Graduate and Undergraduate Courses
Please check with the department office for information on specific courses as not all of them are offered on a regular basis. For a description of codes, please refer to the Guide to codes and abbreviations.
Courses
- 151 Introduction to Contemporary Afro-American Society. 3 credits (e-S-E). Survey of the characteristics and problems of Afro-Americans in contemporary society. Prerequisite: Open to Freshmen.
- 155 They: Race in American Literature. 3 credits (e-L-E). The evolution of stereotypes. The literary manifestations of the assumptions black and white American writers hold toward members of the opposite race. Prerequisite: Open to Fr.
- 156 Black Music and American Cultural History. 3 credits (e-H-E). This course examines the interaction between Afro-American musical culture and its historical context, with an emphasis on the period from 1920 to the present. Prerequisite: Open to Freshmen.
- 199 Directed Study. 1–3 credits (E). Prerequisite: Written consent instructor only. Open to Freshmen.
- 221 Introduction to Black Women’s Studies. (Crosslisted with Women’s Studies). 3 credits (e-Z-E). This course will provide students with an overvview of the field of Black women's studies. Prerequisite: Open to Freshmen.
- 222 Introduction to Black Women Writers. (Crosslisted with Women’s Studies). 3 credits (e-L-E). An introduction to the writings of Afro-American women from the nineteenth to the twentieth century. Fiction, autobiography, non-fiction prose, and poetry will be read and discussed. Prerequisite: Open to Freshmen.
- 225 Introduction to African American Dramatic Literature. 3 credits (e-H-E). Introduction to the history of African American theater and major African American playwrights and actors. Prerequisite: First year students only
- 227 Masterpieces of African American Literature.3 credits (e-H-E).Analysis of major works of African American fiction, drama, poetry and autobiography. Attention given to historical, cultural and biographical contexts. Prerequisite: Open to Freshmen.
- 231 Introduction to Afro-American History. 3 credits (e-S-E). Survey from the African beginnings to the present day. Focus on slave trade and slavery; major black figures of the past; social, economic, and political trends within the black community. Prerequisite: Open to Freshmen.
- 241 Introduction to African Art and Architecture. 3 credits (H-E). Regional styles of African art with reference to cultural function and aesthetics. Emphasis on the art of West and Central Africa. Historical beginnings with the ancient art of Nigeria and continuing into the royal and popular categories; comparisons as to subject, form, purpose, ethnic group, regional styles, and country. Prerequisite: Open to Freshmen.
- 242 Introduction to Afro-American Art. 3 credits (e-H-E). Historical survey of Afro-American art. Beginning with the African heritage and concluding with creativity of the 1970's, it examines the evolution of Afro-American art. Attention to the aesthetic sensibilities of diverse styles as well as the social significance of Black art within the art arena. Prerequisite: Open to Freshmen.
- 260 Latin America: An Introduction. (Crosslisted with Spanish, Anthropology, Geography, History, Political Science, Rural Sociology, Sociology) 4 credits (S-E). Latin American culture and society from an interdisciplinary perspective; historical developments from pre-Columbian times to the present; political movements; economic problems; social change; ecology in tropical Latin America; legal systems; literature and the arts; cultural contrasts involving the US and Latin America; land reform; labor movements; capitalism, socialism, imperialism; mass media.
- 262 Introduction to Afro-American Literary Relations: The African Diaspora. 3 credits (e-L-E). Literary relationship between two continents. Restructuring of language, mutual themes, the concept of Africa from without. Prerequisite: Open to Freshmen and Sophomores only.
- 265 Black Autobiography. 3 credits (e-L-I). Autobiographies of major Afro-Americans studied in depth to locate the constants and variables in the Black American experience. Focus on the variety of individual responses to conditions in the United States. Prerequisite: Sophomore or Junior status.
- 272 Race and American Politics from the New Deal to the New Right. 3 credits (S-E) Survey of the decisive role played by race in American politics, 1932-present. Focus on origins and accomplishments of "the Second Reconstruction"; Black Power and white backlash; contemporary racial politics and issues.
- 275 Science, Medicine, and Race: A History. 3 credits (e-Z-E) Surveys the medical and scientific constructions of categories of race, placing the development of racial theories in a broad social and political context. The course will pay particular attention to the importance of racial science in slavery and colonialism.
- 277 Africa: An Introductory Survey. (Crosslisted with Sociology, African, Anthropology, Geography, History, Political Science) 4 credits (Z-I). African society and culture, polity and economy in multidisciplinary perspectives from prehistory and ancient kingdoms through the colonial period to contemporary developments, including modern nationalism, economic development and changing social structure. Prerequisite: Open to Freshmen.
- 297 African and African-American Linkages: An Introduction. (Crosslisted with African, History, Political Science) 4 credits (e-Z-E). Analysis of retention of African elements in African-American oral, written, and material culture. Social, cultural, and political issues regarding race, self-definition, and self-determination in both Africa and North America will be examined. Prerequisite: Open to Freshmen.
- 301 Slavery: A Comparative Perspective.3 credits (e-S-D)Institution of slavery as it developed in both modern and ancient societies. Slave system of the American South compared with serfdom, indentured servitude, debt peonage, and other systems of bondage.
- 302 Undergraduate Studies in Afro-American History. 3 credits (S-I). In-depth treatment of a key theme in black historical studies. Topic to be announced in Timetable each semester. Prerequisite: Sophomore status or consent instructor.
- 303 Blacks, Film, and Society. 3 credits (e-S-I). Study of the interpretations of the Afro-American past conveyed via theatrical films and television; relationship to other images of blacks found throughout the popular culture; relationship to societal trends. Prerequisite: Sophomore status.
- 308 Black Music (1920–Present): Rhythm Section and Combos. (Crosslisted with Music) 2 credits (H-I). Introduction to the history of jazz; traces Black American music from African origins. Prerequisite: Sophomore status and consent instructor.
- 309 Black Music (1920–Present): Vocalist/Trombone/Misc Instrumental. (Crosslisted with Music) 2 credits (H-I). Introduction to the history of jazz: traces Black American music from African origins. Prerequisite: Sophomore status and consent instructor.
- 310 Black Music (1920–Present): The Trumpet. (Crosslisted with Music) 2 credits (H-I). Introduction to the history of jazz: traces Black American Music from African origins. Prerequisite: Sophomore status and consent instructor.
- 311 Black Music (1920–Present): The Saxophone. (Crosslisted with Music) 2 credits (H-I). Introduction to the history of jazz: traces Black American music from African origins. Prerequisite: Sophomore status and consent instructor.
- 316 Afro-American Music in Historical Perspective: 17th Century to Present. 3 credits (e-H-I). Acquaints students with the social history and stylistic development of Afro-American music. Prerequisite: Afro-American 156.
- 320 Contemporary African Art. 3 credits (H-I). Particular attention to stylistic and technical developments in relationship to traditional African society and modernization. Prerequisite: Sophomore status.
- 323 Gender, Race and Class: Women in U.S. History. (Crosslisted with Women’s Studies) 3 credits (e-S-D). Historical interplay of racism and sexism in the lives of Black and White women of different class backgrounds in the United States. Prerequisite: Sophomore status.
- 324 Black Women in America: Reconstruction to the Present. 3 credits (e-H-I) Explores African American women’s experience from waning days of slavery to present. Topics include slavery, emancipation, Reconstruction, segregation, migration, urban and rural poverty, civil rights, nationalism, feminism and sexual politics. Prerequisite: Sophomore status.
- 326 Race and Gender in Post-World War Ⅱ U.S. Society 3 credits (e-H-I) Assesses how race and gender (as well as socio-economic status, age, sexuality, region, etc.) shaped the experiences and options of African Americans especially women, in U.S. society from World War Spring to the present. Prerequisite: Sophomore status.
- 330 African/Afro-American Historical Relationships: 1700 to the Present. (Crosslisted with History) 3 credits (e-S-I). Relationships between Africa and Afro-Americans in the U.S. from the time of the Atlantic slave trade to the present. Focus on resettlement, religion, education, and politics. Prerequisite: Sophomore status.
- 341 African Heritage in the New World. 3 credits (S-I) A comparative analysis of the retention of African heritage in Latin America, the Caribbean, and North America. Social factors determining the degree of retention of African cultural values, belief, and social organization; African influences on American Blacks in the twentieth century.
- 342 Cultures of Afro-America. 3 credits (e-S-I) Comparison of those parts of the New World where peoples of African descent provided a majority or major minority of the population, such as the British, French, Spanish and Dutch Caribbean and Brazil. Topics: persistence of African culture elements, slavery, the plantation system, agricultural peasant communities, problems of household and family organizations, and concepts of race class.
- 343 Marxism and the Black Experience.3 credits (e-S-D) Comparative analysis of the use of Marxism or other versions of socialist thought within selected Black communities. The role of race, color, culture, and Marxist ideology as ingredients in political mobilization and economic development efforts in Africa, the Caribbean, and North America.
- 344 History of Black Nationalism: A Comparative Perspective. 3 credits (e-S-I) An examination of nationalist and pan-Africanist sentiment among American Blacks from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. Also compares and contrasts antecedent and parallel forms of nationalism among Black populations in areas such as South Africa, Ghana, Jamaica, and Guyana.
- 347 The Caribbean and its Diasporas. 3 credits (e-S-D) Major topics in the history of Caribbean societies from the European conquest to the present. Emphasis on colonial rule, slavery, and the diaspora communities created by Caribbean peoples in the United States and Europe.
- 366 Artistic/Cultural Images of Black Women. 3 credits (e-H-I). Cultural images by and about Black women; feminine creativity in the arts within their historical, cultural, social, and political contexts. Prerequisite: Sophomore status or consent instructor.
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367 Art and Visual Culture: Women of the African Diaspora and Africa. 3 Credits (e-H-C) This course focuses on the art and visual culture by/or pertaining to women throughout the African Diaspora and Africa. Though the focus is on 20th century art by black women, it will go into visual culture (art objects, photographs, images, dress, culturally-coded representation) concerning black women historically. Prerequesites: Afro-American 242: majors only: sophomore status or consent instructor.
- 377 Cultural Cross Currents: West African Dance/Music in the Americas. 3 credits (e-H-I) The influence of traditional West African dance/music heritage in historical, artistic, social contexts in the development of new hybrid forms of music/dance created by cross-pollination of cultures of Africans, Europeans and indigenous peoples in the New World.
- 403 Black Music in American Literary Culture. 3 credits (e-H-I). The influence of Afro-American musical aesthetics on American Literary Culture. Emphasis on the literary use of blues, Jazz, and Funk Forms. Prerequisite: Afro-American 156 or 308 or 309 or 310 or 311 or 315 or 316 or 409.
- 413 Contemporary African and Caribbean Drama. (Crosslisted with African) 3–4 credits (L-D). A critical study of the major works. Prerequisite: Junior status or consent instructor.
- 423 Black Feminisms. (Crosslisted with Women’s Studies) 3 credits (e-S-D). Examines the writings of Black feminists in order to foster interdisciplinary analyses of contemporary Black feminist thought. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing, a Gender & Womens Studies course, an Afro-American studies course or consent of instructor.
- 424 Women's International Human Rights. 3 credits (S-D) An examination of the contemporary development of international human rights and women's rights, and the fundamental contradiction between them. Analyzes core themes and issues of women's international human rights.
- 442 Discrimination and Prejudice in American Society. 3 credits (e-S-A). Psychosocial theories of prejudice and discrimination; sources, characteristics, and trends of racist beliefs; inter-group relations; relation of prejudice to discrimination; strategies for the reduction of prejudice and discrimination in the U.S. Prerequisite: Junior status.
- 443 Mutual Perceptions of Racial Minorities. 3 credits (e-S-D). Survey course on the mutual perceptions of primarily people of African and Asian ancestry. It focuses on how these groups evaluate perceive and interact with one another and others such as Native Americans, whites and Hispanics. Social psychological perspectives are highlighted as is an international overview. Prerequisite: Afro-American 151 or 673.
- 467 Histry of Slavery in the U.S. 3 credits (e-S-D). Daily life in the slave community, enslavement rationale, resistance to enslavement, institutional profitability, and the physical and psychological effects of servitude. Prerequisite: Sophomore status or consent instructor.
- 469 Interdisciplinary Studies in the Arts.Guest artists will offer interdisciplinary courses on topics appropriate to their specializations.
- 501 19th Century Afro-American Literature. 3 credits (e-H-A). Historical and critical analysis of the poetry, fiction, and drama of 19th century African American writers. Also focuses on the essays of major African American intellectuals such as W.E.B. DuBois and Anna Julia Cooper. Prerequisite: Junior status and 3 credits intermed lit.
- 509 Seminar in Afro-American Music History and Criticism. (Crosslisted with Music) 3cr (H-A). Introduction to historical research in and critical interpretation of Afro-American music. Consideration of standard musical and critical sources. Prerequisite: Junior status or consent instructor.
- 519 African American Political Theory. 3-4 credits (H-A) Explores a range of theories that African Americans have drawn upon to cope with and ameliorate their political circumstances in the United States within the specific parameters of political theory.
- 521 African American Families. (Crosslisted with Social Work, Human Development and Family Studies) 3 credits (e-S-A). Historical background; variations in contemporary family patterns; courtship and marriage, reproduction, and socialization stresses; "culture of poverty" theories; sources of stability and change. Prerequisite: Junior status or consent instructor.
- 523 Race, American Medicine and Public Health. (Crosslisted with History of Medicine, History of Science) 3 credits (e-S-D). The course will provide historical perspectives on current dilemmas facing black patients and health care professionals. Prerequisite: Junior or Senior status.
- 525 Major Authors. 3 credits (e-L-A). Intensive literary criticism of the works of selected authors. Emphasis on fiction, but non-fiction when appropriate. Works of one or two authors. Prerequisite: Junior status and minimum of 2 courses in lit.
- 540 The Art of African-American Women in the United States. 3 credits (e-H-D). A study of historical traditions in the art of Afro-American women in the United States. Examines works of art within prevailing periods and styles. Consideration will be given to content and style as well as to influencing theories, ideologies and social contexts. Prerequisite: Afro-American 242.
- 567 History of African American Education. (Crosslisted with Education Policy) 3 credits (e-S-D). An examination of the social, economic, political, and cultural issues influencing the education of Black Americans from the early nineteenth century to the 1960s. Prerequisite: Junior status or consent instructor.
- 577 Blacks in Cities. (Crosslisted with Sociology) 3 credits (e-S-A). Urbanization of Black Americans. Focus on Blacks in antebellum cities, migration of Black population, residential distribution, emerging demographic trends, strategies for Black survival in today's cities. Prerequisite: Junior status.
- 602 The Harlem Renaissance. 3 credits (e-L-A). Black literature and culture during the 1920's. Focus on unique Black literary expression of era, historical background, esthetics, polemical essays. Prerequisite: Junior status and two courses in Afro-American studies.
- 603 The Black Arts Movement. 3 credits (e-H-A). Focuses on the notion of blackness as it is developed in the poetry and drama of key figures of the 1960s Black Arts Movement. Emphasizes the emergence of a critical discourse specific to a "new" black aesthetic. Prerequisite: Juniorst and two courses in Afro-American studies.
- 604 Afro-American Literary Modernism. 3 credits (L-A). Comparative analysis of Euro- and Afro-American Modernism. Emphasis on the Epic writings of Hughes, Tolson, Hayden, and Ellison. Prerequisite: Junior status and minimum of 2 courses in lit.
- 605 Critical and Theoretical Issues in Afro-American Literature. 3 credits (e-L-A). A problem oriented course designed to focus on critical and theoretical writings about literature by major 20th century African-American writers. Students will be encouraged to test certain prevailing theories of African-American literature against their own readings of primary and secondary sources and to develop their ideas in a research paper. Prerequisite: Junior status and 6 credits of lit.
- 624 African American Women’s Activism, 19th and 20th Centuries. 3 credits (H-A) Examines Black women’s struggles for racial justices; reconsiders conventional notions of leadership, politics and protest. Topics include abolitionism, anti-lynching campaigns, woman suffrage, labor movement, club movement, cultural expressions, civil rights protest, Black feminism/womanism, poverty and welfare rights, environmental racism, etc. Prerequisite: Sophomore status; instr permission required.
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625 Gender Race and the Civil Rights Movement. 3 credits(S-H) This course focuses on the emerging field of gender studies in the scholarship on the post World War II civil rights movement in the United States. Prerequisites: Junior standing: instructor permission required.
- 628 History of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.
(Crosslisted with History) 3 credits (e-H-A). Civil rights history from 1930–1970. Legal, historical and economic origins of the civil rights movement. Study of the movement's impact on United States culture, politics, and international relations. Prerequisite: Junior or Senior status or consent instructor.
- 631 Colloquium in Afro-American History. 3 credits (e-S-A). Readings, discussion,and research seminar for advanced students in Afro-American History. Prerequisite: Junior or Senior status.
- 632 Historiography of Afro-American Studies. 3 credits (S-A). Traces the course and development of Afro-American Studies from their early days to the present. Prerequisite: Junior status or consent instructor.
- 635 Afro-American History to 1900. (Crosslisted with History) 3 credits (e-S-A). Political, economic, and social development of American Blacks from their removal from Africa to the end of the nineteenth century. Prerequisite: Junior status or consent instructor.
- 636 Afro-American History Since 1900. (Crosslisted with History) 3 credits (e-S-A). An in-depth analysis of social, economic, and political developments within the Black communityin twentieth-century America. Prerequisite: Junior status or consent instructor.
- 643 Selected Topics in African Diaspora Art History. 3 credits (e-E). Art history of a specific African cultural tradition (eg. Yoruba, Kongo, Fon, Akan) and its transformation in the Caribbean, Central and South America in response to new social, historical, and hegemonic forces. Prerequisite: Afro-American 241, 242, 243 or consent instructor.
- 662 Selected Topics in Multicultural American Literature. (Crosslisted with English) 3 credits (e-L-A). Exploration of the nature of multicultural, comparative American literary studies. Consideration of a formal, thematic or historical topic with emphasis on closereading of texts by African-American, Asian-American, American Indian, Jewish-American, Latino/a, and European-American writers. Prerequisite: 6 credits of intro lit.
- 669 Interdisciplinary Studies in the Arts. Guest artists will offer interdisciplinary courses on topics appropriate to their specializations.
- 671 Selected Topics in Afro-American History. 3 credits (e-S-A). An intensive analysis of specific themes in the Black American experience. Subjects vary with the instructor. Prerequisite: Junior status or consent instructor.
- 672 Selected Topics in Afro-American Literature. (Crosslisted with English) 3 credits (e-L-A). An intensive analysis of specific themes in the Afro-American experience. Subjects vary with instructor. Prerequisite: Junior status. Students wanting credits in English must have 6 credits of introductory literature.
- 673 Selected Topics in Afro-American Society. 3 credits (e-S-A). An intensive analysis of specific themes in the Afro-American experience. The subjects vary with the instructor. Prerequisite: Junior status.
- 674 Selected Topics on Afro-American Artists. (Crosslisted with Art) 3 credits (e-H-A). Works of Black artists in the U.S. discussed historically in terms of movements which they created and in terms of trends evolving on an international scale. Junior status and consent instructor. Prerequisite: Junior status and consent instructor.
- 675 Selected Topics in Afro-American Culture. 3 credits (e-A). An intensive analysis of specific themes in the Afro-American experience. Prerequisite: Varies with topic.
- 676 Contemporary Black American Art: History and Criticism. 3 credits (e-H-A). Historical and critical analysis of the visual arts of contemporary Black American artists. Focus on masters of painting, sculpture, and graphic media with particular consideration for historical development and aesthetic value in form and content. Prerequisite: Afro-American 242 or consent instructor.
- 677 Critical and Theoretical Perspectives in Black Women's Writings. (Crosslisted with Women’s Studies) credits (e-L-A). Analyses and interpretations of literary works by black women writers through historical, philosophical, political, feminist, and other contemporary critical methods. Prerequisite: Undergrads: 2 courses in Afro-American literature above introductory level, or equivalent in another dept of lit. No prereq for Grads.
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678 Modern/Contemporary Art of Nigeria and the African Diaspora. 3 credits (A) This seminar will examine the history of modern and contemporary art in Nigeria and the African Diaspora. It will analyze trans-cultural developments in paintings, sculpture, and other media, as it engages globalization, colonialism, Euro-primitivist modernism, postmodernism, post colonialism, and feminism. Prerequisite: consent instructor.
- 679 Visual Culture, Gender and Critical Race Theory. 3 credits (e-H-A). Examines tensions between visual and verbal representations that variably construct and negotiate power relations in racialized human experience. Prerequisite: 3 courses at 300 level or above in any one of the following areas: Afro-American studies; Art; Art History; Communication Arts; Curriculum and Instruction.
- 681 Senior Honors Thesis. 3 credits (A). Prerequisite: Hon candidates and consent instructor.
- 682 Senior Honor Thesis. 3 credits (A). Prerequisite: Hon candidates and consent instructor.
- 691 Senior Thesis. 2–3 credits (A).
- 692 Senior Thesis. 2–3 credits (A).
- 699 Directed Study in Afro-American Studies. 1–6 credits (A). Prerequisite: Graded on a lettered basis; requires consent instuctor.
- 790 Research and Thesis.
Guide to codes and abbreviations
A lowercase “e” identifies a course that counts toward the Ethnic Studies requirement
The first uppercase letter in parentheses identifies a course that counts toward the Breadth requirement for the L&S BA/BS degree and specifies which part of the requirement it meets:
- B: Biological Science. Counts toward the Natural Science requirement
- H: Humanities
- I: Interdivisional. Does not satisfy any breadth requirement.
- L: Literature. Counts toward the Humanities requirement.
- N: Natural Science
- P: Physical Science. Counts toward the Natural Science requirement.
- S: Social Science
- W: Either Social Science or Natural Science
- X: Either Humanities or Natural Science
- Y: Either Biological Science or Social Science
- Z: Either Humanities or Social Science
The second uppercase letter in parentheses identifies the Course Level.
- E: Elementary
- I: Intermediate
- A: Advanced
- D: Intermediate or Advanced
