AP African American Studies (Sem 2)

About This Course

This course is the second semester of a two-semester sequence and is aligned to the Advanced Placement curriculum for AP African American Studies. AP African American Studies is an interdisciplinary course that examines the diversity of African American experiences through direct encounters with varied sources. Students explore key topics that extend from early African kingdoms to the ongoing challenges and achievements of the contemporary moment. Given the interdisciplinary character of African American Studies, students in the course will develop skills across multiple fields, with an emphasis on developing historical, literary, visual, and data analysis skills. This course foregrounds a study of the diversity of Black communities in the United States within the broader context of Africa and the African diaspora. The course does not include the AP Exam; students can contact their school’s AP Coordinator or the College Board to sign up to take the Exam. In order to maintain the integrity of AP standards, all AP course midterm and final exams must be proctored. Prerequisites:  AP African American Studies (Sem 1)

Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, students will be able to...

• CO1: Evaluate key concepts, historical events, and processes through multiple disciplinary perspectives to deepen understanding of Black experiences and scholarly debates in African American Studies
• CO2: Identify the intersections of race, gender, and class, as well as connections between Black communities, in the United States and the broader African diaspora in the past and present
• CO3: Analyze perspectives in texts, data, and visual sources to develop well-supported arguments applied to real-world problems
• CO4: Analyze the diversity, strength, and complexity of African societies and their global connections before the emergence of transatlantic slavery using primary and secondary sources
• CO5: Evaluate the political, historical, aesthetic, and transnational contexts of major social movements, including their past, present, and future implications
• CO6: Analyze and evaluate the various strategies African American communities have employed to authentically represent themselves, promote advancement, and combat the effects of inequality and systemic marginalization both locally and globally, as demonstrated through written analyses, case studies, and multimedia presentations
• CO7: Identify major themes that inform literary and artistic traditions of the African diaspora
• CO8: Describe the formalization of African American Studies and new directions in the field as part of ongoing efforts to articulate Black experiences and perspectives and create a more just and inclusive future
• CO9: Apply course concepts to analyze current events and local issues, and develop research proposals or projects that identify areas for future study related to African American experiences and contributions

Course Outline:

Unit 5: The Practice of Freedom - The “New Negro Movement” of the 1920s-1940s

Unit 6: Movements and Debates – Mid-20th Century

Unit 7: Movements and Debates – Late 20th Century - 21st Century

Unit 8: Student Project

Unit 9: AP Exam & Review

Resources Included: Online lesson instruction and activities, opportunities to engage with a certified, online instructor and classmates, when appropriate, and online assessments to measure student performance of course objectives and readiness for subsequent academic pursuits.

Additional Costs: Required Textbook: Deborah Gray White; Mia Bay; Waldo E. Martin, Jr., Freedom on My Mind, 3rd Edition 2021 Macmillan Higher Education. For purchasing options, visit Freedom on My Mind, 3rd Edition | Macmillan Learning US.
Course enrollment does not include the AP Exam fees. Students may be responsible for their AP exam fees when registering for the exam with their local school's AP coordinator.

Scoring System: Michigan Virtual does not assign letter grades, grant credit for courses, nor issue diplomas. A final score out of total points earned will be submitted to your school mentor for conversion to their own letter grading system.

Time Commitment: Semester sessions are 18-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1 or more hours per day in the course to be successful. Summer sessions are 10 weeks long: Students must be able to spend a minimum of 2 or more hours per day, or about 90 hours during the summer, for the student to be successful in any course. Trimester sessions are 12-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1.5 or more hours per day in the course to be successful.

Technology Requirements: Students will require a computer device with headphones, a microphone, webcam, up-to-date Chrome Web Browser, and access to YouTube.
Students must also have an AP account with access to their online instructor’s AP Classroom activities and resources.

Ensure that your school or district network and device administrator whitelists online resources relevant to the course in which you are choosing to enroll. Ref., Michigan Virtual Course Whitelist

Please review the Michigan Virtual Technology Requirements: https://michiganvirtual.org/about/support/knowledge-base/technical-requirements/

Instructor Support System: For technical issues within your course, contact the Customer Care Center by email at CustomerCare@michiganvirtual.org or by phone at (888) 889-2840.

Instructor Contact Expectations: Students can use email or the private message system within the Student Learning Portal to access highly qualified teachers when they need instructor assistance. Students will also receive feedback on their work inside the learning management system. The Instructor Info area of their course may describe additional communication options.

Academic Support Available: In addition to access to a highly qualified, Michigan certified teacher, students have access to academic videos and outside resources verified by Michigan Virtual. For technical issues within the course, students can contact the Michigan Virtual Customer Care by email at customercare@michiganvirtual.org or by phone at (888) 889-2840.

Required Assessment: Online assessments consist of formative and summative assessments represented by computer-graded multiple choice, instructor-graded writing assignments including hands-on projects, model building, discussion-based assessments (one-on-one conversations with your teacher), and other forms of authentic assessments.

Technical Skills Needed: Basic technology skills necessary to locate and share information and files as well as interact with others in a Learning Management System (LMS), include the ability to:

• Download, edit, save, convert, and upload files
• Download and install software
• Use a messaging service similar to email
• Communicate with others in online discussion or message boards, following basic rules of netiquette
• Open attachments shared in messages
• Create, save, and submit files in commonly used word processing program formats and as a PDF
• Edit file share settings in cloud-based applications, such as Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides
• Save a file as a .pdf
• Copy and paste and format text using your mouse, keyboard, or an html editor’s toolbar menu
• Insert images or links into a file or html editor
• Search for information within a document using Ctrl+F or Command+F keyboard shortcuts
• Work in multiple browser windows and tabs simultaneously
• Activate a microphone or webcam on your device, and record and upload or link audio and/or video files
• Use presentation and graphics programs
• Follow an online pacing guide or calendar of due dates
• Use spell-check, citation editors, and tools commonly provided in word processing tool menus
• Create and maintain usernames and passwords

Additional Information: The official course descriptions for Advanced Placement courses and information about their exams are located on the College Board site at http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/descriptions/index.html.

Michigan Virtual prepares students in AP courses for the AP exam, but does not offer the exam test itself. It is the responsibility of the school or parent to register for a local administration of the AP exam.

There are required due dates in AP courses. The pacing of due dates in AP courses aligns to the completion of all lessons and required assignments and assessments prior to the national AP exam date related to this course title. The calendar of AP exam dates is published by the College Board (Exam Calendar).