Courses Offered
Africana Studies
A list of regularly offered courses follows. The indication of when a course will be offered is based on the best projection of the home department and can be subject to change.
Please note the key for the following abbreviations: (A) Arts; (H) Humanities; (S) Social Sciences; (N) Natural Sciences with Laboratory; (LS) Language Studies requirement; (NSP) Natural Science in Perspective; (NW) Non-Western Cultures requirement.
CORE COURSES
AFS150. Introduction to African-American Studies. (S) Fall 2009
The development of the United States as a global and multiracial society. Topics can include the transatlantic slave trade in the 18th and 19th centuries; Pan Africanism, mass media in the African Diaspora; the Harlem Renaissance and Civil Rights movement. Same as AMS 150. Kaliss
AFS241. History of North and West Africa. (NW) (S) Fall 2009
This course introduces major themes in the history of North and West Africa from ancient Egypt through the present crisis in Sudan. Emphasis falls on West African political and social formations, domestic and trans-Atlantic slave systems, notions of identity, the role of Islam and the rise and fall of colonialism. Students use primary sources to explore historical problems. Final unit explores recent events in Sudan. Same as HIS 241. Lofkrantz
AFS242. History of East and Southern Africa. (NW) (S) Spring 2010
Introduction to major themes in the history of East, Central and Southern Africa from the Bantu migration through the Rwandan genocide. Emphasizes social, political and religious change in pre-colonial Africa and resistance to slavery and colonialism. Students use primary sources to explore historical problems. Final unit explores the legacy of colonialism in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Same as HIS 242. Lofkrantz
AFS256. African-American Literature I. (H) Fall 2009
Significant writers from the colonial period through the 19th century are studied to establish the Black literary tradition in the developing nation. Same as AMS/ENG 256. Bernard
AFS257. African-American Literature II. (H) Spring 2010
Selected writers from the Harlem Renaissance through the Black Aesthetics movement compose the modern Black literary tradition in America. Same as ENG/AMS 257. Bernard
AFS331. African-American History I. (S) Offered in 2010–2011
Introduction to historical experiences of African Americans from the early 1500s until the American Civil War. Emphasis on the cultural and social worlds from which African Americans came in the 17th and 18th centuries and how they sought to recreate those worlds on the plantations and in the towns of the American South. Also examines the establishment of free institutions and the struggle for freedom. Same as HIS 331. Pearson
AFS332. African-American History II. (S) Offered in 2010–2011
Examines the wide range of African-American political thought and social movements that have transformed contemporary American society. Focuses on the ideas and strategies embraced by African Americans as they sought equality and justice from Reconstruction to the present day. Same as HIS 332. Gosse/Pearson
AFS350. The African Intellectual and the Legacy of Colonialism. (Africana Studies Seminar) (NW) (S) Spring 2010
The seminar examines the responses of leading African thinkers to colonialism and its aftermath, with emphasis on North, West and East Africa. Students read/view and discuss works by Fanon, Djebar, Nkrumah, Sembene, Ngugi, Appiah and other key thinkers and complete an individual research project. Prerequisites: HIS 241 or 242 or permission of the instructor. Same as HIS 350. Anthony
AFS490. Independent Study. Every Semester
Independent research directed by the Africana Studies staff. Required of all majors; ordinarily to be undertaken in the Fall semester of the senior year. Staff
ELECTIVE COURSES
AFS106. History of the Blues. (A) Spring 2010
Blues history from its origins to the Blues Revival of the 1960s. Emphasis on the Delta blues tradition of Charley Patton, Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters. Additional topics include: oral formulaic composition; politics of race and sex in the blues; the blues as a “secular religion”; the music business; appropriations of blues style in jazz and rock; and the ongoing function of the blues as a core signifier of “blackness” in American culture. No prerequisites. Same as MUS 106. Butterfield
AFS169. Caribbean Literature. (H) Spring 2010
An introduction to 20th-century Caribbean literature, this course explores issues of language, diaspora and cultural identity. Course materials include fiction, nonfiction, poetry and drama. Same as ENG 169. Abravanel 203. Introduction au Monde Francophone. (H) (NW) Every Spring Selections from Francophone literature will be read, performed and discussed in their cultural context. A variety of exercises are designed to develop oral and written skills and to complete a thorough one-semester grammar review at the intermediate level. Prerequisite: placement. Same as FRN 203. Diakité
AFS213. Black American Film. (S) Offered in 2009–2010
An introduction to film studies using black film as a genre of Hollywood and independent film. Covers the work of Oscar Michaux through the “blaxploitation” films of the 1970s and beyond. Explores films as social commentary in their particular historical contexts. Particular attention is given to screen analysis of segregation, sexuality, class differences and more. Same as AMS/TDF/WGS 213. Staff
AFS216. Introduction to the Harlem Renaissance. (H) Offered in 2009–2011
An introductory examination of the major writers of the Harlem Renaissance. We will read some of the representative texts and analyze how they engaged imaginatively the cultural, political and aesthetic concerns of the movement. Same as ENG/AMS 216. Bernard
AFS250. Witchcraft and Sorcery in a Global Context. (S) Spring 2011
In this course we will consider how the categories of “witchcraft” and “sorcery” have been used in Anthropology, both to describe mystical acts (particularly mystical attacks) and as an ethnographic metaphor to discuss the pressures of communal life for individuals. Course content will consist of, but not be limited to, witchcraft and sorcery as a “social strain gauge,” witchcraft and sorcery as expressions of symbolic power, the gendered name of witchcraft and sorcery, as well as witchcraft and sorcery under conditions of western-style modernity. Same as ANT/RST/WGS 250. Bastian
AFS259. African Francophone Cinema. (H) (NW) Spring 2010
Examination of diverse films by African directors from former French and Belgian colonies. Interpreting their creations as both a visual text and a cultural document will help students explore a multiplicity of issues related to identity and its representation in cinema. Discussions will include a representation of gender, race, social, political, religious and cultural questions. Viewing films from French-speaking Africa, in mostly African languages with English subtitles, students will begin to understand different cultures studied and their national identifiers. Prerequisite: FRN 305 or 306. Same as FRN 359/TDF 259. Diakité
AFS281. Political Economy of Africa. (S) (NW) Spring 2010
A broad idea of economic and social conditions in Africa and the factors that influence economic development in the region, power structures and processes of change. Historical analysis of pre-colonial systems of production and exchange and modifications introduced during the European colonial period. Examination of major current economic and political problems such as food production, external debt and the role of the state. Reflection on the question of economic development. Prerequisites: ECO 100 and 103, or permission of instructor. Same as ECO 281. Zein-Elabdin
AFS349. Modern South Africa. (NW) (S) Spring 2010–2011
With an emphasis on the 20th century, this course explores the emergence of South Africa’s multi-racial society. Major themes include African state systems, European immigration and conquest, Africans’ individual and collective responses to white domination and changing gender roles. Students use historical documents, film and fiction in addition to secondary readings. Discussion is an important component of course grade. Same as HIS 349. Anthony
AFS360. Race and Ethnic Relations. (S) Spring 2010
Study of intergroup relations, with an emphasis on processes of racial/ethnic stratification, assimilation and cultural pluralism. Focus is on American society, past and present. Topics include the development and change of race/ethnic identities, intergroup attitudes, racial ideologies, immigration, education and the intersection of race with social class and gender. Prerequisite: SOC 100. Same as SOC 360. Montez de Oca
AFS364. Francophone Literatures and Cultures. (NW) (H) Fall 2010
An introduction to the history and culture of at least two areas of Francophonie, such as Quebec, the Caribbean, the Maghreb and West Africa. Exploration of the cultural, linguistic and political interactions between France and other Francophone countries through literary works, films and other materials. Same as FRN 364. Diakité
AFS430. Selected Studies in African History. (NW) (S) Offered in 2010–2011
Readings and research in selected topics of the political, social and cultural history of Africa. See relevant departmental offerings for prerequisites. Recent topics include “Africans and Apartheid” and “Slavery in Africa.” Same as HIS 430. Anthony
AFS491. Directed Reading. Every Semester
A continuation of independent research directed by the Africana Studies staff. Prerequisite: AFS 490.
INTERDISCIPLINARY TOPICS COURSES (ALSO ELECTIVES)
Students may also select electives for the AFS major and minor from topics courses offered by the following departments: American Studies, Anthropology, Economics, English, Government, History, Judaic Studies, Music, Psychology, Religious Studies and Sociology. Topics courses taken in these departments will count toward the AFS major only if they primarily address issues surrounding Africa and the African Diaspora and are alternatively designated “AFS.”
