Daily Schedule
SPCH 469A
The following schedule is a tentative day-by-day plan for the semester. We may well find that
we fall behind, and there is time built into the schedule to compensate. So revisions will be
announced in class and you are responsible for such announcements. Preparation exercises
must be completed prior to the date indicated.
Contents
Return to the SPCH 469A Home Page
Monday, September 9
- Preparation: Review notes on Website
- In Class: Lecture on Social Movements
Wednesday, September 11
- Preparation: Campbell, cc. 1, 2,6. Use the material from these chapters as a perspective to
prepare to discuss the "I Have a Dream" Speech, in Williams, pp. 203-205.
- In Class: Studying a Rhetorical Act. "I Have a Dream" as an example.
Monday, September 16
- Preparation: Carson, et al., pp. 1-34.
- In Class: Lecture on the historical context for Civil Rights: Up from Slavery
Wednesday, September 18
- Preparation: Eyes on the Prize, Videotape 1, "Awakenings, 1954-1956" (on the system
beginning 9/8). Read Williams, c. 1
- In Class: Lecture on the historical context for Civil Rights: Segregation in the Twentieth
Century
Return to the Contents of this Page
Return to the SPCH 469A Home Page
Monday, September 23
- Preparation: Eyes on the Prize, Videotape 2, "Fighting Back, 1957-1962" (on system
beginning 9/15). Read Williams, c. 2.
- In Class: Discussion of the events and the context of the organizational stage of the
movement
Wednesday, September 25
- Preparation: Read Williams, c. 3 for additional background. Study Campbell, c. 3 and
apply its principles to Carson, et al., pp. 48-51; 82.
- In Class: Discuss Martin Luther King, "Speech at Holt Street Baptist Church," December
5, 1955. This speech was delivered at the beginning of the Montgomery bus boycott. It
represents a movement leader addressing those committed to the movement. The second
item to discuss, the NAACP's "Atlanta Declaration" is to a different audience -- the public
at large.
Monday, September 30
- Preparation: Williams, c. 4. Prepare for class discussion on Carson, et al., pp. 103-106.
- In Class: Discuss the Roundtable discussion. Movements require that those who are not
leaders -- those who live their lives in the society being protested -- be able to discuss their
lives in the language of the movement. We want to understand how they do this.
Wednesday, October 2
- Preparation: Read Campbell, cc. 7, 8. Prepare to discuss Carson, et al., pp. 83-94.
- In Class: Tom Brady, "Black Monday: Segregation or Amalgamation . . . America Has Its
Choice." Brady's speech represents the voice of opposition to the Civil Rights Movement.
How was opposition to Civil Rights justified? How would this rhetoric affect the strategies
of those in the movement?
Return to the Contents of this Page
Return to the SPCH 469A Home Page
Unit III: A Question of Tactics: Violence versus
Nonviolence
Monday, October 7
- Preparation: Watch Eyes on the Prize, Videotape 3, "Ain't Scared of Your Jails, 1960-1961" (on system 9/29). Read Williams, c. 5.
- In Class: Discussion of the history and context of the movement into the 1960s.
Wednesday, October 9
- Preparation: Read Williams, c. 6. Prepare to discuss Carson, et al., pp. 153-58.
- In Class: Discuss Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail." King addressed
this letter to his fellow clergyman. It explains the importance of his nonviolent struggle.
Monday, October 14
- Preparation: Read Campbell, c. 4. Prepare to discuss Carson, et al., pp. 110-14.
- In Class: Discuss the debate between Robert Williams and Martin Luther King on the issue
of violence and non-violence.
Wednesday, October 16
- Preparation: Watch Eyes on the Prize, Videotape 4, "No Easy Walk, 1961-1963" (on
system 10/6). Prepare to discuss Carson, et al., pp. 119-20.
- In Class: Many members of the movement attempted to avoid the debate over tactics. This
Statement of Purpose of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) is one
such statement. Does it succeed? What are the terms for avoiding the conflict?
Return to the Contents of this Page
Return to the SPCH 469A Home Page
Unit IV: The March on Washington
Monday, October 21
- Preparation: Read Williams, Interlude. Make a list of elements of the moment that you
believe those speaking at the March will need to be conscious of.
- In Class: Discuss the events leading up to the March on Washington. Access the role of
the March in the Movement.
Wednesday, October 23
- Preparation: Read Campbell, c. 5. Consider issues of credibility in preparing to discuss
speeches in Carson, et al., pp. 160-163 and pp. 163-165.
- In Class: Discuss Kennedy's speech prior to the March and Lewis' undelivered speech. We
want to consider issues of the relationship between movements and the public that
surrounds them. Kennedy is a governmental leader, not a leader of the movement. Lewis'
speech would have been delivered to those beyond the movement. How do these facts
affect the fate of their speeches?
Monday, October 28
- Preparation: Read Campbell, c. 10. Prepare to discuss Martin Luther King's "I Have a
Dream," in Williams, pp. 203-205.
- In Class: Discuss Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream." Review for Mid-term.
Wednesday, October 30
Mid-term exam
Return to the Contents of this Page
Return to the SPCH 469A Home Page
Monday, November 4
- Preparation: Watch Eyes on the Prize II, Videotape 1, "The Time Has Come, 1964-1968"
(on system 10/27). Read Williams, c. 7. Make a list of forces in the history of the moment
that will influence the discourse.
- In Class: Discuss the events and context of the mid 1960s and the proliferation of
movement voices.
Wednesday, November 6
- Preparation: Prepare to discuss Carson, et al., pp. 200-201; 248-61.
- In Class: Discuss Malcolm X's "To Mississippi Youth" and "Message to the Grass Roots."
Malcolm came from the Muslim movement and organized urban communities rather than
Southern communities. His tactics were different. How do they respond to the moment of
the movement?
Monday, November 11
- Preparation: Prepare to discuss Carson, et al., pp. 282-86.
- In Class: Discuss Stokely Carmichael's "What We Want." Carmichael is generally
credited with popularizing "Black Power." How does his voice differ?
Wednesday, November 13
- Preparation: Prepare to discuss Carson, et al., pp. 224-27; 201-203.
- In Class: How did movement leaders respond to the new militancy? Martin Luther King's
speech from the steps of the Alabama State Capitol and Bayard Rustin's direct response
provide some answers. Do they respond well to their times?
Return to the Contents of this Page
Return to the SPCH 469A Home Page
Unit VI: Explosion: Issues Multiply, Ghettos Burn
Monday, November 18
- Preparation: Watch Eyes on the Prize II, Videotape 2, "Two Societies, 1965-1968" (on
system 11/10). Read Williams, c. 8.
- In Class: Discuss the challenges to the movement in the late 1960s.
Wednesday, November 20
- Preparation: Watch Eyes on the Prize II, Videotape 3, "Power, 1967-1968" (on system
11/10). Prepare to discuss Carson, et al., pp. 345-60.
- In Class: The Black Panthers. How does their rhetorical approach differ from other
elements of the movement.
Monday, November 25
- Preparation: Prepare to discuss Carson, et al., pp. 387-93.
- In Class: New Issues. Discuss Martin Luther King's "A Time to Break Silence." In this
speech King begins to discuss the issue of Vietnam. We want to consider the effect of
multiplying the issues which leaders address in their speeches.
Wednesday, November 27
- Preparation: Watch Eyes on the Prize II, Videotape 4, The Promised Land, 1967-1968"
(on system 11/17). Prepare to discuss Carson, et al., pp. 291-300.
- In Class: The Movement North. Martin Luther King and the SCLC also expanded by
moving from a focus in the South into the North, specifically Chicago. How does this
move affect their strategy?
Return to the Contents of this Page
Return to the SPCH 469A Home Page
Unit VII: After the Movement
Monday, December 2
Preparation: Watch Eyes on the Prize II, Videotape 5, "Ain't Gonna Shuffle No More, 1964-1972" (on
system 11/24). Read Williams, Epilogue.
In Class: Just as movements are born, they die. They leave behind changed societies. But they seldom
achieve their original objectives. What is the aftermath of the Civil Rights Movement?
Wednesday, December 4
Preparation: Prepare to discuss Carson, et al., pp. 470-79.
In Class: An African American Culture. One of the directions the movement evolved was toward pride
in African American achievement. We will discuss Gerald McWorter's "The Nature and
Needs of the Black University." Is this a different argument than those of Booker T.
Washington at the turn of the 20th century?
Monday, December 9
Preparation: Watch Eyes on the Prize II, Videotape 7, "The Keys to the Kingdom, 1974-1980" (on
system 12/1). Prepare to discuss Carson, et al., pp. 482-92; 614-618.
In Class: Political Leadership. In the 1970s ever increasing numbers of Americans of African heritage
were elected to political office. One of these was Richard Hatcher, Mayor of Gary, Indiana;
another Maynard Jackson of Atlanta, Georgia. Does this rhetoric owe much to the movement?
Wednesday, December 11
Evaluations
Review for Final Exam
Return to the Contents of this Page
Return to the SPCH 469A Home Page
Last update September 12, 1996