documenting sources, project management, and academic dishonesty

Recount the historical origins of stereotypes and systemic racism (or oppression)

Develop writing skills through writing and revising a research paper with investigates a specific topic related to the phenomenon of perceptions of blackness in the ancient world

Focus on the structures, processes, and practices that generate inter-group inequities or conflicts as a result of historical factors and developments

General Catalog

Perceptions of Blackness in the Ancient World

AN N EA M25

5 units