Overview & Requirements

This is the foundational undergraduate degree of the Department of African American Studies. Firmly rooted in the humanities, social sciences, and the arts, the central objective of the major in African American Studies (AFRO) is to provide students with a transdiciplinary perspective on the origin, role and policy implications of race in the United States and world political economy, society and culture, over time. AFRO students will learn diverse concepts, theories and methodologies for analyzing the experiences and perspectives and the cultural and intellectual production of African Americans and African descended people, largely though not exclusively in the United States. An African American studies major will be encouraged to achieve excellence in developing vital creative and critical competencies, including oral and written communication, computer and statistical skills. Students majoring in AFROwill also be encouraged to join a new generation of leadership grounded in African American studies knowledge and committed to public engagement to meet the continuing challenges of a diverse democratic society; and to foster national discourse to produce public policy aimed at achieving social justice.

This program is designed to serve undergraduate students primarily interested in the social sciences and humanities, though all students are welcome and encouraged to enroll in the program. This program prepares students for graduate study and research in traditional disciplines and interdisciplinary fields and for careers in the private or public sectors such as teaching, social work, human resources, criminal justice, management and administration, city planning, marketing, policy-making, medicine and law. 

Courses

Comparative Race, Racialized Communities and Identities

AFRO 101 Black America, 1619-Present
AFRO 102 Researching the African American Experience
AFRO 103 Black Women in the Diaspora
AFRO 199 Undergraduate Open Seminar

AFRO 275 African American History to 1877
AFRO 276 African American History Since 1877
AFRO 281 Constructing Race in America
AFRO 287 African American Women
AFRO 298 Special Topics in African American Studies

AFRO 310 Race and Cultural Diversity
AFRO 378 Race and Revolutions
AFRO 383 History of Black Women’s Activism
AFRO 398 Special Topics in African American Studies

AFRO 407 Slavery and Race in Latin America
AFRO 410 Hate Crimes
AFRO 411 African American Psychology
AFRO 415 Africana Feminisms
AFRO 453 Plantation Societies in the Americas
AFRO 460 Slavery in the United States
AFRO 465 Race, Sex, and Deviance
AFRO 466 Race and Science
AFRO 474 Black Freedom Movements, 1955-Present
AFRO 491 Methodology in African American Studies
AFRO 498 Special Topics in African American Studies

Cultural Production and Cultural Movements

AFRO 101 Black America, 1619-Present
AFRO 102 Researching the African American Experience
AFRO 103 Black Women in the Diaspora
AFRO 132 African American Music
AFRO 199 Undergraduate Open Seminar  

AFRO 211 Introduction to African American Film
AFRO 224 Humanist Perspectives of the African American Experience
AFRO 226 Black Women in Contemporary US Society
AFRO 228 Hip-Hop Music: History and Culture
AFRO 231 Lang Differences and Disorders: American Persp
AFRO 259 African American Literature I
AFRO 260 African American Literature II
AFRO 261 Introduction to the African Diaspora
AFRO 298 Special Topics in African American Studies

AFRO 340 Dancing Black Popular Culture
AFRO 342 Black Men and Masculinities
AFRO 373 African American Cultural Politics at mid-20th Century
AFRO 381 Black Women and Film
AFRO 383 History of Black Women’s Activism
AFRO 398 Special Topics in African American Studies

AFRO 400 African Diasporic Literature of the Americas
AFRO 415 Africana Feminisms
AFRO 435 Commodifying Difference
AFRO 491 Methodology in African American Studies
AFRO 498 Special Topics in African American Studies

Political Economy, Public Policy and Contemporary Issues

AFRO 101 Black America, 1619-Present
AFRO 102 Researching the African American Experience
AFRO 103 Black Women in the Diaspora
AFRO 199 Undergraduate Open Seminar

AFRO 201 US Racial and Ethnic Politics
AFRO 226 Black Women in Contemporary US Society
AFRO 243 Pan-Africanism
AFRO 275 African American History to 1877
AFRO 276 African American History Since 1877
AFRO 298 Special Topics in African American Studies

AFRO 310 Race and Cultural Diversity
AFRO 315 African American Politics
AFRO 342 Black Men and Masculinities
AFRO 380 Black Women’s History and Cultures
AFRO 398 Special Topics in African American Studies

AFRO 410 Hate Crimes
AFRO 415 Africana Feminisms
AFRO 421 Racial and Ethnic Families
AFRO 465 Race, Sex, and Deviance
AFRO 491 Methodology in African American Studies
AFRO 498 Special Topics in African American Studies

Global Interconnections: Black Transnationalism and the African Diaspora

AFRO 103 Black Women in the Diaspora

AFRO 243 Pan-Africanism
AFRO 261 Introduction to the African Diaspora

AFRO 400 African Diasporic Literature of the Americas
AFRO 407 Slavery and Race in Latin America
AFRO 415 Africana Feminisms
AFRO 453 Plantation Societies in the Americas

Black Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies

AFRO 103 Black Women in the Diaspora

AFRO 226 Black Women in Contemporary US Society
AFRO 287 African American Women

AFRO 342 Black Men and Masculinities
AFRO 380 Black Women’s History and Culture
AFRO 381 Black Women and Film
AFRO 383 History of Black Women’s Activism

AFRO 415 Africana Feminisms
AFRO 435 Commodifying Difference
AFRO 465 Race, Sex, and Deviance