Course Descriptions
Exploration of the political, social, and economic history of pre-colonial African
civilizations, using a variety of interdisciplinary approaches and materials.
Exploration of the political, social, and economic history of the colonial and independent African countries, using a variety of interdisciplinary approaches
and materials
Survey of the literature of African descendants in the United States from 1750 to 1915.
Introduction to the impact of broad historical forces such as colonization and
capitalist slavery on race relations; the interdependence of ideology and social
structure.
This course will provide students with performance experience, skills, and techniques on selective African musical instruments, with initial emphasis on percussion instruments and music/dance forms of West Africa.
Examination of contemporary black urban experience focused on the impact of persistent residential segregation, increasing class polarization, and the global force of hip hop culture.
The political role of the Black woman in the struggle for Black freedom;
examination of changing laws and customs affecting the status of Black women.
Introduction to race and ethnicity in the US; how race and ethnicity have shaped American culture social thought, social institutions, and inter-group relations.
An introduction to traditional African music and its role in the history and development of African American music with its concomitant socio-political milieu. This course will survey Black music from the l 7th century to the present.
An assessment of the oral prose tradition and written prose of African literature; specific emphasis placed on student reading from primary sources.
Survey of themes in the literature of African descendants in the United States from 1915 to the present.
The experiences of black people in America as revealed in autobiographies of African - Americans.
A survey of the social significance of important behavioral elements affecting Black-white relations.
A literary analysis and discussion of plays by Black playwrights in recent times.
Examines the aesthetic and historical evolution of Rhythm and Blues: Black music tradition including Bebop, Rock and Roll and Hophop redifining American popular culture post WWII.
Topics selected by individual professors.
Objective examination of the relationship between language, race and ethnicity in the context of varieties of English used by minority ethnic and racial groups in the U.S.
Study of historical processes, key figures and ideas, and cultural expressions of the worldwide dispersion of people of African descent from different times places.
Origins of modern slavery; its development in the U.S.; the evolution of African American life and culture from 1619 to the end of the Civil War.
The rise of debt peonage among Blacks; the formation of the northern ghetto; the Civil Rights Movement and beyond.
An examination of the role of the legal system in the social and the political dynamics of Blacks in the American society.
Examination of dynamics of nation-building in African countries in transition from colonial dependencies to modem nation-states.
Case studies of selected African territories gaining independence in the aftermath of the Second World War.
Survey of variety and interaction of musical and religious expressions in selective African societies, focusing on traditional contexts and contemporary Christian and Islamic examples.
This honors course explores the various ways in which religious experience and ritual performance are integrated with music in selective societies and cultures of Africa.
Designed to acquaint students with race, gender, class, nationality, and other ideologies embedded in American political and social institutions.
General survey of political, economic, and social developments in colonial and post-independence Africa. (Cross-listed in History)
A consideration of prose, poetry and drama written by Caribbean authors focusing on Caribbean literature in English within the framework of black literature.
An analysis of personality theories commonly applied to Black Americans and the Black experience.
Discussion, analysis, and writing about issues presented through the diverse voices of African American literature.
Writing and analysis of Black women's literary representation of issues in United States social history.
The study of African American artists and their effects on art movements.
An in-depth study of the periods, trends, major performers/composers, styles and influences of jazz from its beginnings through the swing era.
Continuation of 378 from Bop through current styles African Political Systems: A Comparative Analysis
Exploration of the themes, attitudes, and parallels in Black Literatures of Africa, the United States, and the Caribbean; emphasis on negritude and Pan-Africanism.
A study of political thought of selected African novelists in the 20th century.
A study of the social and cultural development in Southern Africa, and the environment.
A study tour of Southern Africa to accompany 485.01.
A chronological and interdisciplinary exploration into the cultures and societies of West Africa with a particular focus on the Gold Coast / Ghana.
This course examines conflicts arising from West Africa's role in the slave trade and its post-colonial condition and discourse.
Exploration of relevant subject as individually designed by student and professor.
A service-learning course that draws on the principles of experiemential learning by immersing students in an organized service activity that meets identified community needs.
Economic, political and social constraints on the developments of Black political power; the effort made by Black people in recent times to organize for effective political action.
Introduction to the structure, history, and use of distinctive varieties of English used by and among many African Americans in the U.S.
Pan-Africanism and nationalism in the development of Africa.
A comparative examination of problems of nation-building and nation integration faced by selected African nations in the postcolonial period.
An examination of the history and spread of Islam in Africa and its impact on African social, economic and political institutions.
Examines intersections of race, gender, class, and sexuality in various sites within American culture (e.g. legal system, civil rights discourse, social justice movement, etc.)
Topics selected will relate to specific interests of enrolled students, who will develop an intensive analysis of the-topic of their choice.
Selected topics in African American history from the origins of slavery to the present. cross-listed in History.
Selected topics in African American history from the origins of African American, culture and slavery to emancipation.
Selected topics in African American history from emancipation through segregation, and the Civil Rights Movement to the present.
The study of different dimensions of African American and African psychology. Various topics.
This course will investigate the dispersion of Africans in the Americas and will examine systems of unfree labor and slave trading throughout the Atlantic World.
The historical background of Black drama in the media; development of new models for monitoring programming, and the writing and production of drama.
An examination of political and social developments in South Africa from the 19th century to the present.
Discussion of African social and political thought as presented by selected African novelists.
Topic varies; examples: Neo-slave narratives; the Harlem Renaissance; literature by African - American women.
A comprehensive view of the dominant thematic directions of African literature in the European languages, and their formal realization in aesthetic and symbolic terms.
Literary productions by students on themes related to the Black experience.
Introduction to issues of "race," consideration of the historical emergence and
development of ideas of "race" and of racist practices, along with their
contemporary formations.
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Individual readings or research projects by special agreement between instructor
and student.
A critical examination of the historical, cultural, economic, and socio-political realities of West Africa and their impact on the contemporary landscape and enviornment.
A critical examination of the historical, cultural, economic and socio-political realities of the Southern African world and their impact on the contemporary political and cultural landscape and the environment.
A three-week study tour of selected sites of historical, cultural, economic and socio-political importance in the contemporary Southern African region.
A critical examination of the historical, cultural, economic, and socio-political realities of West Africa and their impact on the contemporary landscape and environment.
A three-week study tour of selected sites of historical, cultural, economic and socio-political importance in the contemporary West African country.
A two-part course in experiential learning, seeking to prepare students with the types of training and experience that will go beyond the traditional
coursework and classroom.
This part of the course involves practical work with a community based organization.
Individual instruction on grant proposal writing for a specific project identified by a community agency and the student during the first part of the course.
Assessment and application of techniques of organization and action in the Black community.
Theories and problems of political change in sub-Saharan Africa.
An examination of the interplay of law and politics in contemporary Africa, and the place of human rights in Africa.
An examination of the changes over time in selected areas of American law and the consequences of these changes on the status of Black Americans.
A study of the concept of Affirmative Action including a critical examination of the arguments for and against it.
An examination of significance of race and the application of the concept of Affirmative Action in employment.
An examination of the development of African historiography and the various research methods used in writing African history. (Cross-listed with History)
An exploration into the historical literature of Africa and various aspects of African history. Topics will vary each term (Repeatable to a maximum of 10 hrs). (Cross-listed with History)
An examination of selected published and unpublished musical works by contemporary composers of sub-Saharan Africa and African descent.
A survey of the interplay between language and society in the African context.
A broad survey of the development of African literature, its variations, genres and themes.
Readings in the evolution of Black culture, economics and family life, race relations, and the emergence of class stratification within the Black community. (Cross-listed with History)
A critical examination of the development of African American and African Studies as a discipline and the theoretical approaches to its subject matter.
Analysis and measurement of various forms of inequality, distortions, stereotypes, and omissions, primarily in the areas of race and ethnicity that relate to African people.
Examination of the ideas and theories of race and its intersection with ethnicity
Introduction to early writings (1746-WWI) by African Americans as well as some of the critical discourses currently underway concerning this body of writing. (Cross-listed with English)
Introduction to critical conversations about vernacular traditions and literary texts in African American literature from the Harlem Renaissance to the present. (Cross-listed with English)
Examination of the dispersal of Africans, mainly through the slave trade across the Sahara, the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Oceans.
Examination of social political and cultural developments and realities in the Black workd, from the period of the emancipation to the beginning of the 21st century.
Examination and critique of various theories and genres of popular culture as they relate to the African situation.
An examination of pre-colonial political, economic, and social systems, including material culture and agriculture.
This is a laboratory and performance experiment employing traditional African musical instruments. It will highlight basic concepts and attitudes towards music making in African ensemble contexts.
Post-colonial African conceptions of power, freedom, alienation, and cultural identity.
The historical development of Black political thought from the 19th century to the present.
Compositional choices and performance conventions in selected musical traditions from Sub-Saharan Africa.
Two or more departments present colloquia on subjects of mutual interest; topics to be announced.
Theoretical analysis of the politics and perceptions of womanhood in the black community.
A critical analysis of selected theories of American foreign policy, with special emphasis on Africa.
A study of theoretical constructs/discourses which articulate aesthetic notions about art and culture with specific reference to the Black historical experience. (Cross-listed with English)
An extensive study of the works and ideas of individual writers of the Black world.
Topics in African, African American, and Caribbean literature.
Theoretical and practical approaches to the problems of mental health in the Black community.
Examination of conceptions of African Diaspora identities and their "performance" and the research paradigms, methods and tools employed in their study.
An examination of the core influences of race, gender and class on people of African decent.
Half of a two-quarter seminar designed to provide experience in the research and writing of a scholarly paper based on primary source material in African American history.
Second half of a two-quarter seminar designed to provide experience in the research and writing of a scholarly paper based on primary source material in African American history.
Two or more departments present seminars on subjects of mutual interest; topics to be announced.
Research for the thesis.
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