Who defines human rights—and what happens when democratic institutions fail to protect Black communities?

Taught by Professor Kia Lilly Caldwell, this course examines how African diaspora communities in the Americas and Europe have understood, challenged, and transformed ideas of democracy and human rights during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Rather than treating democracy and human rights as abstract or universally agreed-upon principles, students will investigate how rights are claimed, denied, negotiated, and reimagined through struggles for racial, gender, economic, and civil justice.

The course takes a comparative and transnational approach, moving across Haiti, the United States, Germany, Brazil, and Colombia. Through historical, political, theoretical, and cultural materials, students will consider how African-descended communities have responded to injustice while developing broader visions of citizenship, freedom, equality, and political possibility.

Why Take This Course?

AFAS 4781 offers students an opportunity to think globally about some of the most urgent political and ethical questions of our time.

The course may be especially valuable for students interested in African and African American Studies, political science, history, international and area studies, sociology, women, gender and sexuality studies, public health, law, public policy, social work, and human rights.

Students will leave the course with tools for understanding not only whether democratic institutions succeed or fail, but also how Black communities have expanded the meaning of democracy through intellectual work, activism, cultural production, and political organizing.

Fall 2026 Course Information

Instructor: Professor Kia Lilly Caldwell
Course: L90 AFAS 4781-01
Semester: Fall 2026
Meeting time: Tuesday and Thursday, 4:00–5:20 p.m.
Format: In person
Credits: 3
Enrollment capacity: 20 students
A&S IQ attributes: Humanities; Language and Cultural Diversity; Social Contrasts