Course Description

Instructor: Althea Sumpter

The United States is a concept based on a collection of laws bringing together ethnic identities from everywhere on the planet. The larger population now overlays the nations of indigenous peoples on this continent for over 20 thousand years. To form a more perfect union, we each carry the stories of our ethnic identities within the genealogy of family and community. This 6-week course explores the origin stories of family in order to build cohesion towards understanding what makes the United States “We the People.” A combination of discussion and workshop will be used to help each student connect to their past.

Bio: Althea Sumpter is a researcher and scholar who focuses on ethnographic documentation and cultural preservation of the Southern story in the United States. With her native Gullah Geechee culture and her historical connection to the story of Reconstruction Era in Beaufort County, SC, she uses her expertise to teach how to research and document stories of a family and a community. She presents talks and workshops on how to find cultural heritage and to make the link to historical context in community.