Princeton offers a Black Lives Matter course. Here’s a peek at the curriculum.
August 9, 2021 | Terresa Monroe-Hamilton
Princeton University is offering a Black Lives Matter course that features readings from an avowed Marxist who was once a leader in the Communist Party USA, a Black Panther member, and at one time made the FBI’s Most Wanted List.
“This seminar traces the historical roots and growth of the Black Lives Matter social movement in the United States and comparative global contexts. The movement and course are committed to resisting, unveiling, and undoing histories of state-sanctioned violence against Black and Brown bodies. The course seeks to document the forms of dispossession that Black Americans face, and offers a critical examination of the prison industrial complex, police brutality, urban poverty, and white supremacy in the US,” the course description reads.
The course reportedly seeks to teach students about the “historical roots and growth of the Black Lives Matter social movement.” It will be available this fall according to The College Fix.
Included in the course material are readings from Angela Davis’ book “Freedom is a Constant Struggle.” Davis is a former Black Panther member who was involved in the kidnapping of a federal judge. She was acquitted of that charge. She is also the 1979 “Lenin Peace Prize” winner, which was awarded to her by the Communist country of East Germany. Davis is an avowed Marxist and was a two-time vice-presidential candidate of the Communist Party USA.
Professor Hanna Garth will teach the class. She is a sociocultural and medical anthropologist. Her website notes the following concerning her work and philosophy:
I am most broadly interested in the ways in which people struggle to overcome structural violence. My recent work is focused on the connections between food systems, structural inequalities, health, and wellbeing. This work has looked at the ways in which macro-level changes and shifts in local food distribution systems impact communities, families, and individuals. I have studied how food scarcity and reduced access to affordable food influence individual distress, and household and community dynamics. I have also studied the ways in which food justice organizations attempt to improve access to healthy food for low income communities.
