When was the first African-American studies course taught at Davidson?
We believe that the first African American studies class was offered in the 1975-76 academic year. Entitled "ENG 204: Afro-American Literature," this class was taught by Dr. James Slicer Purcell, a white teacher. The description of the class as found in the academic catalogue reads as follows: "The black experience in American literature from the accepting Phillis Wheatley of colonial times to the militant Sonia Sanchez of today."
The Sociology Department began offering a class in Race Relations in 1967-68 (focusing predominately on black-white relations). The English Department offered a seminar in Negro Writing in America in the Spring of 1970, the Afro-American Literature in 1975-76, and then Modern Black Literature in 1984-85. The History Department first offered a seminar on The Roots of Current Racial Tensions in 1974-75 and African-American History to 1877 in 1990-1991. Dr. Brenda Flanagan taught the first Caribbean Literature class, listed in the 1996-97 catalog