Africana Studies, African-American Concentration, BA

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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.

Language Requirement

Africana Studies requires an Africa-relevant foreign language study that exceeds the College-wide proficiency requirement. This means one course beyond the 202-level in one language, or 202-level proficiency in two languages. Besides native African languages (such as Amharic, Hausa, Oromiffa, Swahili, Yoruba, Wolof and Zulu), the following can be used to fulfill the requirement: Arabic, French, Portuguese, or Spanish. Others, such as Creole, may be approved on a case by case basis. Students are well-advised to choose languages that are appropriate for the chosen concentration.

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)

Common Core:

All majors, regardless of concentration, will take a gateway course:

AFST 205 - Introduction to Africana Studies (3)

Capstone Experience:

Majors must also have a capstone experience with a significant research component, which is satisfied by taking the following:

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)

Note:

These courses total at least 6 credits.

Methods:

The 3 credit methods course may be selected from any of the participating departments. The choices include, but are not limited to:

ANTH 302 - Ethnographic Research (3)
Any statistics course (ECON, PSYC, or SOCL)
ENGL 209 - Critical Approaches to Literature (3)
GOVT 301 - Research Methods (3)
RELG 391 - Theory and Method in the Study of Religion (3)
SOCL 352 - Methods of Social Research (3)

Note:

Students who intend to write an Honors thesis should select the methods course that best meets their needs.

Electives:

The remaining credits are to come from elective 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

Group One

Mandatory (choose one per section)

AFST 303 - African American History since Emancipation (3) or
AFST 311 - African American History to Emancipation (3)
AFST 302 - The Idea of Race (3) or
AFST 425 - Blacks in American Society (3) or
RELG 348 - African American Religions (3)
AFST 365 - Early Black American Literature (3) or
AFST 366 - Modern Black American Literature (3) or
AFST 414 - Major African American Women Writers (3) or
AFST 417 - Harlem in Vogue (3)

Group Two

Humanities (choose no more than four)

AFST 303 - African American History since Emancipation (3)
AFST 306 - Topics in Africana Studies (1-4)
AFST 307 - Workshop on Black Expressive Culture (3-4)
AFST 311 - African American History to Emancipation (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 331 - History of Jazz (4)
AFST 332 - Sex & Race in Plays & Films: Dramatizing Diversity (3)
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, 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 151 - African American Theatre on Stage
THEA 461 - African American Theatre

Group Three

Social Sciences (choose no more than three)

AFST 302 - The Idea of Race (3)
AFST 303 - African American History since Emancipation (3)
AFST 304 - Introduction to the African Diaspora (3)
AFST 305 - African Diaspora II (3)
AFST 310 - Comparative Economic Inequality in Multiracial Societies (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 425 - Blacks in American Society (3)
ANTH 429 - Exploring the Afro-American Past (3)
AFST 311 - African American History to Emancipation (3)
AFST 312 - The Global Color Line: U.S. Civil Rights and South African Anti-Apartheid Politics (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) (relevant topics only)
HIST 414 - Topics in History (3) (relevant topics only)

Electives:

A reasonably comprehensive but by no means exhaustive listing of courses that may be counted toward the Major or the Minor appears above. Not all courses are offered every semester, and newly-added courses not yet in the Catalog may qualify. This listing is designed as an advising aid for faculty and students to ensure a coherent plan of study.

Group One contains courses that are mandatory for each Concentration. Group Two and Group Three list electives from which at least 27 credits must be taken. The classification of AFST 480 , AFST 495 -AFST 496 and AFST 498 depends on the topic. A course can be counted only under one group.