Overview
Donald Carter
Mark Cryer
A. Todd Franklin
Heather Merrill
Vincent Odamtten
Nigel Westmaas, chair
The goal of the Africana Studies department is to take up the field's central questions and debates in multiple contexts and by means of multiple methodologies.
In keeping with this goal, many of the department’s course offerings focus extensively and transdisciplinarily on issues of social, structural, and institutional hierarchy as they pertain to race and a host of other dimensions of identity.
Students Will Learn to:
- Apply at least two disciplinary lenses of analysis that focus on a specific aspect of the life experiences of people of African descent (for example in written/digital assignments, performative or oral presentations)
- Explain, verbally and/or in writing, the interrelationships among people from sub-Saharan Africa, the United States, the Caribbean, Latin America, or other parts of the African diaspora in two or more of the following areas: linguistic, intellectual, political, economic, or cultural
- Define and provide examples of colonization, decolonization, Black liberation/power movements and their legacies
- Explain, verbally and/or in writing, the concept of intersectionality via specific connections with race, ethnicity, class, and gender
- Explain the goals of one or more current social justice initiatives involving people of African descent in the United States and globally
All concentrators must take two of the following courses: AFRST-220, AFRST-221, AFRST-224, AFRST-306, AFRST-382, or AFRST-405
Social, Structural, and Institutional Hierarchies Requirement:
Courses in the Africana Studies concentration explore and examine issues that satisfy the Social, Structural, and Institutional Hierarchies requirement. The department emphasizes the breadth of these hierarchies by requiring its concentrators to grapple with them as they fulfill the two intermediate course requirements detailed above.
A concentration in Africana Studies consists of at least 9 courses: AFRST-102, AFRST-112, AFRST-130, or AFRST-190; AFRST-201; two courses selected from among: AFRST-220, AFRST-221, AFRST-224, AFRST-306, AFRST-382, or AFRST-405; AFRST-549; AFRST-550; and three electives. We encourage students to take at least one course focused on women or gender.
The senior program (AFRST-549, AFRST-550) is a two-semester program culminating in a written thesis based on original research. The fall term course involves learning methodology and building a thesis proposal presented to the department faculty at the end of the term. Students with an average of at least 3.4 in the concentration may receive honors through distinguished work in AFRST-550.
A minor in Africana Studies consists of AFRST-102, AFRST-112, AFRST-130, or AFRST-190; AFRST-201, one course selected from AFRST-220, AFRST-221, AFRST-224, AFRST-382, or AFRST-405; and two electives.
Certain elective courses from other disciplines not listed may be substituted with permission of the chair. Please consult the appropriate departments and programs for full descriptions of courses, requirements and prerequisites.