(cross-leveled with BL_STU 7604). This is an advanced undergraduate, graduate cross-level course exploring political systems through the lens of the Black cultural and political experience. The overall goal of the course is to get students to think about and understand the importance of politics. The issues that will be focused upon are ones that are of specific importance to Black politics. This course is a challenging one in the sense that students will be required to think and write critically and thoughtfully about the issues. It will also be an interesting one given that all students keep up with the readings and participate actively and regularly. This course is intended to sharpen analytical thinking about Black politics, discuss contemporary issues and problems with respect to political systems, examine various avenues of political expression, and raise questions and new ideas pertaining to the exploration of Black politics. Graded on A-F basis only.