Chair, Professor DAVID L. SMITH
Advisory Committee: Professors: SINGHAM*, A. WILLINGHAM*. Associate Professors: E. D. BROWN***, MUTONGI, WILDER*. Assistant Professor: HICKS. Senior Lecturer: E. GRUDIN.
African-American Studies is an interdisciplinary program that examines the history, the cultures, and the social and political experiences of people of African ancestry in the Western Hemisphere. The program encourages students to take advantage of its interdisciplinary focus and to examine the vibrant and varied intellectual traditions that constitute the study of the African Diaspora.
All candidates for a concentration in African-American Studies must complete a total of five courses: one United States subject, one Caribbean or South American, one African, and two electives. At least one of these courses must be in the performing or fine arts.
Students may select their required courses from the following:
One course in a United States or Canadian subject:
English/American Studies 220 Introduction to African-American Writing
History 281 African-American History Through Emancipation
History 282 African-American History From Reconstruction to the Present
Music 122 African-American Music
Music 130 History of Jazz
Political Science 213 Theory and Practice of Civil Rights Protest
Theatre/American Studies 211 Topics in African-American Performance: Theatre, Film, and Dance of the Harlem Renaissance
One course in a Caribbean/South American subject:
History 242 Latin America From Conquest to Independence
History 249 The Caribbean From Slavery to Independence: A Comparison of Empires
History 331 The French and Haitian Revolutions
History 346 History of Modern Brazil, 1822 to the Present
History 443 Slavery, Race and Ethnicity in Latin America
History 472 Slavery, Capitalism, and Revolution: The Impact of the New World on Europe, 1700-1900
One course in an African subject:
History 102 /Environmental Studies 116 Environmental History of Africa
History 202 Early-African History Through the Era of the Slave Trade
History 203 Sub-Saharan Africa Since 1800
History 304 South Africa and Apartheid
History 402 African Political Thought
Music 125 Music Cultures of the World
Two electives (from the above or the following):
AAS 491 or 492 Senior Project
Economics 204/Environmental Studies 234 Economic Development in Poor Countries
Economics/Environmental 212 Sustainable Development (Deleted 2002-2003)
History 164 Slavery in the American South
History 180/Religion 222 "The God of History": Slavery and Race in Christian Thought (Deleted 2002-2003)
History 364 History of the Old South
History 365 History of the New South
History 370 Studies in American Social Change
History 382 The Black Radical Tradition in America (Deleted 2002-2003)
History 456 Civil War and Reconstruction
History 467 Black Urban Life and Culture
History 478 The Ghetto From Venice to Harlem (Deleted 2002-2003)
Music 140 Introduction to the Music of Duke Ellington
Music 141 Introduction to the Music of John Coltrane
Music 209 Music in History III: Musics of the Twentieth Century
Music 212 Jazz Theory and Improvisation I
Music 213 Jazz Theory and Improvisation II
Political Science 235 Multiculturalism and Political Theory
Political Science 239 Political Thinking About Race: Resurrecting the Political in Contemporary Texts on the Black Experience
Political Science 318 The Voting Rights Act and the Voting Rights Movement
Political Science 331T Non-Profit Organization and Community Change
Political Science/American Studies 332 Fugitive Identities: Slavery and the Boundaries of American Politics (Deleted 2002-2003)
Political Science 343T Multiculturalism in Comparative Context
Psychology 341 Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination
Sociology 103 Behind the Rhetoric of Race: Race, Ethnicity and Public Policy (Deleted 2002-2003)
Theatre 210 Multicultural Performance
HONORS PROGRAM IN AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDIES
A candidate for honors in African-American Studies must maintain at least a B+ average in the
concentration and be admitted to candidacy by the program faculty. An honors candidate must
complete her/his project in a semester (and Winter Study). A candidate will enroll for either AAS 491
or 492 (and Winter Study) during her/his senior year to write a forty-page thesis or to do an equivalent
project in the performing and studio arts. A faculty advisor, in consultation with the chair, can change
the particulars of an honors project.
An honors project should demonstrate unusual creativity, depth, and intellectual rigor. A candidate for
honors is permitted and encouraged to pursue non-traditional projects, such as presentations in the
performing arts, visual arts, or creative writing, as well as more traditional interdisciplinary studies.
The advisor will evaluate an honors project, and the program faculty will decide whether to confer
honors. A student wishing to become a candidate for honors in African-American Studies should
secure a faculty sponsor and inform the program chair in writing before spring registration of her/his
junior year.
THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDIES CONCENTRATION AND THE AMERICAN STUDIES MAJOR
Several courses in African-American Studies count for credit in the American Studies major. Therefore, students in American Studies can easily complete requirements for an African-American Studies concentration by electing one course in an African subject and by taking African-American Studies 491. Another three courses must be chosen which satisfy both American Studies and African-American Studies requirements.