The African American Studies major helps students achieve a critical understanding of the forms of knowledge, culture, and social organization that African Americans have produced, and of the social conditions that have supported and constrained this work.
Using interdisciplinary approaches as well as methods drawn from the traditional disciplines, the major exposes students to the ideas, institutions, movements, and practices that African American peoples have used to survive and shape the modern world. The African American Studies curriculum promotes the critical faculties, cultural competencies, and historical sensibilities of its students, and thereby equips them for success in graduate school, professional school, and the workplace.
African American Studies B.A.
University Park, College of the Liberal Arts (AA ST)
Per Senate Policy 83-80.5, the college dean or campus chancellor and program faculty may require up to 24 credits of course work in the major to be taken at the location or in the college or program where the degree is earned. For more information, check the Recommended Academic Plan for your intended program.
Scheduling Recommendation by Semester Standing given like (Sem: 1-2)
GENERAL EDUCATION: 45 credits
(4-10 of these 45 credits are included in the REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR)
(See description of General Education in the this bulletin)
FIRST-YEAR SEMINAR:
(Included in ELECTIVES or GENERAL EDUCATION course selection)
UNITED STATES CULTURES AND INTERNATIONAL CULTURES:
(Included in ELECTIVES, GENERAL EDUCATION course selection, or REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR)
WRITING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM:
(Included in ELECTIVES, GENERAL EDUCATION course selection, or REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR)
ELECTIVES: 23-29 credits
BACHELOR OF ARTS DEGREE REQUIREMENTS: 24 credits
(3 of these 24 credits are included in the REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR, GENERAL EDUCATION, or ELECTIVES and 0-12 credits are included in ELECTIVES if foreign language proficiency is demonstrated by examination.)
(See description of Bachelor of Arts Degree Requirements in this bulletin.)
| PRESCRIBED COURSES | ||
| PRESCRIBED COURSES: REQUIRE A GRADE OF C OR BETTER | ||
| AFAM 100 | Living While Black: Themes in African American Thought and Experience  | 3 |
| AFAM 110 | Introduction to African American Studies | 3 |
| AFAM/HIST 152 | African American History | 3 |
| ADDITIONAL COURSES | ||
| ADDITIONAL COURSES: REQUIRE A GRADE OF C OR BETTER | ||
| Select 3 credits from the following: | 3 | |
| The African American Woman | ||
| Women of Color: Cross-Cultural Perspective | ||
| Racism and Sexism | ||
| Select 3 credits of the following: | 3 | |
| Special Topics | ||
| Research Methods in Sociology 1 | ||
| Select 3 credits of the following: | 3 | |
| Afro-American Studies Seminar | ||
| Research Project | ||
| Internship | ||
| AREA OF CONCENTRATION | ||
| Select 12 credits from one of the following four areas of concentration, and 6 more credits from any of the other areas 2,3 | 18 | |
| 1. GENDER AND SEXUALITY | ||
| The African American Woman | ||
| Women of Color: Cross-Cultural Perspective | ||
| Racism and Sexism | ||
| Black and White Sexuality | ||
| Spirit, Space, Survival: Contemporary Black Women | ||
| Race, Gender, and Science | ||
| Women, Gender, and Feminisms in Africa | ||
Select 3 credits at the 400-level in consultation with your adviser | ||
| 2. HUMANITIES | ||
| African American Religions and Spirituality | ||
| The Life and Thought of Martin Luther King, Jr. | ||
| The Life and Thought of Malcolm X | ||
| Workshop: Theatre in Diverse Cultures | ||
| Freedom’s First Generation: African American Life and Work, 1865 to World War II | ||
| African Americans in the New Jim Crow Era, 1968–present | ||
| From Folk Shouts and Songs to Hip-Hop Poetry | ||
| African American Theatre | ||
| Contemporary African American Communication | ||
| African American Philosophy | ||
| The Post-World War II Civil Rights Movement | ||
| Slavery and the Literary Imagination | ||
| 3. SOCIAL SCIENCES AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT | ||
| Diversity and Health | ||
| Racial and Ethnic Inequality in America | ||
| Black Liberation and American Foreign Policy | ||
| Between Nation and Empire: The Caribbean in the Twentieth Century | ||
| Politics of Affirmative Action | ||
| Culture and World Politics | ||
| Economics of Discrimination | ||
| Ethnic Minorities and Schools in the United States | ||
| Ethnic and Racial Politics | ||
| Policy Making and Evaluation | ||
| Race and Ethnic Relations | ||
| 4. MIGRATION AND DIASPORA | ||
| Women of Color: Cross-Cultural Perspective | ||
| Afro-Hispanic Civilization | ||
| Slavery and Freedom in the Black Atlantic | ||
| Introduction to the Modern Caribbean | ||
| Black Liberation and American Foreign Policy | ||
| Between Nation and Empire: The Caribbean in the Twentieth Century | ||
| Introduction to Contemporary Africa | ||
| Modern African History | ||
| Globalization and Its Implications | ||
| Special Topics | ||
| Political Processes in Underdeveloped Systems | ||
1 SOC 207 is recommended for Political Science, Sociology, and HHD-related double majors.
2 A minimum of 12 credits should be AFAM courses, and at least 12 of these credits must be at the 400-level or above.
3 If you wish to receive credit for courses other than the ones listed, you must seek permission from the AFAM undergraduate director.