African, African American and Caribbean thinkers have played a major role in defining the critical issues of our time, just as the cultures of Africans and their descendants have transformed the cultures of the Americas and the world.
A concentration in African and African American studies (AAAS) allows you to explore intellectual, cultural, economic, political, social and historical issues related to Africans and people of African descent. Courses are drawn from the humanities and social sciences. Students will develop the analytical tools to read different kinds of texts, to write persuasively and to participate knowledgeably in debates about developments across the African continent, in the Americas and globally.
Our department prides itself on the diversity of disciplines represented by our faculty, which include anthropology, creative arts, economics, history, literature, music, politics and more.
In addition to Introduction to African and African American Studies, AAAS majors take eight courses in history, the arts, social sciences, Africa and African American or the Americas. Students also take an elective, which can be a regularly offered course or a senior essay, senior thesis or independent study.