Civil Rights Summer Travel Course
Come study the strategies of the Black-led civil rights movement of the 1950s-60s, including a week visiting some of its most important sites of action. Get inspired to challenge racism and other forms of injustice!Goals for the course:- Learn about the Black-led movement for civil rights in the South in the 1950s-60s
- Learn more about how movements organize to create a more just society and to connect social justice efforts from history to present day
- Special focus on the various tactics a social justice movement can use to make real change
How the Course Works
The course will consist of two weeks of hybrid class, then one week of travel. The hybrid class will be Monday-Friday and will take place from June 3 to June 14. Each day will have about three hours of interactive content. This is a full credit course that counts for Stetson's Social Justice Values requirement. The travel portion of the course will be from Sunday, June 16 through Sunday, June 23. Travel will also be with students and faculty of the Stetson College of Law, presenting a unique opportunity to learn about legal perspectives as they apply to the Civil Rights Movement. Each day will start in a different city and the afternoons will be spent traveling to the next city.
During the trip, the students and faculty visit historic locations, such as The Nashville Public Library Civil Rights Collection, the National Civil Rights Museum, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, and The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Social Change. We will be visiting these cities:
- Birmingham, AL
- Selma, AL
- Montgomery, AL
- Jackson, MS
- Nashville, TN
- Memphis, TN
AMST 290V Course Description
Students will register for the summer course AMST 290V: Civil Rights Travel Course, which will be offered in hybrid format June 3-14, before we travel June 16-23.
Course Description: This course focuses on Stetson’s Social Justice Value. It will introduce students to major aspects of the Black-led movement for civil rights in the 1950s-60s American South. It consists of a period of classroom learning followed by a week of travel to historically significant sites of struggle for racial justice (and social justice more broadly). Students will connect this movement with present-day struggles for social justice. Depending on the instructor, the course may primarily consider this movement from the perspective of, for example, religion, ethics, law, politics, social movement organizing, the arts, and/or intersections of race with gender and/or class. But the overarching topic will remain this civil rights movement as a case-study of how marginalized communities transform society to more fully realize justice.
Application Process
Due to a generous donation from an anonymous donor, Stetson University students may apply for a scholarship to fully or partially fund this travel course. Scholarships are limited, though most students who are accepted into the course will receive either a full or partial scholarship. Students may submit an application, which will include, class standing, their motivations for taking the course and either direct experience with racial injustice or their commitment to racial justice. There will also be a letter of recommendation from a Stetson faculty or staff member of the student's choice. Recommenders must email their letters of recommendation directly to [email protected]. Applications are due March 22, 2024