Malcolm X in his own words, 1959-1965: Theory and praxis in the speeches of an organic intellectual
Spring 2009
AFRAM 98 / 198
2 Unit(s)
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About the Course:
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Enrollment for this class is now closed. If you are still interested in learning more about Malcolm X you are welcome to follow along with the course assignments on your own. The DVD Reader, which contains all of the archived material we will be covering, can be checked out at the Ethnic Studies Library at UC Berkeley where it will be placed on 3 hour reserve. The schedule of assignments, as well as study guides for each recording, may be found as PDF attachments at the bottom of this page. Feel free to contact me if you have any further questions.Assignment #1 (due Tuesday, Feb. 3rd):
Watch "The Hate That Hate Produced," online at: http://www.archive.org/details/PBSTheHateThatHateProduced or http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6140647821635049109
There is also a typed transcript (curtesy of the FBI) online here: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ccbh/mxp/pdf/071659hthp-transcript.pdf
In the summer of 1959, Malcolm X and the 'Black Muslims' were the subjects of a television special report entitled, “The Hate That Hate Produced.” The program originally aired in the New York metropolitan area, reaching millions of viewers, but very soon afterward the story got picked up by the national press and the narrative of "Malcolm X the hate-teacher" was born.
For the first assignment, please watch the first hour of the program and write a short, half-page response reflecting some of your thoughts and initial reactions. You can access the video online at one of the two websites listed above. Also, if you followed the whole Reverend Jeremiah Wright fiasco last year, do you see similarities in the way the news media reacted to both Malcolm and Wright? Any differences?
Assignment #2 (for Tuesday, February 10th)
This week, we'll hear some of Malcolm's earliest (recorded) rebuttles to charges that he was a "hate-teacher" and a "black supremacist," which Mike Wallace levelled against him and the Nation of Islam in "The Hate That Hate Produced." We also get a chance to hear Malcolm engaging with two very different audiences.
For the second assignment, please listen to the following two recordings. Take some notes and write a brief, half-page response. You may find it helpful to review the Study Guide I have provided while you listen. The Study Guide can be found in the "Files" section of this website, at the very bottom of the page.
1. Malcolm X interviewed by Barry Gray on March 10, 1960 See: http://www.albany.edu/history/specialfeatures.html
2. Malcolm X speaking in Los Angeles on April 16, 1961. As far as I know, this audio recording is not available online. Therefore, you will need to get ahold of a copy of the DVD Reader for the course in order to listen to this speech. Copies of the DVD will be placed on 2-hour reserve at the front desks of Moffitt Undergraduate Library and at the Ethnic Studies Library shortly. Or you can join us in the class next Tuesday and pick up your very own free copy of the DVD then.
Assignment #3 (See the Study Guide attached below)
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Malcolm X in his own words, 1959-1965:
Theory and praxis in the speeches of an organic intellectual
Course Description:
While many students may be familiar with Malcolm X through the Autobiography or Spike Lee’s 1992 feature film, few have listened to more than select sound bites of his own words. In this course we will explore the political thought of Malcolm X through a critical reading of his work as reflected in speeches and interviews recorded between the summer of 1959, when he first garnered national attention as the charismatic spokesman of the Nation of Islam, until just days prior to his assassination in February of 1965. Throughout the course, emphasis will be placed on interpreting Malcolm’s arguments in his own words while also drawing comparisons between his thinking and that of other political theorists within both the ‘Western’ and ‘Ethnic Studies’ intellectual cannons.
Course Requirements:
There will be no exams or papers in this class and the coursework should be quite manageable for any student who is seriously interested in the subject. A passing grade for the course will be based on three components: (1) participation in class discussions, (2) weekly readings and written responses, and (3) one group presentation of an assigned secondary or theoretical source. Class discussions will center on a textual analysis of Malcolm’s speeches: e.g. – What is he saying and how are his arguments organized? Are his arguments persuasive or not, and why? How does X’s thinking compare with the claims of other political theorists? Each week, all students are required to hand in a ½ page written response to the assigned primary source readings by Malcolm X. These responses may reflect the students’ thoughts, opinions, questions or favorite quotes from Malcolm’s speech. One week out of the semester, each student will also be responsible for presenting (with 1-2 other classmates) and preparing an outline for a secondary or theoretical reading to the class.
Learning Objectives:
Over the course of the semester students will become familiar with a broad selection of Malcolm X’s speeches and will develop a strong conceptual foundation for comparing X’s own ideas to those of his counterparts in the traditional cannons of academic knowledge production. It is hoped that students will come away from this class with a new appreciation of Malcolm X as an important political philosopher and theorist whose work remains relevant to many of today’s pressing concerns, both in the United States and in the international arena, and that they will be capable of quoting and referencing Malcolm X in future discussions or papers specific to students’ own academic interests.
Rules of Engagement for In-Class Discussions:
To this day, Malcolm X and the arguments he elaborated throughout his career remain the subjects of intense controversy. Malcolm was an unflinching and vocal critic both of what he called the ‘white power structure’ of American and international politics, as well as the programmatic philosophies of integration and non-violence generally associated with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the American Civil Rights Movement. Malcolm’s force as a speaker was in his willingness to raise issues that few others were comfortable discussing in mixed company, but his strength as a debater was his disciplined regard for addressing his opponents, without exception, in a respectful and dignified manner. In this course we will strive to follow Malcolm’s example in both regards.
The concepts that will be covered here are not exclusively abstract; indeed, many have real life implications that will inevitably challenge students of all backgrounds to (re)evaluate their own concrete social locations within the power structure as well as their specific roles in any plausible way forward. Sometimes this can be a difficult and uncomfortable process. It is therefore essential that all students actively contribute to making the classroom a safe environment for one another. Any questions, comments or suggestions related to the comportment of the DeCal facilitator are welcome and may be directed either to the facilitator himself or to the faculty sponsor of the course, Professor Charles Henry (OH and contact info listed above).
Course Materials:
- Course Reader (Text). A printed and bound course reader will be provided to students through a local copy store. It contains a selection of direct transcriptions from the speeches of Malcolm X that will covered and discussed in the class.
- Course Reader (Digital). A DVD containing more than 40 hours of audio and video recordings of Malcolm X’s speeches, debates and interviews, as well as several very good documentaries on X’s life, will be supplied directly to students free of charge (we hope!) through a grant provided by the DeCal program.
- Supplementary Online Resources. There are several good websites where students will find more information and resources on and by Malcolm X. Below is a short list of relevant sites.
à Required viewing: “The Hate That Hate Produced”
http://www.archive.org/details/PBSTheHateThatHateProduced or
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6140647821635049109
à The “Malcolm X Project” at Columbia University
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ccbh/mxp/
à The “official website” of Malcolm X and others:
http://www.cmgww.com/historic/malcolm/home.php http://www.brothermalcolm.net/
http://www.malcolm-x.org/speeches.htmCourse Contact: krsreid AT berkeley.edu
Website: www.decal.org/malcolm
Faculty Sponsor: Professor Charles Henry
Time & Location:
| Section | Facilitators | Size | Location | Time | Starts | Status | CCNs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Reid | — | 174 Barrows Hall | Tu 5-7 | — | full | — |
Uploaded Files:
| Name | Date | Size | Type | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Syllabus: Malcolm X Decal - Assignments Schedule for Spring 2009.doc | Feb 18 | 27kb | Word Doc (Viewer) | View Download |
| Course Material: Assignment #2 - Study Guide.pdf | Feb 5 | 50kb | Adobe PDF (Viewer) | View Download |
| Course Material: Assignment #3 - Study Guide.pdf | Feb 18 | 71kb | Adobe PDF (Viewer) | View Download |
| Course Material: Assignment #4 Study Guide 2009.doc | Mar 2 | 27kb | Word Doc (Viewer) | View Download |
| Course Material: Malcolm X Decal - Assignment 5 Study Guide.doc | Mar 2 | 26kb | Word Doc (Viewer) | View Download |
| Course Material: Assignment #6 Study Guide.doc | Apr 23 | 31kb | Word Doc (Viewer) | View Download |
| Course Material: Malcolm X Decal - Assignment #8.doc | Apr 23 | 24kb | Word Doc (Viewer) | View Download |
Course info last modified February 18, 2009. This page has been viewed 2299 times.