An interdisciplinary examination of Black slavery as both a historical event and an enduring condition. The course highlights the foundational role of colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade in the making of European modernity, the white subject of rights and the black dispossessed nonbeing, liberal democracy, and contemporary regimes of black captivities. Special focus is given to the political and economic history of the United States, the Caribbean and Brazil as slavocracies and to the incomplete project of emancipation that renders Black citizenship at best elusive. Critical transnational perspective highlights the spatio-temporal continuum between plantation regimes and contemporary global racial apartheid.
4
UnitsLetter
Grading1, 2, 3
PasstimeUpper division only
Level LimitLetters and science
CollegeProfessor Alves does not care about his students. This quarter, he has given us multiple assignments that are due within two days of his posting the prompt, often posting on Friday, due on Sunday. Many students work on the weekends. Additionally, he is usually late to his own class. Students wait 20+ minutes with no communication from the prof
Professor Alves does not take his classes seriously. He holds students to unattainable standards, while he does not meet those standards himself. Students are marked down for spelling and grammatical errors. The caveat is that his prompts and emails often have several typos and spelling errors. DO NOT TAKE HIS CLASSES
Professor Alves is a bad professor and teacher. He rarely responds to emails, and his directions are not clear and very vague, and on top of that he grades harshly. He is not very understanding either. Does not except late work period. He once answered my email in spanish, even though it is a Geopolitics class, and I don't speak spanish.
This is one of the worst professors I've ever had. I did an online course of his, of which he was super unclear on instructions, sometimes doesn't even post assignments ON THE DAY THEY ARE DUE, and shows a general apathy towards his students that is extremely disconcerting. Avoid this class like the plague if possible.
I loved Professor Alves's class and it was very eye opening. The content can be a lot to process, but if you do the readings you can really gain a whole new perspective. The course was graded on two papers and a final presentation (plus participation). Prof Alves is a leading scholar in his field and I'd strongly recommend taking a class with him!
I've had Professor Alves on two separate occasions now and he's genuinely fantastic. He's super passionate about his work and it translates through the quality of his lectures. He assigns quite a few readings but all are very interesting and eye-opening. I found him to be very approachable so don't be afraid to email or visit his office hours!
Roberto Strongman
3.0