Amy Jordan
Associate Professor of African American History
Amy Jordan, associate professor of African American history, received her doctorate in history from the University of Michigan in 2003.
Amy has conducted oral histories with welfare rights activists and small farmers in Mississippi, and has conducted workshops on the history of anti-poverty and welfare rights activism. Her essay, "Fighting for the Child Development Group of Mississippi: Poor People, Local Politics and the Complicated Legacy of Head Start," is part of a forthcoming collection entitled War on Poverty & Struggles for Racial and Economic Justice. She is currently working on a book entitled From Rural Rehabilitation to Welfare Rights: Rural Relief, Land Ownership and Welfare Rights Activism in Mississippi.
Amy also studies West African dance and performs occasionally with the New Haven-based companies Kouffin Kanecke Dance Company and the Fotoba Dance Troupe.
Recent and Upcoming Courses
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In this course, we will examine a range of organizing struggles that took place during the "Long Civil Rights Movement." By reading scholarly articles, movement newspapers and activist interviews, we will explore critical debates and questions raised by researchers and movement veterans. Do we understand the "movement" in terms of ideologies articulated by established leaders, by determining the nature of the political climate, or by examining community traditions and conceptions of what Robin Kelley calls "Freedom Dreams"? Do we begin our exploration---in the 1950s, 1960s or perhaps sooner? Does the emergence of newly independent nations in Africa and Asia shape activist conceptions of civil rights, human rights, nonviolence, self-defense, and citizenship? How do contemporary organizers in movements against police brutality and struggles for immigrant rights draw from the lessons of these 20th century movements? This course will prepare you to develop a grounding in historical methods and conduct social movement research. Keywords: African American History, Civil Rights, Black Power, human rights, poverty
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Reconstruction represents one of the nation's most dramatic battles to redefine the meanings of freedom and U.S. citizenship. This course will begin during the Civil War or what W.E.B. Dubois called the "rehearsal for reconstruction." We will explore how freedmen and women organized to make their newly free status have meaning in several arenas. These arenas include Freedmen and women's rights to enjoy the fruits of their own labors, access to land, public education, and the time and freedom to enjoy leisure, express joy and engage in artistic production. Students will read historical literature of this period, as well as historical newspapers, and primary documents, such as Freedmen's Bureau records. Students will deepen their understanding of Reconstruction scholarship, its potential meaning for current debates about democracy, as well as a strong grasp of historical methods. Keywords:African American History, US history, Reconstruction, labor history, agricultural history
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Choreographies of Protest: African American Social and Performance History: African American dance and music traditions have played a critical role in how African-Americans chose to convey and sustain their humanity and express joy and pain corporeally and through a particular relationship to rhythm. This class will explore the forms, contents and contexts of black dance traditions that played a crucial role in shaping American dance; focusing on how expressive cultural forms from the African diaspora have been transferred from the religious and social spaces to the concert stage. Viewing American cultural history through the lens of movement and performance, we will begin with an exploration of social and spiritual dances during slavery and the late nineteenth century when vibrant social dances insisted that black bodies, generally relegated to long hours of strenuous labor, devote themselves to pleasure as well. We will also explore the creation of protest choreographies among popular music artists, social dance contexts and modern dance idioms. This course will provide a strong foundation for students who want to pursue Africana Studies , cultural or social movement history or pursue transdisciplinary arts based research or performance studies KEYWORDS:Africana Studies, dance history, performance studies, African American history,Race and Power
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Cuba: Nation, Race, and Revolution: This interdisciplinary course critically engages a range of frameworks (geopolitical, historical, sociological, literary, cultural) to study the complex and contested reality of Cuba. The course will begin by critiquing and decentering the stereotypical images of Cuba that circulate in U.S. popular and official culture. The first part of the course will focus on revolutions that have defined the nation in the context of colonialism and neocolonialism: the impact of the Haitian Revolution on colonial Cuba; the forging of cubanidad in the late-19thcentury revolutions for independence from Spain; and the victory of the 1959 Cuban Revolution that defied U.S. neocolonial power. From there, we will examine how intersecting constructions of race, gender, and sexuality have defined the Cuban after the 1959 revolution, during the Special Period, and more recently. We will also explore how Cuba should be understood in relation to the U.S. government, to the international Left, and to its diaspora. This course is open to all, though it is best suited to students beyond their first semester of study. The class will be conducted in English, with many readings available in Spanish and English. Additionally, for students wishing to apply for the Hampshire in Havana spring semester program, this course will offer critical foundational knowledge and application support. (Concurrent enrollment in a Spanish language class is strongly recommended for non-fluent speakers considering the Hampshire in Havana program.) Keywords:Caribbean, Latin America, diaspora, history, culture, colonialism,Race and Power