(file last updated: [8/10/1998 - 15:20:27])
The department offers an interdisciplinaryexamination of the relationship of Africa and the African diaspora,aimed at uniting, in one curriculum, the basic knowledge of both.It explores history, anthropology, sociology, psychology, politics,religions, economics, languages, and the arts. Pan-African inassumptions, it relates the experience and aspirations of blackAmerica to the experience and aspirations of African people elsewherein the world--particularly in Africa, in South America, and inthe Caribbean. It uses traditional and innovative teaching styles,directing the full potential of academic inquiry to human needs.
The department welcomes allmembers of the student body who have an interest in Africa and/orAfrican-America. Concentration is arranged through consultationwith the departmental advisor or another professor. Concentratorsmay ask for guidance in the selection of elective courses withrelated content or approach within their chosen disciplines.
Ibrahim Sundiata, Chair
Africa: Social history. Slavery.The African Diaspora. Afro-Brazil.
Tsehai Berhane-Selassie
Women in development. Ethnicityand nationalism. Migration in the Horn of Africa.
Wellington Nyangoni
Africa: Economic development.Comparative Third World politics.
Faith Smith
African and Afro-American literature.Anglophone Caribbean literature.
A.Required of all candidates: Eight semester courses from amongthe AAAS and cross-listed courses below. One of the eight coursesmust be AAAS 5a (Introduction to African and Afro-American Studies),which should be taken as the first AAAS course, as it providesan introduction to themes and methods of analysis.
B.At least one course will be taken in each of the following areas:social science, humanities, and history.
C.At least four courses will be taken in one of the following disciplinesas a field of specialization: literature, music, history, politicalscience, sociology, economics, education. A candidate may electa five-course interdisciplinary focus on Africa or Afro-Americanaffairs as a specialization.
D.Five of the eight required courses must be from within the department(i.e., from the AAAS courses below).
E.Candidates for departmental honors must satisfactorily completeAAAS 99d (Senior Research).
Five semester courses are required,including the following:
A.AAAS 5a (Introduction to African and Afro-American Studies). Thisshould be taken as the first AAAS course, as it provides an introductionto themes and methods of analysis.
B.AAAS 70a (Introduction to Afro-American History).
C.The remaining three courses will be selected from among the department'sofferings in literature, history, political science, and music.
Students are required to declarethe minor in AAAS no later than the beginning of their senioryear. Each student will be assigned a departmental advisor bythe undergraduate advising head.
AAAS 5a Introduction toAfrican and Afro-American Studies
[ ss ]
An interdisciplinary introductionto major topics in African and Afro-American studies, providingfundamental insights into Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americasthrough approaches and techniques of social science and the humanities.Usually offered every year.
Staff
AAAS 18b Africa and theWest
[ cl3 nwss ]
Focuses on the relationshipbetween Africa and the "West" from the time of the ancientEgyptians to the postcolonial period. It also assesses the dilemmaneo-colonialism poses for the West. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Sundiata
AAAS 60a Economics of ThirdWorld Hunger
[ cl14 nwss ]
Employs the tools of socialscience, particularly economics, to study causes and potentialsolutions to problems in production, trade, and consumption offood in the underdeveloped world. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Nyangoni
AAAS 70a Introduction toAfro-American History
[ ss ]
A survey of the Afro-Americanexperience from the era of slavery to the present. Topics includethe rise of a distinct community and its institutions, Reconstructionand segregation, the contributions of blacks to American society,and the struggles for freedom and equality. Usually offered inodd years.
Staff
AAAS 72a Topics in ModernAfro-American History
[ ss ]
Main currents of African-Americanexperience from the Civil War to the present. Students will learnnot only the main themes of blacks' historical experience butthe way in which we can shape our appreciation of the past througha variety of sources. Usually offered in odd years.
Staff
AAAS 79b Afro-American Literatureof the Twentieth Century
[ hum ss ]
An introduction to the essentialthemes, aesthetic concerns, and textual strategies that characterizeAfro-American writing of this century. Examines those influencesthat have shaped the poetry, fiction, and prose nonfiction ofrepresentative writers. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Smith
AAAS 80a Economy and Societyin Africa
[ nw ss ]
Perspectives on the interactionof economic and other variables in African societies. Topics includethe ethical and economic bases of distributive justice, modelsof social theory, efficiency and equality in law, the role ofeconomic variables in the theory of history, and world systemsanalysis. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Nyangoni
AAAS 85a Survey of SouthernAfrican History
[ nw ss ]
Explores the roots of segregationand apartheid in South Africa, the development of a regional politicaleconomy dominated by South Africa, labor migrancy and land alienationin southern Africa, and the rise of African and Afrikaaner nationalisms.Usually offered every year.
Mr. Sundiata
AAAS 89a Race and Ethnicityin American Politics
[ ss ]
A comparison of how differentvoting models account for racial and ethnic political behaviorin the United States. The course also examines whether ethnicpolitics generates equal outcomes for equal participation andhow the "nature of the game" changes across time. Usuallyoffered every fourth year. Last offered in the summer of 1995.
Staff
AAAS 98a Independent Study
Signature of the instructorrequired.
Independent readings and researchon a topic within the student's interest under the direction ofa faculty supervisor. Usually offered every year.
Staff
AAAS 98b Independent Study
Signature of the instructorrequired.
Independent readings and researchon a topic within the student's interest under the direction ofa faculty supervisor. Usually offered every year.
Staff
AAAS 99d Senior Research
Signature of the instructorrequired.
Usually offered every year.
Staff
AAAS 101a The Black Familyin America
[ ss ]
Focuses on the contemporaryblack family from a sociopolitical and historical perspectiveand considers the impact of the contemporary American scene ona variety of family related issues. Usually offered every thirdyear. Last offered in the fall of 1994.
Staff
AAAS 105b The Music of BlackAmericans
[ ca ss ]
The development of black Americanmusic since 1863, beginning with the revival of interest in thecomposition of black American music in relation to the culturaland social development of contemporary black lifestyles. Usuallyoffered every fourth year. Last offered in the spring of 1990.
Staff
AAAS 115a Introduction toAfrican History
[ cl38 nwss ]
The history of African societiesfrom their earliest beginnings to the present era. Topics includeAfrican participation in antiquity and early Christianity andpreindustrial political, economic, and cultural developments,among others. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Sundiata
AAAS 116b Comparative Raceand Ethnic Relations
[ cl10 cl27ss ]
Explores and understands theorigin and nature of racial and ethnic differences in the UnitedStates, South Africa, and Brazil. The course will explore howtheoreticians explain and account for differences and how raceand ethnicity relate to economic class and social institutions.Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Sundiata
AAAS 117a Communicationsand Social Change in Developing Nations
[ ss ]
Examines the role of communicationsand information systems within and between developed and underdevelopednations and addresses the larger perspective of global communications.Usually offered in odd years.
Staff
AAAS 121b Research on theUrban Underclass
[ ss ]
This course focuses on blackcommunity development. It examines how the black community inAmerica was formulated by blacks themselves through their classstructures (upper, middle, and working class, and the urban underclass),stressing the complexity of the forces that impact the structureof the community. Usually offered in even years.
Staff
AAAS 123a Third World Ideologies
[ cl3 nwss ]
Analyzes ideological conceptsdeveloped by seminal Third World political thinkers and theirapplication to modern political analysis. Usually offered in evenyears.
Mr. Nyangoni
AAAS 126b Political Economyof the Third World
(Formerly AAAS 192b)
[ nw ss ]
Note: May not be repeatedfor credit by students who have taken AAAS 192b in previous years.
Development of capitalism anddifferent roles and functions assigned to all "Third Worlds,"in the periphery as well as the center. Special attention willbe paid to African and Afro-American peripheries. Usually offeredevery year.
Mr. Nyangoni
AAAS 132b Introduction toAfrican Literature
[ nw hum ss]
An introduction to Africanliterature in English and French (English translations of Africanwriters will be utilized) by selected African authors whose worksdiscuss such themes as negritude. Usually offered every thirdyear. Last offered in the fall of 1995.
Ms. Smith
AAAS 133b The Literatureof the Caribbean
[ cl3 nwhum ss ]
An exploration of the narrativestrategies and themes of writers of the region who grapple withissues of colonialism, class, race, ethnicity, and gender in acontext of often conflicting allegiances to North and South America,Europe, Africa, and Asia. Usually offered in even years.
Ms. Smith
AAAS 134b Novel and Filmof the African Diaspora
[ ss ]
Studies writers who are usuallyseparated into geographical units (such as "Caribbean,""African," "African-American"), who are broughttogether here to consider the extent to which they find notionsof diaspora and Pan-African identification empowering and/or limiting.In addition to film screenings, the course requires extensiveand intensive reading and writing. Usually offered every summer.
Ms. Smith
AAAS 143a Economies of AfricanCountries
[ ss ]
Enrollment limited to 25.
Combines lectures and discussionsof general themes with student research and presentations on specificcountries in comparing and contrasting the economic experienceof the nations of sub-Saharan Africa. Topics include: the economicimpact of colonialism, land tenure institutions and agriculturalproduction, food policy, primary product exports, migration andurbanization, and industrialization. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Nyangoni
AAAS 155a Slavery in America
[ ss ]
Examines the rise of slaveryin America, the formation of slave and free black communities,the emergence of the planter class, the role of slavery in theeconomy and politics, the relationship between slavery and racism,and the legacy of slavery. Usually offered in odd years.
Staff
AAAS 156a The Civil RightsMovement
[ ss ]
Explores the civil rights movementthrough primary readings and films. Includes an assessment ofthe consequences of the movement and the ongoing controversiesover the best ways to achieve equality for black Americans. Usuallyoffered in even years.
Staff
AAAS 158a Theories of Developmentand Underdevelopment
[ cl3 nwss ]
Humankind has for some timenow possessed the scientific and technological means to combatthe scourge of poverty. The purpose of this seminar is to acquaintstudents with contending theories of development and underdevelopment,emphasizing the open and contested nature of the process involvedand of the field of study itself. Among the topics to be studiedare modernization theory, the challenge to modernization posedby dependency and world systems theories, and more recent approachescentered on the concepts of basic needs and of sustainable development.Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Nyangoni
AAAS 163b Africa in WorldPolitics
[ ss ]
Explores the impact of Africanstates in world affairs; the African and Afro-Asian groups inthe United Nations; relations with Eastern Europe, Western Europe,and the Americas; the Afro-Asian Movement; nonalignment; the Organizationof African Unity; and Pan-Africanism. Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Nyangoni
AAAS 164a Changing Institutionsof Contemporary Africa
[ nw ss ]
Analyzes the influence of traditionalcultures on new institutions developing in contemporary Africa.Emphasis on the impact of traditional cultures on postindependencesocial, religious, economic, and political institutions. Usuallyoffered every third year. Last offered in the fall of 1994.
Mr. Nyangoni
AAAS 167a African and CaribbeanComparative Political Systems
[ cl3 nwss ]
Introduces students to theliterature and method of comparative political analysis. Casestudies central to the course will be Kenya, Ghana, and Tanzania;Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Cuba. Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Nyangoni
AAAS 175a Comparative Politicsof North Africa
[ nw ss ]
Formation and development ofpolitical cleavages and cleavage systems, and of mass-based politicalgroups. Analysis of the expansion of mass political participation,elections, the impact of the military on political groups, andinternational factors. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Nyangoni
Tradition and the ContemporaryExperience in Sub-Saharan Africa
Nineteenth-Century African-AmericanLiterature: Texts and Contexts
Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-CenturyAfro-American Literature
Politics of Africa
Politics of Southern Africa
U.S.-Caribbean Relations
Women Leaders and Transformationin Developing Countries