Minor in African American Studies

Changes to this program will take effect in the 2019–2020 academic year.

The African American Studies minor provides an introduction to the study of the experiences of African Americans as well as the cultural products and insights gained from these experiences. Courses are designed to make students aware of the complexities of these experiences and to explore connections and differences between Americans of African descent, other Americans, and global populations. Due to the particular details of American history and the legacies of slavery, immigration, and racism, critical investigation of race, ethnicity, and other forms of collective identity is a central concern of the program. Also crucial is the comparison of African American experiences with those of other cultural groups as well as a focused study of the intellectual, cultural, and political contributions of Africans in America.

Requirements

The minor requires a total of six 4-credit courses, completed with a grade of C or higher.

Two required courses:

  • CAS AA 371 African American History
  • CAS AA 580 The History of Racial Thought or CAS AA 408 Seminar: Ethnic, Race, and Minority Relations

Four elective courses:

  • four additional courses in African American Studies (AA), chosen from the list below

Elective Courses

  • CAS AA 103 Introduction to African American Literature
  • CAS AA 207 Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
  • CAS AA 215 Arts of Africa and Its Diaspora
  • CAS AA 297 African American Women’s History
  • CAS AA 304 Introduction to African American Women Writers
  • CAS AA 305 Toni Morrison’s American Times
  • CAS AA 310 History of the Civil Rights Movement
  • CAS AA 313 The Politics and Policy of HBO’s The Wire
  • CAS AA 316 African Diaspora Arts in the Americas
  • CAS AA 363 Race and the Development of the American Economy: A Global Perspective
  • CAS AA 385 Atlantic History
  • CAS AA 395 Power, Leadership, and Governance in Africa and the Caribbean
  • CAS AA 396 Atlantic Africa and the Slave Trade
  • CAS AA 404 Seminar: The Family
  • CAS AA 408 Seminar: Ethnic, Race, and Minority Relations (if not taken as one of the two required courses)
  • CAS AA 489 The African Diaspora in the Americas
  • CAS AA 490 Blacks and Asians: Encounters Through Time and Space
  • CAS AA 491, 492 Directed Study in African American Studies
  • CAS AA 501 Topics in African American Literature
  • CAS AA 502 Topics in African American Literature
  • CAS AA 504 African American and Asian American Women Writers
  • CAS AA 507 Literature of the Harlem Renaissance
  • CAS AA 514 Labor, Sexuality, and Resistance in the Afro-Atlantic World
  • CAS AA 537 Studies in West Indian Literature: Caribbean Fiction
  • CAS AA 517 A1 Urban Politics and Policy
  • CAS AA 538 Studies in West Indian Literature: Caribbean Poetry
  • CAS AA 569 African American Economic History
  • CAS AA 571 African American Art
  • CAS AA 580 The History of Racial Thought (if not taken as one of the two required courses)
  • CAS AA 588 Women, Power, and Culture in Africa
  • CAS AA 590 The World and the West

Related Elective Courses

In consultation with an advisor in the African American Studies Program, courses listed in other departments may count as credit toward the minor.