| Course Title: Topics in African American Literature: 'Abolition and Climate Change' |
| Start Date: 01/27/2026 End Date: 05/12/2026 |
| Term: Spring Semester 2026 |
| Description: What makes change so difficult? Why do people always seem to be so apathetic to the most pressing political and social issues? In the face of climate change and racial injustice, why do so many people remain absolutely unmoved? Questions like these were central problems for the abolitionist movement in the nineteenth century, and they remain crucial issues for people today who similarly believe that another world is possible. This class will consider how the abolitionist movement was intertwined with the birth of environmentalism to understand the nature of struggle today. We will read a range of antislavery writing, nineteenth-century Black radical figures, and various critical theorists of capitalism and climate change. |
| Distribution(s): I - Humanities , MP - Multicultural Perspectives , TP - Topics Course |
| Academic Level Of Course: Undergraduate | Credits:4.00 |
| Faculty | Phone | Email address |
| Alex Moskowitz | 413-538-2457 | amoskowitz@mtholyoke.edu |
| Meeting Dates | Method | Meeting days | Meeting times | Building name | Room | Frequency |
| 01/27/2026 - 05/12/2026 | Seminar | Monday and Wednesday | 01:45PM - 03:00PM | DWGT - Dwight Hall | 202 | Weekly |
| Requisite Courses | ||
| Prereq: 8 credits in English, or 4 credits in English and 4 credits in Critical Race Political Economy. | Take previously | Required |
| Comments |
| Additional Comments |
| Meets the department's legacy 1700-1900 requirement. |
| Course Tags | ||
| CRPE0001 | CRPE-1: CRPE - Major Pathway/Minor | This course has been approved to count towards the CRPE major pathway and the CRPE minor. |
| CRPE0002 | CRPE-2: Africana Studies - Major Pathway/Minor | This course has been approved to count towards the CRPE Africana Studies major pathway and the CRPE Africana Studies minor. |
| CRPE0003 | CRPE-3: Critical Social Thought - Major Pathway | This course has been approved to count towards the CRPE Critical Social Thought major pathway. |
| ENVST-HUM | ENVST-HUM: Env Studies pre-2024 Minor - Humanities | This course has been approved to count towards the Environmental Studies minor Humanities area. |
| ENVST-CRSE | ENVST-EL: Env Studies Electives | This course is an approved elective for the Environmental Studies major and minor. |
| Cross-listed Sections |
| None |
| Course Availability | ||||
| Section status: Closed | Capacity: 18 | Enrollment: 19 | Available: 0 | Waitlist: 0 |
BOOK INFORMATION
| Book List | Required | Publisher Full Price |
| Title: How to Blow Up a Pipeline: Learning to Fight in a World on Fire Author: Malm, Andreas Copyright: 2021 Edition: Volume: ISBN: 9781839760259 Publisher: Verso |
Required | 19.95 |
| Title: David Walker's Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World Author: Walker, David Copyright: 1993 Edition: Volume: ISBN: 9780933121386 Publisher: Black Classic Press |
Required | 8.95 |
| Title: Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown, Written by Himself Author: Box Brown, Henry Copyright: Edition: Volume: ISBN: 9780807858905 Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press |
Recommended | 32.50 |
| Additional Book Comments |
| This is NOT the complete book list for this class. |