HEALING IN THE BLACK ATLANTIC
HIST 050
Eligible for BLST, LALS, and GSST
Spring 2026
Monday/Wednesday 1:15PM-2:30PM
Old Science Hall 210
Professor: Dr. Mitchell (she/her)
Contact: emitche1@swarthmore.edu
Office Hours: Mondays 2:30PM-5PM or by appointment via email
Course Description
How have Black healers and communities conceived of health and healing throughout history? How has healing exceeded notions of individual physical well-being to include political action, collective care, spirituality, and social cohesion? This undergraduate seminar will explore these questions and more. Notions of health and healing and healing practices in the “Black Atlantic” (inclusive of Africa and the Americas) from the era of slavery to the present are the focus of this course. Black people’s notions of health and healing and their racialized and gendered experiences of health and healing have not occurred in a vacuum. The course materials necessarily draw connections between Black, Native, and non-Black Latinx people’s concepts and experiences of health and healing. Students will engage with primary sources, historical and sociological scholarship, and historical documentaries concerning healing and Black life.
HIST 050
Eligible for BLST, LALS, and GSST
Spring 2026
Monday/Wednesday 1:15PM-2:30PM
Old Science Hall 210
Professor: Dr. Mitchell (she/her)
Contact: emitche1@swarthmore.edu
Office Hours: Mondays 2:30PM-5PM or by appointment via email
Course Description
How have Black healers and communities conceived of health and healing throughout history? How has healing exceeded notions of individual physical well-being to include political action, collective care, spirituality, and social cohesion? This undergraduate seminar will explore these questions and more. Notions of health and healing and healing practices in the “Black Atlantic” (inclusive of Africa and the Americas) from the era of slavery to the present are the focus of this course. Black people’s notions of health and healing and their racialized and gendered experiences of health and healing have not occurred in a vacuum. The course materials necessarily draw connections between Black, Native, and non-Black Latinx people’s concepts and experiences of health and healing. Students will engage with primary sources, historical and sociological scholarship, and historical documentaries concerning healing and Black life.
- Teacher: Elise Mitchell