HI 3950 – Black Panthers and Black Power

Purpose: to help other instructors teaching the same course

Common Course ID:  HI 3950 – Topics in History: Black Panthers and Black Power
CSU Instructor Open Textbook Adoption Portrait

Abstract: This course uses texts in a history course for undergraduate or graduate students by Marc A. Robinson at CSUSB. After working with the campus library, all four assigned texts are available for the students online, free of charge. The main motivation to adopt these online texts is that they save students money, remove a barrier to access, and they are relevant to the subject matter. Most students access the texts online.

Course Title and Number: HI 3950 – Topics in History: Black Panthers and Black Power
Brief Description of course highlights: Major course, no prerequisites. In “Black Panthers and Black Power,” students learn about the Black Panther Party, a militant political organization of the Black Power Movement, and its activities around the country. This class also discusses the larger Black Power Movement to help students locate the Black Panthers within a larger, national context. Therefore, this class provides a window in the Civil Rights and Black Movements of the mid-twentieth century, a pivotal time in United States’ history. Related topics considered in this class include debates around gender and “women’s role in the movement,” political violence, Black Nationalism, community organizing, protests and activism, citizenship and patriotism, police brutality, and criminal justice. Ultimately, students are encouraged to consider if and how this history remains relevant to our lives today.

Student population: The students are mostly upper-class history majors. But, in addition, other sophomores, juniors, and seniors in other humanities and social sciences disciplines take the class because they are interested in the topic. Most of the students have some, basic knowledge of African American History and/or Studies, but no prerequisites are required.

Learning or student outcomes: 
I. Historical Knowledge Skills
1.1 Students will demonstrate knowledge of relevant historical facts and context
1.2 Students will demonstrate the ability to frame historical questions
1.3 Student demonstrates awareness of historical interpretative differences

II. Research Skills
2.1 Student will demonstrate the ability to thoroughly use a broad range of historical sources.
2.2 Students will demonstrate the ability to evaluate and analyze primary historical sources.
2.3 Students will demonstrate the ability to develop an historical interpretation based on evidence.

III. Communication Skills
3.1 Students will demonstrate the ability to write clearly.
3.2 Students will demonstrate the ability to speak clearly.

Syllabus and/or Sample assignment from the course or the adoption HI 3950 Topics in History Syllabus.docx

Instructor Name - Mark A. Robinson, PhD. 
Assistant Professor, History
California State University, San Bernardino. 
I am a [discipline] professor at the [Educational Institution]. I teach [list all courses that you regularly teach or have taught].

Please provide a link to your university page.  https://www.csusb.edu/profile/marcrobinson

Please describe the courses you teach.
US History and African American History

Describe your teaching philosophy and any research interests related to your discipline or teaching. Marc Arsell Robinson (he/him/his) earned his PhD in American Studies from Washington State University in 2012. His research focuses on the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements in the Pacific Northwest. He came to California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) in 2018 and teaches courses on African American and US History. In all of his courses, Robinson seeks to stimulate learning by guiding the students to reflect on assigned materials and engage in civil discourse in class. 

OER/Low Cost Adoption Process

Provide an explanation or what motivated you to use this textbook or OER/Low Cost option. I was motivated to use these books because I wanted to save students money and maximize the accessibility of the learning materials.

How did you find and select the open textbook for this course? I found the sources by consulting with faculty colleagues, internet research, and consulting the campus library.

Sharing Best Practices: The campus library can be a great resource.

Describe any challenges you experienced, and lessons learned. It’s good to take class time to show students how to access the materials. I find that I cannot assume that the students know how to navigate the online tools.

Textbook or OER/Low cost Title: 
Aaron Dixon, My People Are Rising: Memoir of a Black Panther Party Captain (Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2012) -- Dixon – online, only 1 user at a time

Alondra Nelson, Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight against Medical Discrimination (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2013) -- Nelson - online

Robyn C. Spencer, The Revolution Has Come: Black Power, Gender, and the Black Panther Party in Oakland (Raleigh: Duke University Press, 2006) -- Spencer - online

Jakobi Williams, From Bullet to the Ballot: The Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party and Racial Coalition Politics in Chicago (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2013) -- Williams – online, 3 users at a time

Brief Description: Each text helps students learn about the Black Panther Party and the Black Power Movement, which are both often mischaracterized, maligned, or omitted in United States history. They provide first-hand accounts and in-depth research on a range of topics: social programs, community organizing, race relations, racial injustice, gender dynamics, medical care, and more.

Student access:  Students access the materials primarily via the website of our campus library, the Pfau Library.

Supplemental resources: PowerPoint lecture slides, study guides, and online homework were provided as needed via Canvas.

Provide the cost savings from that of a traditional textbook.
The total cost savings is $99.35

19.95 – My People Are Rising
18.95 – Body and Soul
27.95 – The Revolution Has Come
32.50 – The Bullet to the Ballot
$99.35 – Total 

License: My students and I accessed the texts via the campus library. So, I don't have a license for the materials.