African/African-American Studies

    The African/African American Studies Minor enables students to conduct an in-depth study on the peoples and cultures of Africa and its huge Diaspora, particularly the African American population. To do this, the Minor combines faculty expertise from a variety of disciplines to give students a deeper understanding of not only the origin of but also the dynamic cultural mix that now constitutes the African Diaspora.

For formal description of the program, visit the 2009-2010 catalog. 

To discuss any questions about the minor program, please contact the Chair or other committee members. 

Program Committee Members

**Denotes chair

How do I become an African/African-American Studies Minor?

To complete an African/ African-American Studies Minor, a student must submit a Minor program worksheet to the Registrar and fulfill all the requirements.  There are two courses required of all minors and three courses are electives. 

African/ African American Studies minors must take a total of 15 hours of coursework in the following areas:

Students are required to take at least one course from Area I History, and at least one course form each of the three other areas in the minor.

Select a minimum of three courses from 3 of the 6 areas below (9 credit hours):

 AREA I: History

HIST    151     History of Africa I     OR**

HIST    152    History of Africa II

HIST    310    African-American History

HIST    365    Seminar in Non-Western History

(Seminar in West Africa instantiation only)

HIST    371    Resistance Movements in Africa

HIST    372    Women in Sub-Saharan Africa

HIST    373    Ethnicity and Nationalism in Africa

AREA II:  Social Science

GEOG    321    Geography of Africa

POL     355     Politics of Sub-Saharan Africa

 AREA III:  Language and Literature

     CML  429  Studies in Foreign Language

(Elementary Wolof instantiation only)

     ENG  331    African American Literature

     ENG  321    International Literatures in English (Africa)

     ENG  326    Literatures of American Minorities (Black America)

   FREN  401    Topics in Francophone Literature (Africa)

   FREN  429    Elementary Wolof

COMM   458    Rhetoric of Race Relations

(Rhetoric of Race Relations instantiation only)

 AREA IV:  Fine Arts

ART      327    Egyptian Art

ART      333   Islamic Art

MUSI    207    Perspectives in Music: Jazz and the American Experience

 AREA V: Philosophy and Religion

PHRE    360    African American Religions

 AREA VI:  Interdisciplinary

JINS    300    Cultural Crossroads: Cairo

JINS    311    Race, Class and Gender (Africa or Black America)

JINS    317    Women’s Movement in Intercultural Perspective: US and South Africa

JINS    339    Gender and Culture: Women in the Middle East & North Africa

JINS    387    Reel Africa: (De)constructing History in Film

Click here to view or print the African/African-American Studies Minor program worksheet

Additional Information

Students may also undertake research papers on a topic pertaining to African or African American history in other courses, including independent study, and then petition the African/African American Studies Minor Committee to have those courses count towards the Minor.