Notre Dame professor co-designs first AP Seminar on African diaspora | News | Notre Dame News | University of Notre Dame Skip To Content Skip To Navigation Skip To Search University of Notre Dame Notre Dame News Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Home Contact Search Menu Home › News › Notre Dame professor co-designs first AP Seminar on African diaspora Notre Dame professor co-designs first AP Seminar on African diaspora Published: September 17, 2020 Author: Amanda Skofstad Overview of the Slave Trade out of Africa. Ernest Morrell, professor of Africana studies and English, the Coyle Professor in Literacy Education and director of the Center for Literacy Education at the University of Notre Dame, collaborated with fellow subject experts to create the first capstone course on the African diaspora for AP Seminar high school teachers and students. The curricular content — which includes interactive maps, databases, lesson plans and other resources — is now available to educators on Athena. Ernest Morrell AP Seminar is an interdisciplinary course aimed at teaching critical thinking and research skills, and its format and flexibility lend themselves to introducing complex topics like the African diaspora. College Board piloted the content for the course during the 2019-20 academic year with 10 teachers, and, as a member of the AP Seminar Development Committee, Morrell and fellow researchers worked with teachers to facilitate student conversations and refine materials. The course offers teachers and students tools to explore themes such as: What is the definition, meaning and importance of the African diaspora? What initiated the forced dispersal of Africans outside of Africa? Which events/nations/regions were involved in the slave trade? Across the diaspora, whose stories get told, and who decides? Resistance, rebellion and resilience Cultural connections through the arts Morrell said that while long-existing racial inequities have been exacerbated and brought to the fore by the coronavirus pandemic and protests against police brutality, the broader importance and urgency of this new course content lies in the vastly understudied size, impact, growth and value of the African diaspora as a site of study and engagement for young people. “Were it an independent nation, the African diaspora would form the third-largest country on Earth; taken together with the continent of Africa, that is more than 20 percent of the world’s population,” he noted in an introductory webinar for teachers. “By 2050, UNICEF estimates that 40 percent of all births will occur in sub-Saharan Africa.” In working with Morrell and other experts, Rushi Sheth, executive director of the AP Capstone Diploma Program at College Board, said he has come to appreciate the many different themes and applications of the African diaspora. “This breadth is reflected in the resources teachers have posted, from interactive maps on transatlantic slave voyages to an AP Seminar syllabus with a ‘crunk feminism’ theme,” he said. “It is so much more than a history; it is resistance, arts, culture, language and more.” Morrell added that this initiative is the first major course content offering of its kind, and the researcher-teacher partnership with College Board offers a chance to introduce students to the African diaspora in ways that pull them in, engage them, make them feel connected and increase their intercultural understanding. Additionally, Morrell noted the course creates space for connecting African American studies to a large and growing global framework. “Globalizing all of our disciplines and inquiries in ways that include the continent and African diaspora is a move we will all need to make in our courses,” he said. Learn more at www.teachathena.org. Posted In: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Faculty and Staff Home Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Related July 22, 2022 Roxanne Gregg named executive director of Notre Dame TRIO programs May 02, 2022 Anna Haskins testifies at National Academies session on intergenerational poverty April 20, 2022 American studies professor receives NEH fellowship for book on Turkey, Iran March 07, 2022 Women Lead 2022 January 31, 2022 Notre Dame experts reflect on Brown Jackson and Childs as frontrunners for Supreme Court nomination For the Media Contact Office of Public Affairs and Communications Notre Dame News 500 Grace Hall Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Pinterest © 2022 University of Notre Dame Search Mobile App News Events Visit Accessibility Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn