Africana Studies, African-American Concentration, BA

Print Degree Planner (opens a new window) |

Requirements for Major

Required Credit Hours: 36

Major Declaration:

Prospective majors in AFST should discuss their plan-of-study with a faculty advisor by the end of the sophomore year. Declaration forms and instructions for majors and minors are available at the websites of Africana Studies and the University Registrar.

Major Computing Requirement (MCR):

Each major must fulfill the MCR by earning a grade of C- or better in one of the courses listed under Methods (see below) or take CSCI 131 or higher.

Major Writing Requirement (MWR):

The following writing-intensive courses satisfy the MWR for Africana Studies:

AFST 301 - Critical Debates in Africana Studies (3-4)
AFST 306 - Topics in Africana Studies (1-4)
AFST 406 - Advanced Topics in Africana Studies (3-4)
AFST 480 - Independent Study (3-4)
or
AFST 495 - Senior Honors (3)
AFST 496 - Senior Honors (3)
AFST 499 - Senior Project in Africana Studies (3)

Major Gateway (3 credits)

AFST 150 - Introducation to Africana Studies (4) OR
AFST 205 - Introduction to Africana Studies (3)

Methods (3 credits)

AFST 399 - Africana Studies Methodologies (3)

College 400 Senior Capstone (3 credits)

AFST 495 - Senior Honors (3)
AFST 496 - Senior Honors (3)
AFST 499 - Senior Project in Africana Studies (3)

Language Requirement (3 credits)

Africana Studies requires an Africa-relevant foreign language study that exceeds the College-wide proficiency requirement. Specifically, Africana Studies requires additional Africa-relevant foreign language study that can be fulfilled by any one of the following:

AFST 250 - African-American English (4) or
AFST 251 - Soon Come: Caribbean Languages and Identities (3) or
One course beyond 202 level or
202-level proficiency in 2 languages or
Off-campus study - Off-campus study programs or native proficiency in any national, ethnic, or community language of African or the African Diaspora (such as, but not limited to, Amharic, Hausa, Haitian Kreyol, Jamaican Creole English, Oromiffa, Twi, Swahili, Sranan, Yoruba, Wolof and Zulu).

Concentration Core & Electives:

The remaining credits are to come from concentration core and courses in the Humanities and Social Sciences that are specific to each of the three Concentrations that constitute the Major. These are listed by Concentration. The University Registrar publishes the most recent list of eligible courses every semester.

Concentration in African-American Studies

Concentration Gateway (3 credits)

AFST 351 - Introduction to African American Studies (3)

400 Level Seminar (3 credits)

AFST 406 - Advanced Topics in Africana Studies (3-4) (African-American Topics only)
or
AFST 414 - Major African American Women Writers (3) or
AFST 417 - Harlem in Vogue (3)
or
AFST 425 - Blacks in American Society (3)

Concentration Electives (minimum 18 credits)

Students are required to complete at least 18 credits through recognized AFST courses in the Social Sciences and Arts & Humanities within their chosen area of concentration.

Students must take at least one 3 credit course in one field if they are more inclined to take the majority of their Electives in another. For instance, a student more interested in the Arts & Humanities must take at least one 3 credit class in the Social Sciences in order to complete the degree.

Students are also strongly encouraged to take one elective in a concentration outside of their own.

The program publishes recognized and accepted Electives for each of the concentrations in the online catalog of the University.

Courses credited towards the major and concentration core may not be credited as Electives. There is no double crediting within the Africana Studies major.

Other courses may also be credited towards the Electives after approval by the major Advisor and Program Director.

African-American Studies Electives

African-American Studies Electives in Humanities

AFST 301 - Critical Debates in Africana Studies (3-4)
AFST 306 - Topics in Africana Studies (1-4)
AFST 307 - Workshop on Black Expressive Culture (3-4)
AFST 320 - African Religions, African Lives: Religious Power, Complexity and Change in Africa and the Diaspora (3)
AFST 321 - Women in Africa and the Diaspora (3)
AFST 331 - History of Jazz (4)
AFST 332 - Sex & Race in Plays & Films: Dramatizing Diversity (4)
AFST 334 - History of American Vernacular Dance (3)
AFST 365 - Early Black American Literature (3)
AFST 366 - Modern Black American Literature (3)
AFST 406 - Advanced Topics in Africana Studies (3-4)
AFST 414 - Major African American Women Writers (3)
AFST 417 - Harlem in Vogue (3)
AFST 425 - Blacks in American Society (3)
AMST 445 - The Making of a Region: Southern Literature and Culture (3)
AMST 470 - Topics in American Studies (1-4)
CMST 250 - Introduction to Community Studies (4)
DANC 264 - Intermediate Jazz (2)
LING 410 - Language Attitudes (4)
RELG 348 - African American Religions (3)
THEA 461 - African American Theatre (3)

African-American Studies Electives in Social Sciences

AFST 301 - Critical Debates in Africana Studies (3-4)
AFST 304 - Introduction to the African Diaspora (3)
AFST 305 - African Diaspora since 1808 (3)
AFST 310 - Comparative Economic Inequality in Multiracial Societies (3)
AFST 312 - The Global Color Line: U.S. Civil Rights and South African Anti-Apartheid Politics (3)
AFST 320 - African Religions, African Lives: Religious Power, Complexity and Change in Africa and the Diaspora (3)
AFST 321 - Women in Africa and the Diaspora (3)
AFST 371 - The Idea of Race (3)
AFST 425 - Blacks in American Society (3)
ANTH 429 - Exploring the Afro-American Past (3)
HIST 310 - African Americans and Africa (3)
HIST 321 - Topics in Civil Rights (3)
HIST 350 - Free and Enslaved Blacks in the Old South (3)
HIST 413 - Topics in History (3) (African-American Studies Topics only)
HIST 414 - Topics in History (3) (African-American Studies Topics only)