2017-2018 Course Catalog

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African and African Diaspora Studies

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The African and African Diaspora Studies program is designed to help students explore, examine, and critically analyze the African presence in a global context. This presence stretches back to antiquity in Europe and Asia, and for centuries in the Americas, but serious and sustained efforts to understand the profoundly rich, dynamic, and complex contributions to the world’s civilizations have been lacking. Students are provided background and tools to investigate the agency, experiences and movements of African and African Diaspora people that span time and place and bridge academic disciplines. The program is a cross-disciplinary study area with course offerings in anthropology and sociology, economics, history, political science, fine arts, literature, language, psychology and philosophy that address the black experience in Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the United States. The broad goals of the program are to investigate the historical and cultural linkages between African and African Diaspora people and between people of the Diaspora and other groups in the cultures where they live; to examine theories of race and ethnicity; and to explore critical issues and contributions of Diaspora people in major fields of knowledge and aspects of life.

The foundation of the program is the core course AADS 214, Africa and the African Diaspora, which serves as a gateway to the field of African and African Diaspora Studies and a common experience for all students in the program. The course includes scholarship produced by African and African Diaspora scholars that recognizes the intellectual and cultural histories of black people. It introduces students to a broader range of scholarship to provide a thorough grounding in the experiences of peoples of African origin.

The required core course is offered every spring semester and provides a broad overview of the peoples, languages, culture, history, and institutions across the African continent and the African Diaspora. Any student with an interest in pursuing study in this particular area should consult the program coordinator. Formal declaration of intent to complete the program’s requirements must be preceded by completion of the core course. Students may declare their minor at any time prior to the final semester of their senior year, but are encouraged to declare their participation and seek curricular advising as soon as possible.

Degree Requirements for the African and African Diaspora Studies Minor

General College requirements

  • General College requirements
  • All requirements in a major discipline of study

Core Course

  • A 4-credit core course (AADS 214)

Electives

Electives: From the list below, the student must choose at least 16 credit hours of courses, of which 8 credit hours must be upper division (300-400 level) courses selected from at least two disciplines. Students must obtain a minimum grade of C in each course.

  • ANTH 303: The Gambia, West Africa Field Study Program (8ASu)
  • ANTH 348: African American Culture (4AS)
  • ANTH 336: The Cultured Body (4AF)
  • ANTH 390: Cultures of Africa (4AF)
  • ECON 316: Economics of Race and Gender (4S)
  • ECON 372: Economics of Developing Countries (4F)
  • ENGL 235: Topics in Literature and Culture: African American Expression (4E)
  • ENGL 365: Studies in American Literature: Multicultural American Literature (4E)
  • ENGL 430: Topics in Literature: American Literature and Music as Social Protest (4A)
  • HIST 317: In Our Times, 1945 to the Present (4AF)
  • HIST 360: Early African Civilization (4AF)
  • HIST 361: African Civilization 1800-1900 (4AF)
  • HIST 369: The History of Apartheid (4AS)
  • HIST 400: Comparative Slave Systems in the Americas (4AF)
  • HIST 401: The Caribbean Experience (4AS)
  • HIST 419: African American History in America (4AS)
  • ILCF 356: Intro to the Francophone World (4AF)
  • ILCF 364: Topics in Francophone Literature (4AF)
  • ILCS 362: African Diaspora Cultural Expressions in Latin America (4)
  • PSYC 363: Cross-Cultural Psychology (4AF)
  • RELG 220: Foundations of Islam (4S)
  • SOCI 320: Sociology of the Family (4F)
  • SOCI 347: Sociology of Race and Ethnicity (4AF)
  • TFMS 200: Theater in History (4AF)
  • TFMS 220: Introduction to Film and Media Studies (4)
  • TFMS 251: Introduction to Traditional African Dance (4F)
  • TFMS 258: Dance in History (4A)
  • TFMS 325: Documentary Practices (4AS)

Each year the coordinator and participating program faculty will designate other courses, including new courses, topic courses, and special offerings that will satisfy elective requirements. A complete list of approved current offerings will appear in the online Schedule of Classes.

Field Experiences

Students are encouraged to participate in an approved field experience. Credits obtained for such activities will count toward the elective credit hours. Activities may include study abroad, internships, independent study, directed research, and other hands-on initiatives.

Currently, study-abroad programs exist in The Gambia and Sénégal. Plans are being made to establish programs in Brazil and other countries.

St. Mary's Project

Students may pursue their St. Mary’s Project in African and African Diaspora Studies with the permission of their major department and an African and African Diaspora Studies faculty member serving as mentor. Project credit (8 hours) does not apply toward fulfillment of the curriculum requirements of the program.