Department website: http://www.brandeis.edu/departments/afro_amer_studies/

The department offers opportunities to explore cultural expressions, economic issues, religious practices, social arrangements, intellectual developments, and political trends among Africans and people of African descent. The department is multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary in its approach to the broad range of issues and experiences that comprise this field. We offer courses in the humanities and social sciences using the methods of several disciplines, including anthropology, cultural studies, economics, history, literature, politics, and sociology. Specific courses focus on people and developments in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas.

The department welcomes all members of the student body who have an interest in Africa and/or African-America. The major is arranged through consultation with the departmental advisor or another professor. Majors may ask for guidance in the selection of elective courses with related content or approach within their chosen disciplines.

Wellington Nyangoni, Chair
Africa: Economic development. Comparative Third World politics.

Joan Bryant
African American history. Reform Movements. Race and ethnicity.

Mbulelo Vizikhungo Mzamane
Madeleine Haas Russell Visiting Professor. African literature.

Faith Smith
African and Afro-American literature. Anglophone Caribbean literature.

Ibrahim Sundiata
Africa: Social history. Slavery. The African diaspora. Afro-Brazil.

A. Required of all candidates: Eight semester courses from among the AAAS and cross-listed courses below. One of the eight courses must be AAAS 5a (Introduction to African and Afro-American Studies), which should be taken as the first AAAS course, as it provides an introduction to themes and methods of analysis.

Five semester courses are required, including the following:

Students are required to declare the minor in AAAS no later than the beginning of their senior year. Each student will be assigned a departmental advisor by the undergraduate advising head.

(1-99) Primarily for Undergraduate Students

AAAS 5a Introduction to African and Afro-American Studies
[ ss ]
An interdisciplinary introduction to major topics in African and Afro-American studies, providing fundamental insights into Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas through approaches and techniques of social science and the humanities. Usually offered every year. Will be offered in the fall of 2002.
Ms. Bryant

AAAS 18b Africa and the West
[ nw ss ]
Focuses on the relationship between Africa and the "West" from the time of the ancient Egyptians to the postcolonial period. It also assesses the dilemma neo-colonialism poses for the West. Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the fall of 1999.
Staff

AAAS 60a Economics of Third World Hunger
[ nw ss ]
Employs the tools of social science, particularly economics, to study causes and potential solutions to problems in production, trade, and consumption of food in the underdeveloped world. Usually offered every second year. Last offered in the fall of 2001.
Mr. Nyangoni

AAAS 70a Introduction to Afro-American History
[ ss ]
A survey of the Afro-American experience from the era of slavery to the present. Topics include the rise of a distinct community and its institutions, Reconstruction and segregation, the contributions of blacks to American society, and the struggles for freedom and equality. Usually offered every year. Will be offered in the fall of 2002.
Ms. Bryant

AAAS 79b Afro-American Literature of the Twentieth Century
[ hum ss ]
An introduction to the essential themes, aesthetic concerns, and textual strategies that characterize Afro-American writing of this century. Examines those influences that have shaped the poetry, fiction, and prose nonfiction of representative writers. Usually offered every second year. Will be offered in the spring of 2003.
Ms. Smith

AAAS 80a Economy and Society in Africa
[ nw ss ]
Perspectives on the interaction of economic and other variables in African societies. Topics include the ethical and economic bases of distributive justice; models of social theory, efficiency and equality in law; the role of economic variables in the theory of history; and world systems analysis. Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the fall of 2000.
Mr. Nyangoni

AAAS 81b Religion in African-American History
[ ss ]
Prerequisite or corequisite: AAAS 70a.
Examines religious development in African-American history. Explores religious experience and identity, religion in popular culture, institutional developments, political activism among religious figures, theological innovations, and religious conflict in order to understand how religion has informed African-American life. Usually offered every second year. Last offered in the spring of 2002.
Ms. Bryant

AAAS 85a Survey of Southern African History
[ nw ss ]
Explores the roots of segregation and apartheid in South Africa, the development of a regional political economy dominated by South Africa, labor migrancy and land alienation in southern Africa, and the rise of African and Afrikaaner nationalisms. Usually offered every second year. Last offered in the fall of 2001.
Mr. Nyangoni

AAAS 89a Race and Ethnicity in American Politics
[ ss ]
A comparison of how different voting models account for racial and ethnic political behavior in the United States. The course also examines whether ethnic politics generates equal outcomes for equal participation and how the "nature of the game" changes across time. Usually offered every fourth year. Last offered in the fall of 1999.
Staff

AAAS 98a Independent Study
Signature of the instructor required.
Independent readings and research on a topic within the student's interest under the direction of a faculty supervisor. Usually offered every year.
Staff

AAAS 98b Independent Study
Signature of the instructor required.
Independent readings and research on a topic within the student's interest under the direction of a faculty supervisor. Usually offered every year.
Staff

AAAS 99d Senior Research
Signature of the instructor required.
Usually offered every year.
Staff

(100-199) For Both Undergraduate and Graduate Students

AAAS 115a Introduction to African History
[ nw ss ]
The history of African societies from their earliest beginnings to the present era. Topics include African participation in antiquity and early Christianity and preindustrial political, economic, and cultural developments, among others. Usually offered every second year. Will be offered in the fall of 2002.
Staff

AAAS 116b Comparative Race and Ethnic Relations
[ ss ]
Explores and understands the origin and nature of racial and ethnic differences in the United States, South Africa, and Brazil. The course will explore how theoreticians explain and account for differences and how race and ethnicity relate to economic class and social institutions. Usually offered every second year. Will be offered in the fall of 2003.
Staff

AAAS 117a Communications and Social Change in Developing Nations
[ ss ]
Examines the role of communications and information systems within and between developed and underdeveloped nations and addresses the larger perspective of global communications. Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the spring of 2000.
Staff

AAAS 120b Race in African-American History
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: AAAS 70a (may be taken concurrently) or AAAS 145b.
Is race un-American? African-American racial thought provides a critical lens for understanding the meanings and functions of race. Analyzing primary sources from the antebellum period to the present, we ask: Is race racist? What is black culture? Does justice require "colorblindness?" Usually offered every second year. Last offered in the spring of 2001.
Ms. Bryant

AAAS 123a Third World Ideologies
[ nw ss ]
Analyzes ideological concepts developed by seminal Third World political thinkers and their application to modern political analysis. Usually offered every second year. Last offered in the spring of 2001.
Mr. Nyangoni

AAAS 126b Political Economy of the Third World
[ nw ss ]
Development of capitalism and different roles and functions assigned to all "Third Worlds," in the periphery as well as the center. Special attention will be paid to African and Afro-American peripheries. Usually offered every year. Last offered in the spring of 2002.
Mr. Nyangoni

AAAS 131b American Freedom before Emancipation
[ ss ]
Prerequisite or corequisite: AAAS 70a or HIST 51a.
What did it mean to be free in an age of slavery? The experiences of free African-Americans focus our investigation of this founding myth of America. Explores what freedom meant to criminals, reformers, laborers, slaveholders, artists, abolitionists, soldiers, and statesmen. Usually offered every second year. Last offered in the spring of 2002.
Ms. Bryant

AAAS 132b Introduction to African Literature
[ nw hum ss ]
Examines the cultural production of African writers and filmmakers and their critiques of the post-colonial state. Their exploration of gender, sexuality, language choice, the pressures placed on "authentic" identities by diasporic communities, and the conflicting claims of tradition and modernity. Usually offered every third year. Will be offered in the fall of 2002.
Mr. Mzamane

AAAS 133b The Literature of the Caribbean
[ nw hum ss ]
An exploration of the narrative strategies and themes of writers of the region who grapple with issues of colonialism, class, race, ethnicity, and gender in a context of often conflicting allegiances to North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Usually offered every second year. Last offered in the spring of 2002.
Ms. Smith

AAAS 134b Novel and Film of the African Diaspora
[ nw hum ss ]
Writers and filmmakers usually examined separately under national or regional canonical categories such as "(North) American," "Latin American," "African," "British," or "Caribbean," are brought together here to examine transnational identities, and investments in "authentic" "African" or "black" identities. Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the spring of 2000.
Ms. Smith

AAAS 143a Economies of African Countries
[ ss ]
Enrollment limited to 25.
Combines lectures and discussions of general themes with student research and presentations on specific countries in comparing and contrasting the economic experience of the nations of sub-Saharan Africa. Topics include the economic impact of colonialism, land tenure institutions and agricultural production, food policy, primary product exports, migration and urbanization, and industrialization. Usually offered every second year. Will be offered in the fall of 2002.
Mr. Nyangoni

AAAS 145b What is Race?
[ ss ]
What is race? How has it shaped what it means to be American? We explore 19th- and 20th-century interpretations of race in science, law, reform initiatives, and popular literature. Issues include eugenics, census categories, race loyalty, polygenesis, immigration, passing, and miscegenation. Usually offered every third year. Will be offered in the spring of 2003.
Ms. Bryant

AAAS 147b Women in African Societies
[ nw ss ]
Enrollment limited to 25.
Explores women's ways of thought in different African societies. Studies how elite and non-literate women articulate their cultural and historical experiences. Usually offered every third year.
Staff

AAAS 155a Slavery in America
[ ss ]
Examines the rise of slavery in America, the formation of slave and free black communities, the emergence of the planter class, the role of slavery in the economy and politics, the relationship between slavery and racism, and the legacy of slavery. Usually offered every second year. Last offered in the fall of 2000.
Ms. Bryant

AAAS 156a The Civil Rights Movement
[ ss ]
Explores the civil rights movement through primary readings and films. Includes an assessment of the consequences of the movement and the ongoing controversies over the best ways to achieve equality for black Americans. Usually offered every second year. Will be offered in the spring of 2003.
Ms. Bryant

AAAS 158a Theories of Development and Underdevelopment
[ nw ss ]
Humankind has for some time now possessed the scientific and technological means to combat the scourge of poverty. The purpose of this seminar is to acquaint students with contending theories of development and underdevelopment, emphasizing the open and contested nature of the process involved and of the field of study itself. Among the topics to be studied are modernization theory, the challenge to modernization posed by dependency and world systems theories, and more recent approaches centered on the concepts of basic needs and of sustainable development. Usually offered every second year. Will be offered in the spring of 2003.
Mr. Nyangoni

AAAS 163b Africa in World Politics
[ ss ]
Explores the impact of African states in world affairs; the African and Afro-Asian groups in the United Nations; relations with Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and the Americas; the Afro-Asian Movement; nonalignment; the Organization of African Unity; and Pan-Africanism. Usually offered every second year. Will be offered in the fall of 2002.
Mr. Nyangoni

AAAS 164a Changing Institutions of Contemporary Africa
[ nw ss ]
Analyzes the influence of traditional cultures on new institutions developing in contemporary Africa. Emphasis on the impact of traditional cultures on post-independence social, religious, economic, and political institutions. Usually offered every third year. Will be offered in the fall of 2002.
Mr. Mzamane

AAAS 167a African and Caribbean Comparative Political Systems
[ nw ss ]
Introduces students to the literature and method of comparative political analysis. Case studies central to the course will be Ghana, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe; and Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Cuba. Usually offered every second year. Will be offered in the spring of 2003.
Mr. Nyangoni

AAAS 170b Seminar: Political Economy of Developing Countries
[ ss ]
Signature of the instructor required.
Analysis of political and economic issues in developing countries. Special emphasis on the major explanations for underdevelopment and alternative strategies for development. Topics include colonialism, nationalism, developing countries in the international system, state-building, rural development, and gender perspectives on underdevelopment. Usually offered every second year. Last offered in the spring of 2002.
Mr. Nyangoni

AAAS 175a Comparative Politics of North Africa
[ nw ss ]
Formation and development of political cleavages and cleavage systems, and of mass-based political groups. Analysis of the expansion of mass political participation, elections, the impact of the military on political groups, and international factors. Usually offered every second year. Last offered in the spring of 2002.
Mr. Nyangoni

Cross-Listed Courses

ANTH 133a
Tradition and the Contemporary Experience in Sub-Saharan Africa

ENG 16a
Nineteenth-Century African-American Literature: Texts and Contexts

ENG 17b
African Novel

ENG 116b
Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Afro-American Literature

ENG 127b
Migrating Bodies, Migrating Texts

ENG 147b
South African Literature and Apartheid

POL 140a
Politics of Africa

SOC 120a
Africa Reoriented: Theory and Experience of the African Diaspora

SOC 125b
U.S.-Caribbean Relations

SOC 171a
Women Leaders and Transformation in Developing Countries