2024-2025 Undergraduate Bulletin

Africana Studies Minor

Description. The Minor in Africana Studies provides students with interdisciplinary approaches to the study of the historical and contemporary experiences of peoples of African heritage. Using themes such as culture, agency, struggle and justice, students will master multidisciplinary knowledge about Africa and the African diaspora, and will explore new ways of thinking about the cultures, philosophies, history and society of African peoples and their communities throughout the diaspora.

Learning Outcomes. Students will:

  • Explain the core ideas (key concepts, theories and methodologies) of Africana Studies, especially as they relate to themes of justice.
  • Acquire and hone their critical thinking skills as applied to problems around justice themes within Africana Studies and among people of color.
  • Use high level written and oral communication skills to work effectively and collaboratively with others.
  • Have a better understanding of themselves, and of their relationship(s) to the broader society, as a result of exposure to Africana Studies.

Rationale. The Africana Studies minor uses interdisciplinary studies to expose students to different ways of thinking about and communicating both the diversity and commonality of cultural, political, social, economic, and historical experiences. With a focus on African people throughout the diaspora (people of color) this minor increases students’ familiarity with themes of inequality and justice, and provides tools students can use to study and address historical and contemporary racial inequality. Students will also learn more about the accomplishments, cultural richness and uniqueness, and contributions to the past and present world of Africana. Through community–based projects offered in several of the courses, students will be more attuned to real–life application of Africana perspectives and methodology. This in turn contributes to their ability to thrive in an increasingly diverse and globalizing world, and to adapt to changing work environments; as well as to their becoming well-rounded thinkers who will be attractive to employers and graduate schools.

Credits required. 18

Minor coordinator. Professor Teresa Booker (tbooker@jjay.cuny.edu), Department of Africana Studies

Minor advisor. Ms. Rulisa Galloway-Perry, Academic Advising Director and Senior Co-Curricular Administrator, Deputy Minor Coordinator, Department of Africana Studies (212.237.8701, rgalloway@jjay.cuny.edu)

Requirements. A maximum of two courses can overlap with a student’s major, other minors or programs.

Additional information. The curriculum presented here applies to students who started the minor in September 2024 and after. If you declared the minor prior to that, please see the Undergraduate Bulletin 2023-2024

Part One. Required Course

Required

AFR 140Introduction to Africana Studies

3

 

Subtotal: 3

Part Two. Electives

Select any five courses, at least one course must be at the 300-level

Select ANY 5 courses taught by the Africana Studies Department (AFR course prefix) or those from ICJ, LIT, LLS, MUS or SOC listed below.  

The following list provides suggested groupings of courses for those students with particular interests, but does NOT include all possible course choices. Credit toward the Africana Studies Minor may be given for courses taken elsewhere at the College if they include substantial Africana content upon review of the course syllabus.  Please contact the Africana Studies Minor Coordinator for guidance.

For students interested in Justice:

AFR 123Justice, the Individual & Struggle in African American Experience

3

OR

AFR 125Race & Ethnicity in America

3

AFR 145Introduction to Community Justice in Human Systems

3

AFR 215Police and Urban Communities

3

AFR 220Law and Justice in Africa

3

AFR 227Community-based Approaches to Justice

3

AFR 229Restoring Justice: Making Peace and Resolving Conflict

3

AFR 243Africana Youth and Social Justice Struggles

3

AFR 255Community Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship

3

AFR 315Community-based Justice in the Africana World

3

AFR 317Environmental Racism

3

AFR 320Perspectives on Justice in the Africana World

3

AFR 377Field Education in Community Organizing and Practice

3

ICJ 381Internship in International Criminal Justice

3

SOC 381Internship in Dispute Resolution

3

ICJ 381, SOC 381: Students who take AFR 410 Independent Study or a 300 or 400-level “Experience Course” equivalent can use such a course in lieu of AFR 310, see Minor coordinator for more information).

ICJ 381: Prerequisites: SOC 341 & LAW 259/POL 259

SOC 381: Prerequisite: SOC 380

For students interested in a focus on Humanities:

AFR 132Arts & Culture in the African Diaspora

3

AFR 135Africana Oral Traditions

3

AFR 204Religion, Terrorism and Violence in the Africana World

3

AFR 223/LIT 223African-American Literature

3

AFR 230African-American Theatre

3

AFR 241Poetic Justice: Spoken Word Poetry and Performance

3

AFR 267/LLS 267/HIS 267History of Caribbean Migrations to the United States

3

AFR 270Africana Social and Intellectual Thought

3

AFR 280Selected Topics in Africana Studies

3

AFR 340/LIT 340The African-American Experience in America: Comparative Racial Perspectives

3

AFR 354/PHI 354Africana Philosophy

3

LIT 212Literature of the African World

3

LIT 344Caribbean Literature and Culture

3

MUS 103American Popular Music from Jazz to Rock

3

MUS 110/LLS 110Popular Music of the Caribbean

3

MUS 310Comparative History of African American Musics

3

MUS 310: Prerequisites: one HIS course and any 100-level MUS course.

For students interested in Inequality:

AFR 110Race and the Urban Community

3

AFR 121Africana Communities in U.S.

3

AFR 125Race & Ethnicity in America

3

AFR 204Religion, Terrorism and Violence in the Africana World

3

AFR 227Community-based Approaches to Justice

3

AFR 237Institutional Racism

3

AFR 239African American Journeys

3

AFR 243Africana Youth and Social Justice Struggles

3

AFR 250Political Economy of Racism

3

AFR 252Race and Science

3

AFR 280Selected Topics in Africana Studies

3

AFR 317Environmental Racism

3

AFR 322Inequality and Wealth

3

AFR 340/LIT 340The African-American Experience in America: Comparative Racial Perspectives

3

AFR 347/PSY 347Psychology of Oppression

3

AFR 377Field Education in Community Organizing and Practice

3

LLS 321 Latinx Community Fieldwork

4

LLS 321: Students who take AFR 410 Independent Study or a 300 or 400-level “Experience Course” equivalent can use such a course in lieu of AFR 310, see Minor coordinator for more information). Prerequisites: LLS 241.

For students interested in a focus on Africa:

AFR 150Origins of Contemporary Africa

3

AFR 210Drugs and Crime in Africa

3

AFR 220Law and Justice in Africa

3

AFR 225Police and Law in Africa

3

AFR 229Restoring Justice: Making Peace and Resolving Conflict

3

AFR 252Race and Science

3

AFR 263/HIS 263/LLS 263Blacks in Latin America

3

AFR 271African Politics

3

AFR 315Community-based Justice in the Africana World

3

AFR 320Perspectives on Justice in the Africana World

3

For students interested in Psychology and Identity:

AFR 129/PSY 129The Psychology of the African-American Experience

3

AFR 245Psychology of the African-American Family

AFR 248Men: Masculinities in the United States

3

AFR 319Self, Identity & Justice: Global Perspectives

3

AFR 347/PSY 347Psychology of Oppression

3

Subtotal: 15

Total Credit Hours: 18