The University of Maryland College Park
                                            American Studies  

                 AMST 429D: Malcolm X: Images and Representation 

                             Lisa Gill   3216N JM Patterson
                       
Time: Wednesday 6-9pm
leeucbk@hotmail.com
301-405-6907
Location: TBA

Prerequisite: In order to enter this class you must have taken at least three courses in the African American Studies Program.  Two of these courses must be AASP 100(Introduction to African American Studies) and AASP202 (Black Culture in the United States). If you do not meet the prerequisites for the class you must meet with the professor to discuss your level of understanding of the basic concepts in African American History and Black Culture Studies. 

Purpose: The purpose of this class is to expose students to the representation of Malcolm X in Spike Lee’s film, Malcolm X.  Throughout the semester we will look critically at Lee’s film for his argument about Malcolm X.  We will also view other kinds of media produced on Malcolm X.  In looking at these other films, recorded and written speeches, we will be looking for the other arguments made about the image(s) of Malcolm X. Similarly, we will contend with the meanings and implications of particular images of Malcolm X.  From this course students, should develop ideas surrounding critical analysis of film content and image analysis.  These ideas will aid in the formation of establish guidelines for thinking critically.  They will also learn practical applications of racial formation theory, spectatorship theories and intersectionality. 

Students will develop a foundation for their own studies on image analysis.  There are multiple dimensions to Malcolm X. By looking at Lee’s film we will begin to understand that limiting the images of Malcolm X to a one-dimensional formula, we continue to advance the myth of black cultural stagnation and inferiority.  Students will be given various materials to aid in their critical thinking surrounding the film; including books, articles, documentaries, and recorded speeches.

Assignments: Along with class participation based on the readings, there will be two written assignments, a mid-term examination and a final exam.  The midterm and final exams will consist of short identifications and an essay question.  The midterm will be worth 20% of your grade.  Your final exam will be worth 25% of your grade.

 Papers: Your first paper will be a five to ten page paper on a particular scene in the film that you will analyze for historical content and image representation.  You may use the information you have received thus far in the class or you may conduct research on your own to supplement your findings.  Your should be able to answer how this particular image of Malcolm X, presented by Spike Lee, progresses or detracts from a particular view of Malcolm X. You are expected to use MLA or Chicago Manual of Style documentation in both of your papers. You are also subject to the University of Maryland code of academic integrity.  If you are unfamiliar with the code please visit http://www.jpo.umd.edu/aca/honorpledge.html .  

Final Assignment: Your final paper will be a 12 to 15 page paper on a recent image of Malcolm X.  You may choose anything from 1965 through the present.  You are not allowed to use the Spike Lee film or any films viewed in class.  You can use books, music, film, still photos, posters, events, or any other image of Malcolm X that has been developed since the time of his death.  In this paper, you will analyze the image or event of your choosing in relation to the film by Spike Lee.  Some of the questions that should be answered in your paper are: How is this event/image similar/different from Lee’s film?  What is my particular image/event saying about the legacy of Malcolm X? How has this image changed since the death of Malcolm X?

 

                                                Grading:

                                                 First Paper – 10%

                                                 Midterm – 20%

                                                Final Paper – 30%

                                                 Final Exam – 25%

                                                Class Participation – 10%

                                               Attendance -   5%

                                       Required Readings        

                            DeCaro, Louis A. Jr. On the Side of My People: A                             Religious  Life of Malcolm X.  NewYork: New York                             University Press, 1996.

                            Dyson, Michael Eric.  Making Malcolm: The Myth &                             Meaning of Malcolm X. NewYork: Oxford, 1995

                             X, Malcolm. The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As                             Told to Alex Haley. New York:Ballantine Publishing                             Group, 1999.  

                            X, Malcolm. By Any Means Necessary.  New York:                             Pathfinder, 1992.

                            Weber, Lynn. Understanding Race, Class, Gender, and                             Sexuality: A Conceptual Framework.  Boston: McGraw                             Hill 2001.

                     Week One: Introduction

                            Introduction

                            Discussion: Race, Malcolm X, and the Experiences of                             Blacks in America

Readings

X, Malcolm. The Autobiography of Malcolm X: Chapters 1- 8;

Goldman, Peter. The Death and Life of Malcolm X. Urbana: The University of Illinois Press, 1979. – Preface

Weber, Lynn. Understanding Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality: A Conceptual Framework. Boston: McGraw Hill 2001. – Introduction (1-16p)

Week Two: Malcolm X – The Nation of Islam

Discussion: Malcolm X and Nation of Islam (NOI)

Readings

Omi, Michael and Howard Winant.  Racial Formation in the United States: From the 1960s to the 1990s.  Second Edition.  New York: Routledge, 1994. – Preface to 1986 and 1994, Introduction, and Chapter 4.

Weber, Lynn. Understanding Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality: A Conceptual Framework. Boston: McGraw Hill 2001. – Chapter 1 and Chapter 2

X, Malcolm. The Autobiography of Malcolm X – Chapter 9-14

DeCaro, Louis A. Jr.   On the Side of My People: A Religious Life of Malcolm X.  New York: New York University Press, 1996.  - Section 1: Prophets and Messiahs of a Black God

Lomax, Louis. When the Word is Given…: A report on Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X and the Black Muslim World.  Cleveland: The World Publishing Company, 1963.Introduction, Part 1 - Chapter 1: 1-32, Chapter 2: 47-56, Chapter 3: 59-84  Part 2: Chapter 1: 109-129, Chapter 4: 159- 171

Lincoln, C. Eric.  The Black Muslims in America. Boston: Beacon Press, 1961. Chapter 2: 33-49, Chapter 4: 67-97.

Goldman, Peter. The Death and Life of Malcolm X.  Urbana: The University of IllinoisPress, 1979.  Part I, Chapter 3: Malcolm

Viewing: Against All Odds: Malcolm X: Black American Militant Leader. Films for the Humanities and Sciences, Inc. 1983

 

Week Three:  Listening to Malcolm

 

Discussion:  Malcolm X as minister and teacher

 

Readings

Sound Recording at Hornbake Nonprint Media E185.97.L75

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/malcolmxballot.htm

Weber, Lynn. Understanding Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality: A Conceptual

Framework. Boston: McGraw Hill 2001. – Chapter 4

DeCaro, Louis A. Jr.   On the Side of My People: A Religious Life of Malcolm X.  NewYork: New York University Press, 1996. Section 2: The First Moment – Prologue, Chapter 4, 7, 8,

X, Malcolm. The Autobiography of Malcolm X – Chapter 15-19

 

Week Four: Malcolm X- The Movie

 

Viewing: Malcolm X. By Spike Lee 1992

Class will be dismissed after viewing of film.

                  

Week Five: Malcolm X – The Movie - Your Responses & Some of Theirs

 

Discussion: Responses to the film

Readings

Meier, August and John Bracey. “Malcolm X.”  The Journal of American History, Vol.80, No.3 December,1993.

 Cineaste Vol. 19, No. 4

Assignment: First Paper Due

 

Week Six: Black Film

 

Discussion: Black Film: Practices, aesthetics and other good stuff

Readings:

Lott, Tommy.  “A No-theory of Contemporary Black Cinema,” Black American

Literature Forum, Vol. 25, No. 2 Summer 1991

Davies, Jude and Carol R. Smith.  Gender, Ethnicity and Sexuality in Contemporary American Film.  Edinburg, Great Britain: Keele University Press, 1997. – Chapter Two

hooks, bell.  “The Oppostional Gaze: Black Female Spectators.” Black American Cinema. Ed. Manthia Diawara. New York: Routledge, 1993.

Hyatt, Marshall and Cheryl Sanders.  “Film as Medium to Study the Twentieth- Century Afro- American Experience.” Journal of Negro Education, Vol. 53, Issue 2 Spring 1984.

 

Viewings: Black Directors Snipets – Kasi Lemmons, Cheryl Dunye, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Theodore Witcher, Charles Burnett

 

Week Seven:  About Spike Lee

 

Discussion: Spike Lee as director and “Black Nationalist”

 

Readings

Lubiano, Wahneema.  “But Compared to What?: Reading Realism, Representation, and Essentialism in School Daze, Do the Right Thing, and the Spike Lee Discourse.” Black American Literature Forum, Vol. 25 No.2 Summer, 1991.

Bernotas, Bob.  Spike Lee: Filmmaker.  Hillside, New Jersey: Enslow Publishers, Inc.1993.

Haskins, Jim.  Spike Lee: By Any Means Necessary. New York: Walker and Co., 1997.

X, Malcolm. By Any Means Necessary.  New York: Pathfinder, 1992 – The Second Rally

of the OAAU (Organization of Afro- American Unity) and The Young Socialist

Interview.

Week Eight: Midterm

Week Nine: Spike Lee’s Malcolm X

 

Discussion: The film as Lee’s statement on Malcolm X

 

Reading:

Baker, Houston A. Jr. “Spike Lee and the Commerce of Culture.” Black American Literature Forum Vol. 25 No.2 Summer 1991.

Painter, Nell Irvin.  “Malcolm X Across the Genres.” The American Historical Review, Vol.98. No. 2 April 1993.

Baraka, Amiri,  “Spike Lee and the Commerce of Culture.” Black American  Cinema. Ed. Manthia Diawara. New York: Routledge, 1993.

Bambara, Toni Cade. “Spike Lee at the Movies.” Black American Cinema. Ed. Manthia Diawara. New York: Routledge, 1993.

 

Week Ten: Images and Representations of Malcolm X

Discussion: Brief lecture on semiotics and Malcolm X Images

Readings:

Dyson, Michael Eric.  Making Malcolm: The Myth & Meaning of Malcolm X. New

York: Oxford, 1995

Goldman, Peter. The Death and Life of Malcolm X.  Urbana: The University of Illinois

Press, 1979. – Part I Chapter 10 “The Parable of Hinton Johnson”

DeCaro, Louis A. Jr.   On the Side of My People: A Religious Life of Malcolm X.  New

York: New York University Press, 1996. Section 2: The First Moment – Chapter 9

X, Malcolm. The Autobiography of Malcolm X Epilogue by Alex Haley

Viewing: Malcolm X by Spike Lee –Sections.

 

Week Eleven: Legacy of Malcolm X

Discussion: Implications and Meaning of Malcolm X

Readings

Goldman, Peter. The Death and Life of Malcolm X.  Urbana: The University of Illinois

Press, 1979. – Part IV

Lee, Jonathan Scott.  “Spike Lee’s Malcolm X as Transformational Object.” American

Imago, Vol. 52, No. 2 1995.

Yousman, Bill.  “Who Owns Identity? Malcolm X, Representation, and the Struggle Over

Meaning.”  Communication Quarterly, Vol. 49 No.1, Winter 2001

Horne, Gerald.  “ ‘Myth’ and the Making of ‘Malcolm X’” The American Historical Review, Vol. 98 No. 2 April 1993.

Week Twelve: Final Class

Discussion: Final Thoughts on the film and Malcolm X

Viewing:  El Hajj Malik Shabazz. Produced and written by Gil Noble. - E185.97.E4 Sound Recording: E185.97.l5 M25 Available in Hornbakke Nonprint Media

Assignment: Final Paper Due