Program in Africana Studies
Faculty
Janie Ward, Program Director and Professor
Dawna Thomas, Chair and Professor of Sociology, Director of Law and Justice Minor
Overview
The intellectual domain of Africana Studies (AST) consists of four major areas:
- The study of African and European American relationships beginning in the 16th century.
- The study of African/African American community building, i.e., African Americans’ founding and organization of economic, educational, religious, and cultural institutions and related achievements of self-determination.
- Africanity and diaspora studies in the Americas, Africa, and Europe.
- Africana women’s studies which seeks to study race, gender, and culture in ways that allow us to understand often interrelated diasporic experiences across the globe.
Each of these areas may be examined further by focusing upon specializations in the humanities (e.g., literature, film, journalism), social sciences (e.g., research, public policy, health care), physical sciences (e.g., environmental studies), interdisciplinary studies (e.g., women’s and gender studies, management, education) or in professional programs (nursing, teacher preparation, social work). An AST major or minor is appropriate for students with strong interests in studies of Americans of color; in the intersectional study of race, gender, and class in the humanities or social sciences; or in one or more subject areas indicated above. The department prepares students for the labor market and continued professional and graduate training by providing a solid foundation of critical, analytical, and technological skills. Pre-graduation internships are available for all interested students. Study abroad and modern language skills are highly recommended. Students interested in dual degree programs or self-designed majors should consult with program faculty to design an individualized program.
Program Honors
Program honors are offered to eligible students according to the College requirements on page 26. Majors with a minimum 3.30 cumulative grade point average and a 3.67 grade point average within the Department of Africana Studies are eligible for the program honors.
Africana Studies (BA) Program Requirements:
This course of study is for students who want to pursue a liberal arts major in Africana studies. Students who anticipate professional careers or graduate study in liberal arts should consider this major track.
The major requires 36 semester hours comprising the following:
| AST 101 | Introduction to Africana Studies | 4 |
| AST 102 | Black Cultures in U.S. Society Of African Americans | 4 |
| AST 240 | African American Intellectual History | 4 |
Eight semester hours contributing to an interdisciplinary knowledge of Africana studies, no more than four hours of which may be taken in any one department.
Courses that count toward the satisfaction of this requirement include:
| AST 210 | Black Women, Gender, and Feminism(s) | 4 |
| AST 249 | Inequality: Race, Class, and Gender in Comparative Settings | 4 |
| AST 275 | Soul Funk and Civil Rights | 4 |
| AST 307 | Black History At the Movies: Truth Telling or Story Telling | 4 |
| AST 313 | The Black Struggle for Schooling in the The United States | 4 |
| AST 365 | Intimate Family Violence | 4 |
| AST 388 | Black Popular Culture & the Education of Black Youth | 4 |
| ENGL 176 | African American Fiction | 4 |
| ENGL 275 | Literature of the Jazz Age | 4 |
| HIST 217 | Caribbean History | 4 |
| POLS 215 | The Politics of Exclusion | 4 |
| POLS 242 | Colonial & Postcolonial Politics of Africa | 4 |
Eight semester hours of electives.
Courses listed under the “interdisciplinary knowledge” requirement may count as electives only if they are not counted toward the satisfaction of the “interdisciplinary knowledge” requirement.
Other electives are:
Eight semester hours from
Any AST course numbered 350 and above will satisfy half of the College’s Independent Learning requirement. Two such courses will satisfy the entire Independent Learning requirement. Students may also satisfy the College’s Independent Learning requirement by taking appropriate courses or completing approved projects in an area other than Africana Studies.