Department ofAfrican American Studies

African American Studies Major

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African American Studies Major

African American Studies Major

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)

For the B.A. degree in African American Studies, a minimum of 125 credits is required.

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 100Living While Black: Themes in African American Thought and Experience Keystone/General Education Course3
AFAM 110Introduction to African American Studies Keystone/General Education Course3
AFAM/HIST 152African American History Keystone/General Education Course3
ADDITIONAL COURSES 
ADDITIONAL COURSES: REQUIRE A GRADE OF C OR BETTER 
Select 3 credits from the following:3
The African American Woman Keystone/General Education Course 
Women of Color: Cross-Cultural Perspective Keystone/General Education Course 
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 2,318
1. GENDER AND SEXUALITY 
The African American Woman Keystone/General Education Course 
Women of Color: Cross-Cultural Perspective Keystone/General Education Course 
Racism and Sexism 
Black & White Sexuality Keystone/General Education Course 
Spirit, Space, Survival: Contemporary Black Women 
Race, Gender and Science 
Women, Gender, and Feminisms in Africa Keystone/General Education Course 
Select 3 credits at the 400-level in consultation with your adviser
 
2. HUMANITIES 
African American Religions and Spirituality Keystone/General Education Course 
The Life and Thought of Martin Luther King, Jr. Keystone/General Education Course 
The Life and Thought of Malcolm X Keystone/General Education Course 
Workshop: Theatre in Diverse Cultures Keystone/General Education Course 
Freedom’s First Generation: African American Life and Work, 1865 to World War II Keystone/General Education Course 
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 20th Century 
Politics of Affirmative Action 
Culture and World Politics 
Economics of Discrimination 
Ethnic Minorities and Schools in the United States 
Ethnic and Racial Politics Keystone/General Education Course 
Policy Making and Evaluation 
Race and Ethnic Relations Keystone/General Education Course 
4. MIGRATION AND DIASPORA 
Women of Color: Cross-Cultural Perspective Keystone/General Education Course 
Afro-Hispanic Civilization 
Slavery and Freedom in the Black Atlantic Keystone/General Education Course 
Introduction to the Modern Caribbean Keystone/General Education Course 
Black Liberation and American Foreign Policy 
Between Nation and Empire: The Caribbean in the 20th Century 
Introduction to Contemporary Africa Keystone/General Education Course 
Modern African History Keystone/General Education Course 
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.