Course information contained within the Bulletin is accurate at the time of publication in July 2024 but is subject to change. For the most up-to-date course information, please refer to the Course Catalog.
AAAS 0829. The History & Significance of Race in America. 3 Credit Hours.
Why were relations between Native Americans and whites violent almost from the beginning of European settlement? How could slavery thrive in a society founded on the principle that "all men are created equal"? How comparable were the experiences of Irish, Jewish, and Italian immigrants, and why did people in the early 20th century think of them as separate "races"? What were the causes and consequences of Japanese Americans' internment in military camps during World War II? Are today's Mexican immigrants unique, or do they have something in common with earlier immigrants? Using a variety of written sources and outstanding documentaries, this course examines the racial diversity of America and its enduring consequences. NOTE: This course fulfills the Race & Diversity (GD) requirement for students under GenEd and Studies in Race (RS) for students under Core. Duplicate Credit Warning: Students may take only one of the following courses for credit; all other instances will be deducted from their credit totals: African American Studies 0829, Africology and African American Studies 0829, Anthropology 0829, Geography and Urban Studies 0829, History 0829, Political Science 0829/0929, Sociology 0829, 0929, 1376, 1396, R059, or X059.
Course Attributes: GD, SI
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 0834. Representing Race. 3 Credit Hours.
From classical Greeks and Romans, who saw themselves under siege by the "barbarian hordes," to contemporary America and its war on "Islamic extremism," from "The Birth of a Nation" to "Alien Nation," Western societies have repeatedly represented some group of people as threats to civilization. This course will examine a wide range of representations of non-Western people and cultures in film, literature, scientific and legal writings, popular culture and artistic expression. What is behind this impulse to divide the world into "us" and "them"? How is it bound up with our understanding of race and racial difference? And what happens when the "barbarian hordes" talk back? NOTE: This course fulfills the Race & Diversity (GD) requirement for students under GenEd and Studies in Race (RS) for students under Core. Students cannot receive credit for this course if they have successfully completed African American Studies 0834, Anthropology 0834/0934, Asian Studies 0834, English 0834/0934, or History 0834.
Course Attributes: GD, SI
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 0857. Sport & Leisure in American Society. 3 Credit Hours.
Explore the complexity and diversity of American society through the study of sport and leisure. To what extent does the way we play or spectate sports, the way we plan or experience leisure time, reflect American values? As we trace a brief history of the United States through the lens of sport and leisure, we will observe how concepts of freedom, democracy and equality are tested through time. Issues of race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, and socio-economic class will be prominent as we observe American ideals both upheld and contradicted in the context of the way Americans recreate. NOTE: This course fulfills the U.S. Society (GU) requirement for students under GenEd and American Culture (AC) for students under Core. Students cannot receive credit for this course if they have successfully completed AAS 0857,
STHM 0857, SOC 0857 or
REL 0957.
Course Attributes: GU
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 1124. Elementary Yoruba. 3 Credit Hours.
An introductory course in the understanding, reading, and speaking of Yoruba, an African language that has had a major impact on the African cultures of Brazil, Haiti, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and the United States. Students will be taught grammar, vocabulary, and conversation in the language.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 1125. Elementary Hausa. 3 Credit Hours.
An introductory course in the understanding, reading and speaking of Hausa, a language spoken by more than 70 million people in West Africa. Students will be taught grammar, vocabulary, and conversation in the language.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 1152. Introduction to African Aesthetics. 3 Credit Hours.
An overview of the cultural experience of African peoples. An examination of the culture of peoples in Africa, America, and the Caribbean in a comprehensive and structurally integrated manner. An introduction to Black aesthetics and the interrelationship of the humanities in African American Studies. Designed to acquaint students with important historical and philosophical investigations of the creative process and to explore interrelationships, similarities, and differences in the various cultural expressions of African peoples.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 1253. Blacks in World History. 3 Credit Hours.
Prerequisite for all history courses to be applied to the major. An introduction to the entire field of Black history, both in Africa and the New World. A basic course, comprehensive in scope, to provide a firm grounding for students interested in taking subsequent history courses.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 1261. Africa in the 20th Century. 3 Credit Hours.
A summary of the major political, economic, social, and cultural developments in Africa since 1900. The impact of indigenous and foreign philosophies on industrialization, urbanization, and peasantization during the 20th century. NOTE: This course can be used to satisfy the university Core International Studies (IS) requirement. Although it may be usable towards graduation as a major requirement or university elective, it cannot be used to satisfy any of the university GenEd requirements. See your advisor for further information. In addition to meeting the university Core International Studies requirement, this course meets the Non-Western/Third World IS requirement for Communication Sciences majors.
Course Attributes: IS
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 1268. African American History Since 1900. 3 Credit Hours.
A general treatment of the turbulent 20th century in African American history. Attention given to the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, the anti-lynching campaigns, northern migration, the Marcus Garvey Movement, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Civil Rights Movement. NOTE: This course can be used to satisfy the university Core American Culture (AC) requirement. Although it may be usable towards graduation as a major requirement or university elective, it cannot be used to satisfy any of the university GenEd requirements. See your advisor for further information.
Course Attributes: AC, SI
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 1271. Urban Black Politics. 3 Credit Hours.
This course examines Black political activity in cities--the socio-historical condition of Blacks in cities; the city within the larger political arena; the nature of urban politics/politicians, and the place and future of Blacks in urban politics with a particular emphasis on Philadelphia.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 1500. Special Topics. 3 Credit Hours.
Arranged each semester. Please consult with the instructor and/or check the course schedule for specific topic.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
AAAS 1968. Honors Africa in the 20th Century. 3 Credit Hours.
A summary of the major political, economic, social, and cultural developments in Africa since 1900. The impact of indigenous and foreign philosophies on industrialization, urbanization, and peasantization during the 20th century. NOTE: This course can be used to satisfy the university Core International Studies (IS) requirement. Although it may be usable towards graduation as a major requirement or university elective, it cannot be used to satisfy any of the university GenEd requirements. See your advisor for further information. In addition to meeting the university Core International Studies requirement, this course meets the Non-Western/Third World IS requirement for Communication Sciences majors.
Cohort Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Cohorts: SCHONORS, UHONORS, UHONORSTR.
Course Attributes: HO, IS
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 2044. The Black Church. 3 Credit Hours.
This course is an exploration of the significant role the Black Church has played in creating an African American response to social, political, and economic obstacles and barriers in America. "Black Church" is defined broadly as African descended communities of spiritual worship, including but not limited to Christian, Islamic and Indigenous/African-derived religious groups. Students will be introduced to some of the African cosmologies that informed the worldview of people who were forcibly removed from their homelands and dispersed across the globe and enslaved in the Americas.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 2058. African American Music I. 3 Credit Hours.
An overview of the history, spirituality and sociology of African/African-American music, with main emphasis on important and dynamic forms, styles and concepts that have formed the core of African and African American music culture. Distinct themes and phenomena that define African/Black music will be presented and discussed. The goal of this course is to develop critical thinking and writing skills during our exploration of the origins, themes, and direction of African/African-American music in the context of Black politics, history and culture.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 2100. Special Topics. 3 Credit Hours.
Arranged each semester. Please consult with the instructor and/or check the course schedule for specific topic.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
AAAS 2111. Tupac Shakur and the Hip Hop Revolution. 3 Credit Hours.
Rapper, Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 - September 13, 1996) has been described as one of the most influential personalities in the history of Hip-Hop music and culture. His early years as a child of The Black Panther Party for Self Defense provided a unique political insight and edge to his music. Posthumously, Shakur continues to sell millions of records and inspire millions of listeners internationally and his increasing reputation as a pivotal figure has been acknowledged by some of the major African American philosophers. This course will explore the charismatic, conscious and controversial artist in terms of his poetic influence on issues such as Black Power, pain, poverty, and the rhetoric of Black Consciousness.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 2131. Creative Writing Workshop. 3 Credit Hours.
This course provides an opportunity for students to explore and develop their writing talents under the influence and direction of an established writer. African and African American subjects, themes, and materials used. Students read works of African American writers.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 2133. The African American Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Experience. 3 Credit Hours.
With advancement made through the modern civil rights movement and the emergence of progressive views on sexuality in contemporary society, African American lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning LGBTQs individuals have made gains in social mobility and recognition. However, homophobia, heterosexism, sexism, and racism continue to intersect within the lives of African American LGBTQs, shaping the way in which they are perceived and interact within the larger society. This upper level undergraduate course explores the experiences of African American (LGBTQ) individuals through an interdisciplinary approach. The course enlists both narratives and empirically based research in conceptualizing the experiences of African American LGBTQs within the United States. While not limited to a specific theoretical perspective; students will be expected to understand the experiences of African American LGBTQs using conceptual frameworks informed by the use of an intersectional analysis.
Course Attributes: SI
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 2134. The Literature of American Slavery. 3 Credit Hours.
Slaves, slave owners, and abolitionists, men and women, perceived slavery in distinctive ways and recorded those perceptions in songs and poems, folk tales, autobiographical narratives and novels, speeches and tracts, travel accounts, journals, diaries, and letters. Through an examination of this rich oral and written literature, such themes as the character of slave culture, the relations between slaves and masters, the oppression of women under slavery, and the connection between abolitionism and feminism are explored. Lectures provide historical background and a context in which to read the selections.
Course Attributes: SI
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 2142. The Black Male Experience. 3 Credit Hours.
This course will review and analyze experiences of African American men from a variety of perspectives. This will allow students to look at contemporary African American male and examine factors that have contributed to his present condition including: examination of the black male within the present social system, their role in ghetto and street culture, the status and role performances of black fathers and the historical and contemporary myths about the physiology and biology of African American males.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 2151. History of Blacks in Cinema. 3 Credit Hours.
An overview of the history of Black Cinema and the portrayals of persons of African descent in cinema from the early 1900s to the present, including developments from Hollywood, independent filmmakers, and experimental foreign films. Treats in depth the story of race movies and contemporary trends such as the independent Black film movement in the African Diaspora and the United States.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 2165. History and Culture of the Caribbean. 3 Credit Hours.
This course presents a historical survey of the cultural, economic, and political developments of the Caribbean people from the enslavement and colonial periods to independence and post-independence with particular emphasis on Haiti, Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad-Tobago, Barbados, and the Bahamas. Students will explore the historical and cultural roots of contemporary Caribbean societies, as well as the main discourses on Caribbean identity, nationality, and culture. It is expected that by the end of the semester students should have a sound knowledge of the history and culture of the Caribbean and should be able to establish parallels between the Caribbean experiences and that of other Diasporic Africans.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 2168. African Americans in Sports. 3 Credit Hours.
This course examines the issues surrounding African Americans in the world of sports. The course will highlight African American pioneers in sports and the historical context of their struggle, study the events which helped break racial barriers in sports, examine the socio-cultural influence of the African American Athletes, study African American culture and the role and significance of sports in it, and observe current African American Athletes. The course will also study the contribution of sports in facilitating change in the larger racial and social context of African Americans in American Society.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 2175. Hip Hop and Black Culture. 3 Credit Hours.
Hip Hop and Black Culture will lead its students into an in-depth analysis of hip-hop culture, hip-hop music, other cultural expressions that contributed to the culture's development and evolution, as well as the relevance of hip-hop's role as the preeminent modern black aesthetic. The primary focus of the course is to provide a comprehensive foundation for understanding the relevance of hip-hop's role in the modern African-American experience, its representation and misrepresentation of African Americans as well as its role as a vehicle of expression that articulates cultural norms translated into socially acceptable sounds.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 2200. Topics in African-American Studies. 3 Credit Hours.
Arranged each semester. Please consult with the instructor and/or check the course schedule for specific topic.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
AAAS 2201. African Civilization. 3 Credit Hours.
A survey of Africa's contributions to world history and civilization from 5000 B.C. to 1800 A.D. An intensive analysis of the major issues in African civilization.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 2205. Black Politics in America. 3 Credit Hours.
An introduction to the fundamental concepts and principles of American government and politics, with a focus on the ways in which American political institutions have influenced and have been influenced by Black Americans' quest for political self-determination.
Course Attributes: SI
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 2208. Black Folklore: African and African-American. 3 Credit Hours.
An overview of the folk literature and oratory of African peoples on the African continent and in the Americas. Covers tales, stories, myths, and proverbs, and their function in society. Brer Rabbit, Ananse, the Flying African, High John de Conquerer, John Henry, Shine, and many other characters are examined.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 2211. African Politics. 3 Credit Hours.
This course is intended to provide students with the necessary historical background to understand and analyze socio-political issues in African society. Topics to be covered will include: the pre-colonial political systems, causes and effects of enslavement and colonialism, liberation movements, and independence.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 2218. Psychology of the African American Experience. 3 Credit Hours.
Examines contemporary perspectives and research on the African experience in America and the relationship of that experience to social and psychological functioning among African Americans. The course also examines the origins of some of the traditional psychological theories about persons of African descent, and examines emerging theories shaped by new perspectives.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 2242. Afrocentricity. 3 Credit Hours.
This is an intellectual inquiry into the origin, critiques, and arguments surrounding African agency in social, political, psychological, and economic contexts. Consequently the course concentrates on the concepts of centeredness, cultural location, orientation, and historical disorientation. Students will study the origin and evolution of Afrocentricity and its relationship to Negritude, Quilombismo, Kawaida, Pan Africanism, and Postmodernism. Students engage in an expansive reading and location of theoretical and critical texts such as responses to forms of intellectual marginalization and cultural oppression. Authors such as Asante, Chinweizu, Diop, Karenga, and Mazama are analyzed in the contexts of on-going African and African American struggles for liberation from all hegemony. Note: This course was previously offered as AAAS 1252 and students will not be able to receive duplicate credit for both courses.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 2248. Public Policy and the Black Community. 3 Credit Hours.
This course examines the various dimensions of public policies and their impacts on the Black community in the United States. Using historical, economic, political, sociological and psychological analytic lenses, students will analyze policy within a systems framework, being sure to engage the domains of economics, education, criminal justice, housing and health care. Students will engage/interact with Philadelphia participants in the policy-making process, and will debate key policy issues highlighted during this course.
Course Attributes: SI
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 2251. Mass Media and the Black Community. 3 Credit Hours.
An examination of the role mass media plays in the African American community. Ownership, access, and image making are a few of the topics discussed. The aim is to develop an appreciation and awareness of the role media play in shaping opinions.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 2255. Introduction to Research Methods. 3 Credit Hours.
Introduction to basic methods of research and methodological issues in African American Studies. This course provides an overview of social research methods, addresses sociocultural issues in research conceptualization, operationalization and design, and introduces basic analytic concepts and operations. Students work in small groups to design an original, IRB-compliant multi-method study to address an issue that local communities deem important to their quality of life. NOTE: Offered during Fall semester only. Students should complete
AAAS 4096 in the Spring immediately after this course.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
Pre-requisites: Minimum grade of C- in (AAAS 1296 or AAAS 2296)
AAAS 2296. Introduction to Africology. 3 Credit Hours.
This course offers a multidimensional and critical discussion of the history, philosophy and seven core subject areas, [i.e., (1) history; (2) religion; (3) sociology; (4) politics; (5) economics; (6) creative production - art, music, literature; and (7) psychology] of the discipline of Africology (Black Studies, African American Studies, Africana Studies). In its dedication to cultural grounding, academic excellence and social responsibility, the discourse and practice of the discipline are informed by four basic concerns: (1) the critical and persistent search for meaning and truth in history and social reality; (2) a rigorous intellectual challenge to established ways of viewing social and human reality; (3) a moral critique of the social constraints of human freedom, especially those rooted in race, class and gender considerations; and (4) cultivation of commitment to the historical project of creating a truly multicultural, democratic and just society based on mutual respect of persons or peoples and mutual cooperation for mutual benefit. Undergirding these four basic concerns is the insistence on discovering the agency of African people within their own experiences. Note: This course was previously offered as AAAS 1296, and credit for this course will only be given one time. Students who take 2296 after completing 1296 will not receive duplicate credit.
Course Attributes: WI
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 2405. Introduction to Afro-Jewish Studies. 3 Credit Hours.
This course will introduce students to the study of African and African-Diaspora Jews. Students will examine and critically assess the various past and present methods used to study Africana Jewish communities. The research and readings will provide students with a basic introduction to Afro-Jewish history, culture and religion. It will also analyze the effects of race and racism on the construction of Afro-Jewish identities.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 2900. Honors Special Topics. 3 Credit Hours.
Arranged each semester. Please consult with the instructor or the Honors Course Guide for more information.
Cohort Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Cohorts: SCHONORS, UHONORS, UHONORSTR.
Course Attributes: HO
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
AAAS 2934. Honors Literature of American Slavery. 3 Credit Hours.
Slaves, slave owners, and abolitionists, men and women, perceived slavery in distinctive ways and recorded those perceptions in songs and poems, folk tales, autobiographical narratives and novels, speeches and tracts, travel accounts, journals, diaries, and letters. Through an examination of this rich oral and written literature, themes such as the character of slave culture, the relations between slaves and masters, the oppression of women under slavery, and the connection between abolitionism and feminism are explored. Lectures provide historical background and a context in which to read the selections. NOTE: This course can be used to satisfy the university Core Studies in Race (RS) requirement. Although it may be usable towards graduation as a major requirement or university elective, it cannot be used to satisfy any of the university GenEd requirements. See your advisor for further information.
Cohort Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Cohorts: SCHONORS, UHONORS, UHONORSTR.
Course Attributes: HO, RS, SI
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 3000. Special Topics. 3 Credit Hours.
Topics vary from semester to semester. Please check with the faculty advisor for a course description and topic.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
AAAS 3010. Special Topics in African Languages. 3 Credit Hours.
Languages vary by semester. Please consult with the instructor and/or check the course schedule for specific topic.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
AAAS 3176. Contemporary Black Poets. 3 Credit Hours.
An examination of the major works of contemporary poets of African descent. Students are introduced to the writings of poets such as Sonia Sanchez, Amiri Baraka, Rita Dove, Askia Toure, Audre Lorde, June Jordan, Quincy Troupe, Michael Harper, Atukwei Okai, Haki Madhubuti, Gwendolyn Brooks, Mari Evans and other selected African American poets.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 3205. The Black Woman. 3 Credit Hours.
This course will review and analyze experience and representation of African American women from a variety of feminist, psychological, and African-centered perspectives. Students will apply theoretical and research findings from selected scholarly and anecdotal sources to understanding the unique challenges of African-American women's treatment and methods of coping, resistance, and survival in legal, educational and social systems steeped in racism, sexism, homophobia and patriarchy. Class assignments (e.g., reaction, papers, group project.) will help students develop the skills necessary to communicate effectively and professionally, in both oral and written form, about these important issues.
Course Attributes: SI
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 3215. Languages and Cultures of West Africa. 3 Credit Hours.
This course is an introduction to the indigenous languages and cultures of West African peoples. Aspects of their geographical locations, history, social organization, worldview, values, customs, oral traditions, and communities will be discussed. A review of the impact of major historical events on these languages, and on their speakers' life styles, identity, and customs will be undertaken. The role of these languages in the development of African and African-Caribbean languages and cultures will also be examined. In the latter part of the course, students will be introduced to the basic structure of these languages, and will be taught how to read, write, and speak some phrases in each language. The course will focus on location, worldview, history and culture as contexts for the three major languages chosen from Akan, Bamanankan (Bambara/Mande/Mandinka/Mandingo), Ewe, Fulfude (Fulani), Ga, Hausa, Wolof, and Yoruba. This is not a languages course per se, but a course about the relationship between culture, customs, and language.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
Pre-requisites: Minimum grade of C- in AAAS 2201.
AAAS 3257. Black Social and Political Thought. 3 Credit Hours.
The thoughts and philosophies of Black leaders as they relate to the struggle of Black people for liberation. Covers individuals such as Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, Huey P. Newton, Ella Baker, Angela Davis, Ida B. Wells, Fannie Lou Hamer, Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, Nkrumah, Toure, Shirley Chisolm, A. Philip Randolph and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other Black thinkers.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 3268. Critical Readings in African American History. 3 Credit Hours.
Using primary source material and with special attention to the United States, students will examine the African experience in the Americas from the 14th century to the present. Movements, periods, events and people that represent major social, economic and political African American thought will be surveyed.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 3271. History of Pan-African Thought. 3 Credit Hours.
A study of the works and thoughts of Sylvester Williams, W.E.B. DuBois, Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, M.K.O. Adiola, and others. Analysis of the Pan African Congresses from 1919 to 1987.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 3296. The Black Family. 3 Credit Hours.
This course examines historical and contemporary issues relevant to the functioning of African American families. Students write critiques of selected text chapters and work in small groups to interview local community members; use interview and other research sources to develop and implement a community action plan (CAP) for improving some aspect of family life.
Course Attributes: WI
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 4000. Special Topics. 3 Credit Hours.
Topics vary from semester to semester. Please check with the faculty advisor for a course description and topic.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
AAAS 4082. Independent Study. 3 Credit Hours.
Field research in an African American Studies issue. Each student identifies a task in a problem area and develops a research project around it. Student must first find a faculty member to supervise the project and must submit written details about the project to the department chair for approval in advance of registration for the course.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
AAAS 4091. Junior/Senior Directed Research. 1 to 3 Credit Hour.
In-depth study of a specific topic central to the discipline of African American Studies for two consecutive semesters. Culminates in a concise, well-documented senior essay paper.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
AAAS 4096. Senior Seminar. 3 Credit Hours.
A seminar-style course in which seniors demonstrate, through their participation in a variety of activities, their mastery of knowledge bases, skills and concepts central to the discipline and critical to post-baccalaureate opportunity. Students also work in small groups to conduct, analyze, write and publicly present the social research studies they designed in AAS 2255 or
AAAS 2255: Introduction to Research Methods and each student submits a Senior Portfolio that contains documents and demonstrates skills commonly expected/demanded of new college graduates. NOTE: Capstone course for majors. Offered in Spring only.
Field of Study Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Fields of study: Africology + African Amer St, African American Studies.
Class Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Classes: Senior 90 to 119 Credits, Senior/Fifth Year 120+ Credits.
Course Attributes: WI
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
Pre-requisites: Minimum grade of C- in AAAS 2255.
AAAS 4115. Black Aesthetics. 3 Credit Hours.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 4146. Women Writers in Black Literature. 3 Credit Hours.
A comparative exploration of the nature, form, themes, and techniques of major Black women writers from Africa, the U.S., and the Caribbean.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 4161. Studies in African-American Literature. 3 Credit Hours.
This course is an examination of African American literary forms with certain emphasis on poetry, drama, fiction, and autobiography. Texts from earlier decades and contemporary movements are included. The aim is to develop an understanding and appreciation of African American literary experience. Phillis Wheatley, Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, Amiri Baraka, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Chester Himes, James Baldwin, Henry Dumas, Paul Laurence Dunbar, John Killens, Wallace Thurman, Ann Petry, Alice Walker, Bebe Moore Campbell, and Nikki Giovanni are among writers whose works are studied.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 4221. The Black Child: Development and Socialization. 3 Credit Hours.
A study of the development and socialization of the African American child. Discussion of family, peer group relationships, formal and informal education, and early racial consciousness.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 4248. Dimensions of Racism. 3 Credit Hours.
The course will explore interracial interactions from an African centered conceptual framework. It will examine various theoretical approaches to racial prejudice and will analyze the prejudiced personality. The course will examine the historical growth of racism and racist thought as well as seek common explanations for and effects of racism on African Americans. NOTE: This course can be used to satisfy the university Core Studies in Race (RS) requirement. Although it may be usable towards graduation as a major requirement or university elective, it cannot be used to satisfy any of the university GenEd requirements. See your advisor for further information.
Course Attributes: RS, SI
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 4389. Seminar in Community Service. 3 Credit Hours.
Seminar in Community Service allows African American Studies majors to acquire hands-on experience in, and provide unpaid on-site services to, a community-based agency, organization, or program selected and pre-screened by the instructor. The selected community site must provide a significant social service to the larger community. Students will spend Phase I of the course in class reading and discussing empirical and theory-based literature relevant to the services provided by the instructor-selected site. Students will spend Phase II in service to the agency, and will return to the classroom in Phase III to deliver the final report--an empirically-based research report analyzing agency goals and processes, and where appropriate, making evidence-based suggestions for improving agency policy as it affects successful delivery of services.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
Pre-requisites: Minimum grade of C- in (AAAS 2248 and AAAS 2255)
AAAS 5000. Special Topics in Africology and African American Studies. 3 Credit Hours.
Content will vary from semester to semester. Check the course schedule or instructor for specific topics.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
AAAS 5010. Special Topics in African Languages. 3 Credit Hours.
Languages vary by semester. Please consult with the instructor and/or check the course schedule for specific topic.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
AAAS 8001. Proseminar in Graduate Work in African American Studies. 3 Credit Hours.
An introduction to the intellectual and professional foundations of the field. It examines the historical origins of African American Studies in the United States and Africa, as well as the context of classic creative, analytical, and autobiographical works.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 8002. African Civilizations. 3 Credit Hours.
An intensive investigation into the origins of several major African civilizations. Civilizations and periods chosen may vary at the discretion of the instructor but will normally include the classic cultures of Nubia, Kemet, Axum, Songhay, Mali, Ghana, Monomotapa, Yoruba, and Asante.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 8003. Research Methods in African American Studies. 3 Credit Hours.
An introduction to the basic research methods used in African American Studies. It examines historical, anthropological, behavioral, and critical methods, as well as the methodological foundations of the Afrocentric method.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 8004. Theories and Methods in African American Studies. 3 Credit Hours.
An intensive critique of African studies within the context of evolving theoretical and methodological issues. Topics include boundaries of particularism, frames of reference, etymology, historical cleavages, and the idea of the African voice. Students will write major research papers analyzing the various perspectives advanced by scholars within the field of African studies.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 8005. African Literature. 3 Credit Hours.
Examines African literature from 4000 B.C. to the 20th century. Special attention will be paid to the early sacred works, and didactic oral traditions, poetry, drama, the advent and literary aesthetics of Western-writers.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 8006. African American Literature. 3 Credit Hours.
Deals with the social context of African American literary development from enslavement to the present. Students are introduced to the cultural patterns and historical experiences that produced the early autobiographies, narratives, poetry, and essays as well as the 20th century novels, plays, and poetry.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 8007. African Aesthetics. 3 Credit Hours.
Examines the interrelationship of the creative process with cultural and philosophical motifs in African history by studying mythology, the generative and productive force of the spoken word and the power and significance of a wide variety of aesthetic concepts.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 8008. Ethnographic Methods. 3 Credit Hours.
Examines the various classic and contemporary methods for collecting field data on African cultural and social behaviors. Emphasis on the use of audio and video data gathering methods, and participant observation.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 8009. The Afrocentric Paradigm. 3 Credit Hours.
In this intensive critique of African studies we discover the processes by which those working in the discipline of Africology develop their arguments about and/or interpretations of the African world experience transnationally and trans-generationally. Although this course naturally emphasizes theories and methodologies in Africana Studies, our readings and discussions will move beyond the rote acquisition of a list of thinkers and their ideas. Since our main objective is to finish the course with a broader, deeper view of the discipline, our dialogue must intentionally sharpen our skills as critics, theoreticians and researchers, and give us the confidence to examine the agency of African people in any phenomena. Thus, students will explore the historical and intellectual roots of Afrocentricity, as well the main tenets of the most prominent paradigm in the discipline. It is expected, that by the end of the semester, students should be well versed in Afrocentric theories and be able to apply it to their own research interests.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 8415. Ancient Egyptian Language I. 3 Credit Hours.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 8416. Ancient Egyptian Language II. 3 Credit Hours.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 8432. African-American Family. 3 Credit Hours.
Contemporary theories and research on the African American family. Includes assessment of family behavior, the role of children, sex roles, perceptual changes within the context of society, demographic factors, impact of unemployment and underemployment, and income distribution.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 8435. Ebonics: African American Language. 3 Credit Hours.
Examines variations of African American languages found throughout the Americas. Special attention to the Gullah prototype from South Carolina and Georgia. Presents the major theoretical arguments about the development of the languages.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 8441. African Philosophical Thought. 3 Credit Hours.
An analytical and historical overview of the ideas that have made the African culture, with particular emphasis on the resurrection idea, the concept of rule, harmony and balance, divination systems, dual-gender responsibility, and relationship between human beings.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 8442. African Religions. 3 Credit Hours.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 8446. Cheikh Anta Diop. 3 Credit Hours.
A critical examination of the portions of Diop's corpus on the African origin of civilization with special inquiry into the nature of his evidences. Students will present papers analyzing Diop's Afrocentric perspective and his impact on African scholarship around the world.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 8449. Pan Africanism. 3 Credit Hours.
A survey of the major currents of Pan African Thought from the early Pan African Congresses to the events of the Sixth Pan African Congress of Dar Es Salaam. Opposing critiques will be presented and discussed, especially the Marxist critique of Pan Africanism.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 8455. Caribbean Culture and Politics. 3 Credit Hours.
An investigation of the roles of culture and politics in the development of the Caribbean basin. Particular emphasis will be placed on the ways that African cultural survivals, creolism, syncretism, and political struggle have acted to create the unique Caribbean outlook.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 8464. Literature of the Harlem Renaissance. 3 Credit Hours.
A study of the African-American realization of literary revivals between the two great 20th Century European wars. Special emphasis on Harlem as a venue and symbol of the emergence of modern African American literature.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 8465. Literature of the Black Power Revolution. 3 Credit Hours.
An overview of the major African American literary developments of the 1960's and 1970's in the United States. Looks at the works of Amiri Baraka, James Baldwin, Sonia Sanchez, Nikki Giovanni, Haki Madhubuti, and others.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 8468. Major African Writers. 3 Credit Hours.
Examines the 20th Century prose, fiction, and poetry, of major writers of the African world. Students analyze writers in accordance with the protocols of literary innovations, Afrocentric motifs, symbolic functionalism and political themes.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 8521. Readings in African History. 3 Credit Hours.
Survey of the major developments in Africa through written and oral records with discrete emphasis on the analysis of perspectives both external and internal to Africa. Collected traditions, colonial and neocolonial scholarship, liberal and feminist writings, Marxist and neo-Marxist treatises as well as Africanist and afrocentrist literature will be examined.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 8542. Readings in African American Social Thought. 3 Credit Hours.
An intensive reading of the works of Frederick Douglass, Martin Delany, Frances Harper, W.E.B. Du Bois, Marcus Garvey, Edward Blyden, Booker T. Washington, E. Franklin Frazier, Ida B. Wells, Anna Julia Cooper, and others. Looks at the intellectual roots of the ideas of significant contemporary thinkers.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 8547. Readings in 1960's Protests. 3 Credit Hours.
Close reading of documentary evidences in African American political, historical, and social thought during the turbulent sixties. Students prepare papers from primary documents.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 8561. African American Theatre. 3 Credit Hours.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 8566. African American Music. 3 Credit Hours.
A survey of the rich musical tradition of African Americans from the emergence of the field hollers and work songs to contemporary music. Attention given to spirituals, jazz, blues and rock as major genres.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 9001. Seminar in African Aesthetics. 3 Credit Hours.
Examines the philosophical foundations of African aesthetics by concentrating on the cosmology, ritual religions, oral traditions, and proverbs of African people. Examines the question of what constitutes African standards of beauty, or art, or good, or culture.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 9002. Teaching African American Studies. 1 to 3 Credit Hour.
Required of all graduate teaching assistants prior to the assumption of teaching duties. Designed to teach communication and organizational skills. Supervision of teaching is required.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 9614. African American Diaspora. 3 Credit Hours.
Using primary source material and with special attention to the United States, students will examine the African experience in the Americas from the 14th century to the present. Movements, periods, events and people that represent the major social, economic and political African American thought will be surveyed.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 9615. Seminar in African American Psychology. 3 Credit Hours.
An examination of theory and research pertaining to African American psychology. A selected discussion of various theoretical perspectives on African American personality and socialization.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 9625. Nile Valley Civilization. 3 Credit Hours.
A critical examination of selected topics in the civilizations of Kemet, Nubia and Axum. Detailed analysis and discussion on the primacy of Kemet in African civilization.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 9641. Sem Life & Work Malcom X. 3 Credit Hours.
Examines the life and work of Malcolm X from the standpoint of his impact on social, political, and economic movements in the United States. The moral force of Malcolm X as seen in the growth of various urban religious and spiritual groups will be assessed.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 9642. Seminar in African American Social Philosophy. 3 Credit Hours.
An intensive seminar in the writings and activities of major social philosophers such as Edward Blyden, Ida B. Wells, Paul Cuffee, Martin Delany, David Walker, Malcolm X, Harold Cruse, and Angela Davis.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 9643. Research and Writings of W.E.B. DuBois. 3 Credit Hours.
An intensive examination of selected topics in the autobiographical works of Du Bois, historical, sociological, and creative works.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 9645. Seminar in the African American Woman. 3 Credit Hours.
An exhaustive treatment of theories relating to the role of the African American woman. Topics will include gender bias within the African American community, feminism and the black woman, sexism, classism, and racism, and the future of the black woman in America.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 9662. Seminar in the African American Novel. 3 Credit Hours.
A seminar in the African American novel which may focus on one or several principal figures or examine a single theme during a particular historical period, i.e., the novel after 1945.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 9761. Seminar in African American Studies: Social Behavior. 3 Credit Hours.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
AAAS 9982. Individual Research in African American Studies. 1 to 6 Credit Hour.
Individual Research In African American Studies while still in the coursework phase of the program.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
AAAS 9993. Master’s Comprehensive Examination. 1 to 6 Credit Hour.
Preparation for master’s comprehensive exam.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
AAAS 9994. Preliminary Examination Preparation. 1 to 6 Credit Hour.
Preliminary Exam Preparation. Following coursework completion, registration in AAS 9994 is required to prepare for Preliminary Exams.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
AAAS 9996. Master's Thesis. 1 to 3 Credit Hour.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
AAAS 9998. Pre-Dissertation Research. 1 to 6 Credit Hour.
Pre-Dissertation Research. After having passed the Preliminary exams, registration is appropriate for students working on the dissertation proposal.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
AAAS 9999. Dissertation Research. 1 to 6 Credit Hour.
This course is intended only for those students who have achieved Ph.D. Candidacy status. A minimum of 6 semester hours is required for graduation.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Student Attribute Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Student Attributes: Dissertation Writing Student.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
