Course Descriptions

• Also offered as WGST 2020. This 2000 level course is a core course, not an elective for the AFAM minor. An exploration of social class, gender and racial/ethnic relations as distinct, but linked dimensions of social inequality. Includes an examination of the historic underpinnings of discrimination by race, class, gender and the present status of these issues

• Required Course. An introduction to key concepts, thematic concerns, and the theoretical and philosophical bases for Africana Studies. 

• Also offered as PHIL 3030, REL 3030, and NAIS 3030. An examination of philosophies and religious traditions which begin in Africa and move through the Caribbean into the Americas. The course emphasizes ontological and epistemological themes that begin in Africa and cross the Atlantic as well as Indigenous African influences in the philosophies and relgions of the Caribbean and the America

• Also offered as NURS 3070. Prerequisite: SOCI 1101 or SOCI 1160 or permission of the instructor. Course is open to all majors. An examination of the historical, cultural, social, and political issues that render certain populations in the U.S. vulnerable to ill health. The course utilizes appropriate theories to study these issues, with emphasis on ameliorating the health of vulnerable populations. It will examine issues related to health care access and policies and program developed to reduce risks of disease and injury. It is also designed to raise an awareness of the disparities in health among certain groups, including the poor, ethnic minorities, high-risk women and children, the homeless, and uninsured and underinsured, among others.
  
  

• Also offered as ANTH 3090. Prerequisite: ANTH 1101 or permission of the instructor. The study and problems of social stratification in Africa from pre-colonial to modern times. Special attention will be paid to both international institutions (e.g., kinship, class, and ethnicity) and international political economy

• Also offered as ENGL 3220. Prerequisite: ENGL 2110, 2120, 2130, or 2140.This course explores the literary legacy of African Americans through the genres of poetry, fiction, and drama. Students will examine the complex relationship between literature, history, and culture.

• Also offered as ENGL 3225. Prerequisites: ENGL 2110 or 2110H, ENGL 2120 or 2120H, ENGL 2130 or 2130H, ENGL 2060, or permission of the instructor. A study of major voices in African American literary theory. This course emphasizes the development of interpretive frameworks for examining the literature from an African American cultural perspective.

• Also offered as ENGL 3230. Prerequisites: ENGL 2110 or 2110H, ENGL 2120 or 2120H, ENGL 2130 or 2130H, ENGL 2060, or permission of the instructor. Studies in African American literature, focusing on selected topics.

• Prerequisite: AFAM 3000. Also offered as POLS 3280. A study of African Americans within the American Political environmental. Specific foci include representation, voting rights, attitudes toward policies seen as impacting African-Americans, and the role of race in elections.

• Also offered as ENGL 3320. Prerequisite: ENGL 2110, 2120, 2130, or 2140. A study of selected topics in African literature. May be repeated, but only 3 hours may be counted toward distribution requirements for the AFAM minor.

An in-depth study of selected special topics in Africana Studies.

•  AFAM 3600- African American History Since 1865: The history of the African American struggle for equality after emancipation, with special focus on the problems of black leadership from Frederick Douglass to the black Panthers.

• AFAM 3600- African Cinema: In this course we will analyze the way history, politics, and social perspectives are found in African cinema through the lens of the filmmakers and their country of origin. We will also explore narrative and documentary filmmaking techniques.  And we will delve into the works of Ousmane Sembène and Haile Gerima, the history of Nollywood, and how Africa’s cinematic portrayal on the continent compares to films in the United States and France.

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• AFAM 3600- Africana Health Psychology: This course emphasizes preventive aspects of health psychology as they relate to Africana populations. The biopsychosocial model will be used to address physical and mental health disparities, and specific disease processes such as oncology and hypertension.

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• AFAM 3600- Black Families: Black Families is a special topics course which serves as a cumulative learning experience designed to allow students an in -depth examination or study of an integral aspect of the plight of black Americans. This particular course focuses on the survival of the black family, its historical and cultural underpinnings, and the role that it plays as a foundation for the black community.

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• AFAM 3600- Black Feminist Thought: An examination of the process of self-conscious struggle that empowers Black women to actualize a humanist vision of community.

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• AFAM 3600- Black Innovations: Comics & Superheroes: This course provides an Afrocentric analysis of Black characters in various literary and visual mediums including comic books, superhero comics, graphic novels, cartoon strips, anime and video games from the early 20th century to the present. By exploring the reality of various Black characters within their given mediums this course will focus on the primacy of the Black experience wherein characters of African descent are viewed as (a) agents or capable independent actors (b) subjects rather than objects. Ultimately this course is designed to focus on the distinctive and unique identity of Black characters throughout different mediums as a means to initiate critical thought, dialogue, and provide valuable insights into the future of Black characters in comic books, anime, video games, etc. 

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• AFAM 3600- Black Liberation Theology: This course will provide an Afrocentric examination of the theology instrumental to Black Liberation Movements of the 19th-21st centuries. Through this course students will develop an understanding of the cultural and intellectual basis surrounding the idea of Black emancipation, liberation and inevitably sovereignty. Key personalities will be accessed and analyzed in relation to their contribution towards Black Liberation Theology such as Martin, Delaney, Henry McNeal Turner, Edward Wilmont Blyden, Paul Cuffe, Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, Kwame Ture (Stockley Carmichael) and James Cone among others. By the conclusion of this course students will have developed an adept and historical accurate understanding of what constitutes Black Liberation Theology, its necessity and utility in the modern era as it concerns Black or African people.

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• AFAM 3600- Black Psychology: An evaluation of psychological research by and about populations of African descent are explored by examining mental health perspectives rooted in cultural and historical contexts.

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• AFAM 3600- Christianity and Colonialism:This course seeks to examine the intersections between Christianity & Colonialism and their impact on African reality. In particular, this course will provide an Afrocentric analysis of Christianity & Colonialism as instruments of European cultural interest and the consequences that befall the African continent, culture, history, life and people due to the imposition of Europe upon African reality. By the conclusion of this course students should understand the five essential learning outcomes of this course: (1) What is Christianity & Colonialism; (2) What is the relationship between Christianity & Colonialism; (3) How did these two forces historically impact the African continent, culture, history, life and people; (4) How are these forces in the present-day continuing to impact the African continent, diaspora, culture, history, life and people; (5) Why understanding the existence and intersections between Christianity & Colonialism is necessary ultimately as it concerns the emancipation and liberation of African people.

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• AFAM 3600- HBCUs: A Different World:This course examines historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the American educational landscape, including the roots of student activism.  Their role in contributing to the promises of equality are elucidated.

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• AFAM 3600- Jazz & Blues: Meditations: This course will trace the history of Jazz and Blues as Black cultural productions that offer insights into the lived experience of people of African descent. Created in the historical context of conditions such as enslavement, Jim Crow, and oppression; this course will highlight how Jazz and Blues music have been tools of Black resistance.

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• AFAM 3600- Race and Ethnic Relations: An introduction to the sociology of race and ethnic relations. A study of systems of social inequalities based upon race and ethnic divisions in society. Case studies including African-American and international ethnic conflicts are explored.

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• AFAM 3600- Rural Black America: This course examines African American life in the rural South and conditions that led them to migrate to the North, Midwest and West from the end of the Civil War through the middle of the 20th century. This course will also explore the issues that African American farmers and residents in the South face in modern times due historical and contemporary experiences.

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• AFAM 3600- Studies in African Literature: A study of selected topics in African literature. May be repeated, but only 3 hours may be counted toward distribution requirements for the AFAM minor.

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• AFAM 3600- The Black Press in America: This class will examine how African American writers, editors, and publishers influenced American history and the Civi1 Rights movement, along with reading the work of top writers of the current day.

• Also offered as HIST 4231. This course examines the history of African Americans from their origins in Africa tothe end of slavery in the U.S. with an emphasis on economic life and social thought.In addition, the course explores the dynamics of slavery, resistance to the institution,the plight of free Blacks in the nation, and the development of a distinct AfricanAmerican culture from the colonial era through the end of the U. S. Civil War.

• Also offered as HIST 4232. The history of the African American struggle for equality after emancipation, with special focus on the problems of black leadership from Frederick Douglass to the black Panthers.

• Also offered as HIST 4233. An examination of the evolution of African American cultural expression from slavery to the present, emphasizing in particular literature, theater, visual art, film, and music.

• Also offered as HIST 4234. An examination of intellectual history of African Americans from the 17th century to the present. Topics may include the role of black intellectuals in American society, changing conceptions of race, and the global context of African American thought.

• Also offered as HIST 4235. A comparative analysis of racial theory and practices in both the Jim Crow South and Nazi Germany in the first half of the 1900's.

• Also offered as AFAM 4330. A study of the domestic and international politics of Africa from the pre-colonial period to the present day.

• Also offered as HIST 4511. An analysis of the 8000-year-old cultures of the Nile Valley, including Egypt, Nubia, and Kush; West Africa and its contacts with the Middle East and Europe; the East African city-states and their contacts with India.

• Also offered as HIST 4512. Explores the European colonization of Africa and the African response. The course also examines the emergence of African nationalism and the problems of creating new states.

• An exploration of contemporary cultures in the Caribbean. Examinations of historical,political, and social influences are included. Matters of identity and heritage will also be considered.

• Prerequisite: AFAM 3000. A survey of the experiences of women of African descent throughout the world. Various themes such as resistance, colonialism, and globalization will be explored.

• Prerequisite: AFAM 3000. An exploration of what it means to be a Black man in the 21st century. Historical, political, and cultural perspectives will be considered.

• Required Course. Prerequisite: AFAM 3000 and at least two AFAM 3000 level course electives. An interdisciplinary seminar on selected topics, providing a capstone experience.