Courses of Study
Sections
Department of African and Afro-American Studies
Last updated: August 21, 2014 at 4:24 p.m.
The African and Afro-American Studies Department is multidisciplinary with some of its faculty holding joint appointments in other departments. The department brings together scholars and scholarship from various disciplines to explore the cultures, histories and societies of African and African descended people. The department’s offerings range across the traditional fields of anthropology, economics, history, literature, music, politics. The field of African and Afro-American Studies is not only multidisciplinary, but also interdisciplinary, comparative and cross-cultural. The disciplines are integrated by certain themes that underscore the uniqueness of the department.
First, the AAAS subject matter focuses on African peoples and their cultures and those peoples of the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe, and Africa who are descendants of Africans. Second, the AAAS department’s courses offer a non-western comparative, and a non-racial approach to the interpretations and understandings of the experiences of African peoples of the wider world social, economic, and political systems. Third, the AAAS courses broadens the scope and range of traditional disciplines and offer general education courses in which the knowledge of the presence, roles, and cultural contributions and experiences of African peoples and their descendants have been omitted or neglected.
The AAAS variety of course offerings affirms the intellectual importance of research and scholarship of the contribution of peoples of African descent globally. In sharing the University’s commitment to academic excellence, the AAAS department provides students with the requisite tools to comprehend, analyze, and evaluate events and phenomena that structure the experiences and possibilities of Africans in the continent of Africa and its diaspora.
Knowledge:
Students completing a major in African and Afro-American studies will come away with a strong understanding of:
1) History of the diversity of African peoples worldwide and their struggles for social, political, and economic empowerment.
2) Contributions of Africans in Africa and the diaspora in the development of the cultural, social, political and global interdependence.
3) How to think critically about arguments based on analysis and evaluation of evidence.
4) Major questions, concepts, theories, ethical and research methodologies used in interdisciplinary comparative, and cross-cultural studies.
Skills:
A major in African and Afro-American Studies emphasizes core skills in data collection, critical thinking and communication. AAAS majors will be trained and prepared to:
1) Conduct scholarly, professional and original research applying interdisciplinary, comparative and cross-cultural research methodologies
2) Synthesize, as well as articulate orally and in writing, a coherent narrative about the history, religions, cultures, and societies in the continent of Africa and the Africa diaspora.
3) Situate texts, documents, traditions, ideas, artistic productions and relevant data in their contexts.
4) Evaluate information critically with particular attention to examining and analyzing new areas of research in Africa and the African diaspora.
Social Justice:
The African and Afro-American Studies curriculum provides students with knowledge and perspectives necessary to participate as informed citizens in the global community. AAAS courses incorporate a multifaceted approach to social justices. These courses strive to simultaneously promote human development and the common good through addressing challenges related to both individual and distribute justice. This approach allows for the empowerment of individuals and groups as well as active confrontation of injustice and inequality in society, both as they impact clientele and in their systemic contexts. The social justice courses include discussions of four critical principles that guide their work: equity, access, participation, and harmony.
1) From this perspective, equity is the fair distribution of resources, rights and responsibilities to all members of society.
2) Access is key to a socially just world. It includes notions of fairness for both the individual and the common good based on the ability of all people to access the resources, services, power, information, and understanding crucial to realizing a standard of living that allows for self-determination and human development.
3) Participation is also crucial to a socially just world. This principle describes the right of every person in society to partake in and be consulted on decisions that impact their lives as well as the lives of other people in their contexts and systems.
4) The final element of social justice is harmony. This is a principle of social adjustment wherein the actions revolving around the self-interests of any individual or group ultimately produces results that afford the best possible outcomes for the community as a whole.
The AAAS curriculum fosters an open climate for a consideration of a full range of discussion of issues that affect injustice, economic inequities, social, political, and religious oppression in Africa and the African diaspora. The courses address issues that deal with international political economy, poverty alleviation, oppression, exploitation, and economic and political empowerment of the marginalized throughout the world.
Upon graduating:
A Brandeis student with a major in African and Afro-American studies will be prepred to:
1) Pursue graduate study and a scholarly career in African and Afro-American studies or in any of the disciplines represented in the department.
2) Pursue professional training in a variety of careers including healthcare, social work, government, international organizations, business, journalism, law, education, entertainment, and non-profit organizations in and outside the United States of America.
Chad Williams, Chair
African American military and political environments of the World War I era.
Aliyyah Abdur-Rahman
American and African American Literature and Culture. Critical Race Theory. Gender and Sexuality Studies. Multiethnic Feminisms.
Jasmine Johnson
Afro-diasporic dance. Black performance studies. Theories of diaspora. Black feminisms. Ethnography. West African politics and culture. Urban renewal and gentrification.
Mingus Mapps
Urban politics. Race and American politics. Race, inequality, and public policy. Civil rights law and politics. Campaigns and elections.
Wellington Nyangoni
Africa: economic development. Comparative Third World political economy.
Faith Smith
Literature and popular culture of the Caribbean. African-American literature. African Diaspora.
Derron Wallace
Social stratification. Immigrant incorporation. Race and ethnicity. Global Black masculinities. Critical race theory. Disability studies.
Affiliated Faculty (contributing to the curriculum, advising and administration of the department or program)
Joyce Antler (American Studies)
Greg Childs (History)
Abigail Cooper (History)
Richard Gaskins (American Studies)
Daniel Kryder (Politics)
Janet McIntosh (Anthropology)
A. AAAS 5a (Introduction to African and Afro-American Studies).
B. One of the following: AAAS 70a (Introduction to Afro-American History), AAAS 79b (Afro-American Literature of the Twentieth Century), AAAS 115a (Introduction to African History), or AAAS 133b (The Literature of the Caribbean).
C. The remaining three courses will be selected from among the department's offerings.
D. No grade below a C- will be given credit toward the minor. No course taken pass/fail may count toward the minor requirements.
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 adviser by the undergraduate advising head.
B. At least one course must be taken in each of the following areas: history, arts and social sciences (see lists in letter C below).
C. At least four courses within one field of specialization listed below.
1. History: AAAS 18b, AAAS 70a, AAAS 85a, AAAS 115a, AAAS 155b, AAAS 156a, AAAS 160b, AAAS 168b, AMST 40a, HIST 115a, HIST 116a, HIST 153b.
2. Arts: AAAS 79b, AAAS 132b, AAAS 133b, AAAS 134b, AAAS 155b, COML 166b, COML 168a, ENG 16a, ENG 57b, ENG 77a, ENG 87a, ENG 107a, ENG 127b, ENG 138a, ENG 167b, FREN 164a, FREN 165b, REL 121a.
3. Social Sciences: AAAS 60a, AAAS 80a, AAAS 82a, AAAS 114b, AAAS 117a, AAAS 123a, AAAS 125b, AAAS 126b, AAAS 146a, AAAS 158a, AAAS 175a, ECON 69a, ED 170a, HS 120a, HS 515a, HSSP 114b, POL 124b.
4. Africa: AAAS 18b, AAAS 85a, AAAS 115a, AAAS 117a, AAAS 122a, AAAS 146a, COML 166b, COML 168a, FREN 165b, HIST 115a.
5. African-American or the Americas: AAAS 70a, AAAS 79b, AAAS 82a, AAAS 114b, AAAS 125b, AAAS 133b, AAAS 134b, AAAS 155b, AAAS 156a, AAAS 160b, AAAS 168b, AMST 40a, COML 166b, COML 168a, ECON 69a, ED 170a, ENG 16a, ENG 57b, ENG 87a, ENG 107a, ENG 127b, ENG 138a, ENG 167b, FREN 164a, HIST 115a, HIST 153b, HS 120a, HS 515a, HSSP 114b.
D. One additional elective which maybe taken from those listed in letter C or from the following: senior essay, senior thesis, independent study.
E. Five of the nine required courses must be AAAS-designated. No course with a final grade below C- can count toward the major. No course taken pass/fail may count toward the major requirements.
F. One approved study abroad course per semester may count as an elective.
G. Candidates for departmental honors must satisfactorily complete AAAS 99d (Senior Research).
Courses of Instruction
(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. Provides fundamental insights into Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas through approaches and techniques of social science and the humanities. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Williams
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 neocolonialism poses for the West. Usually offered every second year.
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.
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 second year.
Mr. Williams
AAAS
79b
Afro-American Literature of the Twentieth Century
[
hum
ss
wi
]
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.
Ms. Abdur-Rahman
AAAS
80a
Economy and Society in Africa
[
nw
ss
wi
]
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.
Mr. Nyangoni
AAAS
82a
Urban Politics
[
ss
]
Examines urban politics in the United States from the early twentieth century to the present. Topics include urban political machines; minority political participation; the evolution of American suburbs; and racial, economic, and political inequities that challenge public policymaking. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Mapps
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.
Staff
AAAS
98a
Independent Study
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
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
Usually offered every year.
Staff
(100-199) For Both Undergraduate and Graduate Students
AAAS
114b
Race, Ethnicity, and Electoral Politics in the United States
[
ss
]
Explores the role that racial and ethnic politics play in American political campaigns and elections. Readings provide historical, theoretical, and empirical overviews of racial and ethnic politics in four contexts: political parties, presidential elections, congressional campaigns, and state legislative contests. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Mapps
AAAS
115a
Introduction to African History
[
nw
ss
]
Explores the history of African societies from their earliest beginnings to the present era. Topics include African participation in antiquity as well as early Christianity and preindustrial political, economic, and cultural developments. Usually offered every year.
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. Addresses the larger perspective of global communications. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Nyangoni
AAAS
122a
Politics of Southern Africa
[
nw
ss
]
Study of clashing nationalisms, alternative patterns of development, and internationalization of conflict in southern Africa. The political economy of South Africa in regional context and its effect on the politics of its neighbors, particularly Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Nyangoni
AAAS
123a
Third World Ideologies
[
nw
ss
wi
]
Analyzes ideological concepts developed by seminal Third World political thinkers and their application to modern political analysis. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Nyangoni
AAAS
125b
Caribbean Women and Globalization: Sexuality, Citizenship, Work
[
ss
wi
]
Utilizing perspectives from sociology, anthropology, fiction, and music to examine the relationship between women's sexuality and conceptions of labor, citizenship, and sovereignty. The course considers these alongside conceptions of masculinity, contending feminisms, and the global perspective. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Smith
AAAS
126b
Political Economy of the Third World
[
nw
ss
wi
]
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.
Mr. Nyangoni
AAAS
132b
Introduction to African Literature
[
hum
nw
ss
wi
]
Examines the cultural production of African writers and filmmakers and their critiques of the postcolonial state. Topics include 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.
Ms. Smith
AAAS
133b
The Literature of the Caribbean
[
hum
nw
ss
wi
]
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.
Ms. Smith
AAAS
134b
Novel and Film of the African Diaspora
[
hum
nw
]
Writers and filmmakers, who are 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.
Ms. Smith
AAAS
146a
Africa in the Global Economy
[
ss
]
This course makes an important contribution to our understanding of Africa's relationship within the world economy and to our awareness of how economic liberalization programs and World Trade Organizational (WTO) systems are influencing the continent's industries. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Nyangoni
AAAS
148b
Dancing the African Diaspora: Keyterms, Grammars
[
ca
ss
]
Introduces students to theories, debates, and critical frameworks in African Diaspora Dance Studies. This course asks: How is black movement political? What makes a dance 'black'? How do conceptualizations of gender and sexuality inform our reading of dancing bodies? Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Johnson
AAAS
155b
Hip Hop History and Culture
[
ss
]
Examines the history of hip hop culture, in the broader context of U.S., African American and African diaspora history, from the 1960s to the present. Explores key developments, debates and themes shaping hip hop's evolution and contemporary global significance. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Williams
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.
Staff
AAAS
158a
Theories of Development and Underdevelopment
[
nw
ss
wi
]
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.
Mr. Nyangoni
AAAS
160b
African American Military History
[
ss
]
Examines the role war and the military has played in the history of African Americans from slavery to the present. We will explore themes of violence, freedom, citizenship, manhood, internationalism and civil rights. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Williams
AAAS
165a
Performance and the Politics of Black Authenticity
[
ca
ss
]
Introduces students to black performance theory. Foregrounds the micro-politics through which black racialized subjects are shaped in the realm of culture. This course asks what is black authenticity? How is it evoked through performance? How is black performance political? Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Johnson
AAAS
168b
The Black Intellectual Tradition
[
ss
wi
]
Introduces broad historical themes, issues and debates that constitute the black intellectual tradition. Examines the works of male and female black intellectuals from slavery to present. Will explore issues of freedom, citizenship, uplift, gender, and race consciousness. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Williams
AAAS
175a
Comparative Politics of North Africa
[
nw
ss
]
Explores the formation and development of political cleavages and cleavage systems, and of mass-based political groups, analyzing the expansion of mass political participation, elections, the impact of the military on political groups, and international factors. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Nyangoni
AAAS/WGS
136a
Black Feminist Thought
[
ss
]
Formerly offered as AAAS 136a.
Critical examination of the historical, political, economic, and ideological factors that have shaped the lives of African-American women in the United States. Analyzing foundation theoretical texts, fiction, and film over two centuries, this class seeks to understand black women's writing and political activism in the U.S. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Abdur-Rahman
African and Afro-American Studies: History
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 neocolonialism poses for the West. Usually offered every second year.
Staff
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 second year.
Mr. Williams
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.
Staff
AAAS
115a
Introduction to African History
[
nw
ss
]
Explores the history of African societies from their earliest beginnings to the present era. Topics include African participation in antiquity as well as early Christianity and preindustrial political, economic, and cultural developments. Usually offered every year.
Staff
AAAS
155b
Hip Hop History and Culture
[
ss
]
Examines the history of hip hop culture, in the broader context of U.S., African American and African diaspora history, from the 1960s to the present. Explores key developments, debates and themes shaping hip hop's evolution and contemporary global significance. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Williams
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.
Staff
AAAS
160b
African American Military History
[
ss
]
Examines the role war and the military has played in the history of African Americans from slavery to the present. We will explore themes of violence, freedom, citizenship, manhood, internationalism and civil rights. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Williams
AAAS
168b
The Black Intellectual Tradition
[
ss
wi
]
Introduces broad historical themes, issues and debates that constitute the black intellectual tradition. Examines the works of male and female black intellectuals from slavery to present. Will explore issues of freedom, citizenship, uplift, gender, and race consciousness. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Williams
AMST
40a
Women in American History
[
ss
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took AMST 123b in prior years.
Examines the private and public experiences of women-family life, sexuality, work, and activism-as reflected in historical and autobiographical sources, fiction, and many films. The diverse experiences of women of different races, ethnicities, and classes are highlighted. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Antler
HIST
115a
History of 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. Explores how theoreticians explain and account for differences, and how race and ethnicity relate to economic class and social institutions. Usually offered every second year.
Staff
HIST
116a
Black Homeland: West Africa
[
nw
ss
]
Surveys the history of the ancestral land of most African Americans from the rise of the great African empires through the period of the slave trade and colonialism. Traces the rise of African nationalism up to 1960. Usually offered every second year.
Staff
HIST
153b
Slavery and the American Civil War
[
ss
]
A survey of the history of slavery, the American South, the antislavery movement, the coming of the Civil War, and Reconstruction. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Fischer
HIST
157b
The Secret Life of Slaves: African-Americans and the Writing of History
[
ss
]
Seeks to understand not only the system but the inner lives and cultures of slaves within that system. This course is a reading-intensive seminar examining both primary and secondary sources on American slaves. Focuses on the American South but includes sources on the larger African diaspora. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Cooper
HIST
175b
Resistance and Revolution in Latin America and the Caribbean
[
nw
ss
]
Focuses on questions of race, gender and modernity in resistence movements and revolutions in Latin American and Caribbean history. The Haitian Revolution, Tupac Amaru Rebellion, and Vaccination Riots in Brazil are some topics that will be covered. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Childs
African and Afro-American Studies: Arts
AAAS
79b
Afro-American Literature of the Twentieth Century
[
hum
ss
wi
]
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.
Ms. Abdur-Rahman
AAAS
132b
Introduction to African Literature
[
hum
nw
ss
wi
]
Examines the cultural production of African writers and filmmakers and their critiques of the postcolonial state. Topics include 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.
Ms. Smith
AAAS
133b
The Literature of the Caribbean
[
hum
nw
ss
wi
]
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.
Ms. Smith
AAAS
134b
Novel and Film of the African Diaspora
[
hum
nw
]
Writers and filmmakers, who are 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.
Ms. Smith
AAAS
148b
Dancing the African Diaspora: Keyterms, Grammars
[
ca
ss
]
Introduces students to theories, debates, and critical frameworks in African Diaspora Dance Studies. This course asks: How is black movement political? What makes a dance 'black'? How do conceptualizations of gender and sexuality inform our reading of dancing bodies? Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Johnson
AAAS
155b
Hip Hop History and Culture
[
ss
]
Examines the history of hip hop culture, in the broader context of U.S., African American and African diaspora history, from the 1960s to the present. Explores key developments, debates and themes shaping hip hop's evolution and contemporary global significance. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Williams
AAAS/WGS
136a
Black Feminist Thought
[
ss
]
Formerly offered as AAAS 136a.
Critical examination of the historical, political, economic, and ideological factors that have shaped the lives of African-American women in the United States. Analyzing foundation theoretical texts, fiction, and film over two centuries, this class seeks to understand black women's writing and political activism in the U.S. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Abdur-Rahman
COML
166b
Literacy, Language and Culture
[
hum
nw
]
Examines contemporary cross-cultural literary representations of the relationships among languages and cultures. We will read texts such as Hoffman's Lost in Translation, Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions, and Ngugi's Decolonising the Mind as well as poetry and essays from Haiti, French Guyana, the Navajo Nation and a variety of immigrant communities in the US. Questions we will consider include: Does language carry culture? When is language an instrument of power? What's the difference between learning to speak and/or write a particular language? What happens when children must learn a new language when they enter school? Students will share their own richly diverse linguistic experiences. Usually offered every year.
Staff
COML
168a
Things Fall Apart: The Novel and Postcolonial Anarchy
[
hum
]
Explores the shared history of British Imperialism and examines the postcolonial novel's response to the breakdown of colonial power and the advent of the postcolonial state. We will read novels from South Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. Usually offered every fourth year.
Ms. Singh
ENG
16a
Slavery and Self-Making in African American Literature
[
hum
]
Critical investigation of African American writing as it engages slavery, freedom, and literary self-fashioning. We will read autobiographies, uplift novels, protest fiction and neo-slave narratives. Particular attention will be paid to issues of identity, sexuality, and social status; textual modes of representation and liberatory politics; the literary culture of sentiment; and African American constructions and contestations of race, gender, nation, and expressive culture since the antebellum period. Authors may include Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, Gayl Jones, Harriet Wilson, William Wells Brown, Frances E. W. Harper, Pauline Hopkins, and Toni Morrison. Contemporary films may include Sankofa, Amistad, and Daughters of the Dust. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Abdur-Rahman or Ms. Smith
ENG
57b
Writing the Nation: James Baldwin, Philip Roth, Toni Morrison
[
hum
]
An in-depth study of three major American authors of the twentieth century. Highlights the contributions of each author to the American literary canon and to its diversity. Explores how these novelists narrate cross-racial, cross-gendered, cross-regional, and cross-cultural contact and conflict in the United States. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Abdur-Rahman
ENG
77a
Screening the Tropics
[
hum
nw
]
How territories and modes of life are designated as "tropical," and how this is celebrated or "screened out" in film, photography, national policy, travelogues, and fiction. Films by Cozier, Cuaron, Duigan, Denis, Fung, Henzell, Ousmane, and Sissako. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Smith
ENG
80a
Black Looks: The Promise and Perils of Photography
[
hum
]
Explores photography and Africans, African-Americans and Caribbean people, from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. This course will examine fiction that refers to the photograph; various photographic archives; and theorists on photography and looking. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Smith
ENG
87a
Sex and Race in the American Novel
[
hum
]
Depictions of racial and sexual others abound in American literature of the twentieth century. Reading texts across racial, geographical, and temporal divides, this course investigates the representation of non-normative sexualities as signaled, haunted, or repaired by an appeal to race. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Abdur-Rahman
ENG
107a
Women Writing Desire: Caribbean Fiction and Film
[
hum
]
About eight novels of the last two decades (by Cliff, Cruz, Danticat, Garcia, Kempadoo, Kincaid, Mittoo, Nunez, Pineau, Powell, or Rosario), drawn from across the region, and read in dialogue with popular culture, theory, and earlier generations of male and female writers of the region. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Smith
ENG
127b
Migrating Bodies, Migrating Texts
[
hum
]
Beginning with the region's representation as a tabula rasa, examines the textual and visual constructions of the Caribbean as colony, homeland, backyard, paradise, and Babylon, and how the region's migrations have prompted ideas about evolution, hedonism, imperialism, nationalism, and diaspora. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Smith
ENG
138a
Making Modern Subjects: Empire, Citizenship, Intimacy
[
hum
]
Considers inflections of "the modern" across the Americas, allowing us to compare models and strategies at a historical moment when shifts from slavery to "freedom" and from Europe to the U.S.A., frame anxieties about empire, citizenship, technology, vernaculars, and aesthetics. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Smith
ENG
167b
20th-Century Black Fiction
[
hum
]
A study of experimental fiction of prominent twentieth-century African-American authors. Investigates features of the postmodern novel including disruptive chronologies, the representation of fragmented identities, intertextual play and parody, and the critique of Western modernity as long-standing practices in black writing. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Abdur-Rahman
FREN
164a
Haiti, Then and Now
[
fl
hum
nw
]
Prerequisite: FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Studies Haiti's cultural history through literature, music, painting, film, and journalism. Topics include: Haiti's first inhabitants, the Arawaks and Taino; slavery and colonialism; the world's first black republic; dictators and presidents; Creole and French; Catholicism and Vaudou; the island's ecology; the 2010 earthquake and international aid. Usually offered every second year.
Staff
FREN
165b
Subsaharan Africa and the French Language
[
fl
hum
nw
]
Prerequisite: FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Studies writing in French in Subsaharan Africa, with particular emphasis upon its cultural and historical contexts. Topics include Negritude, African languages, defining "tradition," oral and written literature, Islam, film, and gender. Usually offered every second year.
Staff
REL
121a
Mysticism and the Moral Life
[
hum
wi
]
Studies the lives and writings of mystics and activists from Jewish, Sufi, Roman Catholic, and African American protestant traditions, who connect prayer, the experience of God, and ethical commitment. Special focus on Heschel, Merton, Thurman, Teresa of Avila, Sayyed Hossein Nasr. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Kaplan
THA
144b
African-American Theatre: From Emancipation through the Obama Administration
[
ca
]
Explores the history, development and voice of African-American theater. The course will examine commercial controversial and crucial work in the canon of African-American theater. Usually offered every second year.
Staff
African and Afro-American Studies: Social Sciences
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.
Mr. Nyangoni
AAAS
80a
Economy and Society in Africa
[
nw
ss
wi
]
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.
Mr. Nyangoni
AAAS
82a
Urban Politics
[
ss
]
Examines urban politics in the United States from the early twentieth century to the present. Topics include urban political machines; minority political participation; the evolution of American suburbs; and racial, economic, and political inequities that challenge public policymaking. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Mapps
AAAS
114b
Race, Ethnicity, and Electoral Politics in the United States
[
ss
]
Explores the role that racial and ethnic politics play in American political campaigns and elections. Readings provide historical, theoretical, and empirical overviews of racial and ethnic politics in four contexts: political parties, presidential elections, congressional campaigns, and state legislative contests. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Mapps
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. Addresses the larger perspective of global communications. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Nyangoni
AAAS
123a
Third World Ideologies
[
nw
ss
wi
]
Analyzes ideological concepts developed by seminal Third World political thinkers and their application to modern political analysis. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Nyangoni
AAAS
125b
Caribbean Women and Globalization: Sexuality, Citizenship, Work
[
ss
wi
]
Utilizing perspectives from sociology, anthropology, fiction, and music to examine the relationship between women's sexuality and conceptions of labor, citizenship, and sovereignty. The course considers these alongside conceptions of masculinity, contending feminisms, and the global perspective. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Smith
AAAS
126b
Political Economy of the Third World
[
nw
ss
wi
]
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.
Mr. Nyangoni
AAAS
146a
Africa in the Global Economy
[
ss
]
This course makes an important contribution to our understanding of Africa's relationship within the world economy and to our awareness of how economic liberalization programs and World Trade Organizational (WTO) systems are influencing the continent's industries. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Nyangoni
AAAS
158a
Theories of Development and Underdevelopment
[
nw
ss
wi
]
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.
Mr. Nyangoni
AAAS
175a
Comparative Politics of North Africa
[
nw
ss
]
Explores the formation and development of political cleavages and cleavage systems, and of mass-based political groups, analyzing the expansion of mass political participation, elections, the impact of the military on political groups, and international factors. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Nyangoni
ANTH
133b
Colonialism and Post-coloniality in Africa: Encounters and Dilemmas
[
nw
ss
]
Uses an anthropological lens to explore colonialism and post-coloniality in sub-Saharan Africa. Topics include colonial racism; missionary encounters; African experiences of colonial medicine; African nationalism; the politics of land alienation; colonial memory; post-colonial modernities. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. McIntosh
ECON
69a
The Economics of Race and Gender
[
ss
]
Prerequisite: ECON 2a or 10a.
The role of race and gender in economic decision making. Mainstream and alternative economic explanations for discrimination, and analysis of the economic status of women and minorities. Discussion of specific public policies related to race, class, and gender. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Brainerd
ED
170a
Critical Perspectives in Urban Education
[
ss
]
Examines the nature of urban schools, their links to the social and political context, and the perspectives of the people who inhabit them. Explores the historical development of urban schools; the social, economic, and personal hardships facing urban students; and challenges of urban school reform. Usually offered every year.
Staff
HIST
116b
The History of Black/Jewish Relations in America
[
ss
]
Explores the origins of Black/Jewish cooperation and conflict from the Slave Trade through the Civil Rights Movement and on to debates on the "ownership" of hip-hop. Analyzes the formation of, and interplay between, "race" and "ethnicity." Usually offered every second year.
Staff
HS
120a
Race and the Law
[
ss
]
Explores how race has been defined and used to uphold or undermine the principles espoused in the Constitution and other sources of the law in the United States. Issues discussed range from treatment of Native Americans at the nation's birth to the modern concept of affirmative action. One of our premises is that ideally the law represents the synthesis of the narratives of various elements of a society. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Hill
HS
515a
Race/Ethnicity and Gender in Health and Human Services Research
Explores theoretical and empirical approaches to race/ethnicity and gender as factors in health and human services practices, programs, and policies in the United States. Begins by examining current data on racial/ethnic and gender differences in health, mental health, functional status, and lifestyle. Attention then turns to alternative accounts of the causes of these differences. Although primary focus is on patterns of race/ethnicity and gender differences in health outcomes and services that have received the most comprehensive attention, the course offers perspectives on research methods and analytic frameworks that can be applied to other issues. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Nsiah-Jefferson
HSSP
114b
Racial/Ethnic and Gender Inequalities in Health and Health Care
[
ss
]
An examination of the epidemiological patterns of health status by race/ethnicity, gender, and socio-economic status. Addresses current theories and critiques explaining disparities in health status, access, quality, and conceptual models, frameworks, and interventions for eliminating inequalities. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Jefferson
IGS
170a
The Rise of Brazil
[
ss
]
Examines how Brazil now wields global influence in energy, South-South politics, culture and environmental affairs. This course looks at key elements - from the favela to high finance, carnvial to Candomblé - that make up one of the world's most dynamic societies. Usually offered every second year.
Staff
POL
124b
Race, Inequality, and Social Policy
[
ss
]
Explores the causes and consequences of economic, social, and political inequality in the United States. Examines trends from the perspective of both liberal and conservative social scientists. Asks what forms of inequality matter and what should be done about them. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Mapps
African and Afro-American Studies: Africa
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 neocolonialism poses for the West. Usually offered every second year.
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.
Mr. Nyangoni
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.
Staff
AAAS
115a
Introduction to African History
[
nw
ss
]
Explores the history of African societies from their earliest beginnings to the present era. Topics include African participation in antiquity as well as early Christianity and preindustrial political, economic, and cultural developments. Usually offered every year.
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. Addresses the larger perspective of global communications. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Nyangoni
AAAS
122a
Politics of Southern Africa
[
nw
ss
]
Study of clashing nationalisms, alternative patterns of development, and internationalization of conflict in southern Africa. The political economy of South Africa in regional context and its effect on the politics of its neighbors, particularly Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Nyangoni
AAAS
146a
Africa in the Global Economy
[
ss
]
This course makes an important contribution to our understanding of Africa's relationship within the world economy and to our awareness of how economic liberalization programs and World Trade Organizational (WTO) systems are influencing the continent's industries. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Nyangoni
AAAS
148b
Dancing the African Diaspora: Keyterms, Grammars
[
ca
ss
]
Introduces students to theories, debates, and critical frameworks in African Diaspora Dance Studies. This course asks: How is black movement political? What makes a dance 'black'? How do conceptualizations of gender and sexuality inform our reading of dancing bodies? Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Johnson
ANTH
133b
Colonialism and Post-coloniality in Africa: Encounters and Dilemmas
[
nw
ss
]
Uses an anthropological lens to explore colonialism and post-coloniality in sub-Saharan Africa. Topics include colonial racism; missionary encounters; African experiences of colonial medicine; African nationalism; the politics of land alienation; colonial memory; post-colonial modernities. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. McIntosh
COML
166b
Literacy, Language and Culture
[
hum
nw
]
Examines contemporary cross-cultural literary representations of the relationships among languages and cultures. We will read texts such as Hoffman's Lost in Translation, Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions, and Ngugi's Decolonising the Mind as well as poetry and essays from Haiti, French Guyana, the Navajo Nation and a variety of immigrant communities in the US. Questions we will consider include: Does language carry culture? When is language an instrument of power? What's the difference between learning to speak and/or write a particular language? What happens when children must learn a new language when they enter school? Students will share their own richly diverse linguistic experiences. Usually offered every year.
Staff
COML
168a
Things Fall Apart: The Novel and Postcolonial Anarchy
[
hum
]
Explores the shared history of British Imperialism and examines the postcolonial novel's response to the breakdown of colonial power and the advent of the postcolonial state. We will read novels from South Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. Usually offered every fourth year.
Ms. Singh
FREN
165b
Subsaharan Africa and the French Language
[
fl
hum
nw
]
Prerequisite: FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Studies writing in French in Subsaharan Africa, with particular emphasis upon its cultural and historical contexts. Topics include Negritude, African languages, defining "tradition," oral and written literature, Islam, film, and gender. Usually offered every second year.
Staff
HIST
115a
History of 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. Explores how theoreticians explain and account for differences, and how race and ethnicity relate to economic class and social institutions. Usually offered every second year.
Staff
African and Afro-American Studies: African-American or the Americas
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 second year.
Mr. Williams
AAAS
79b
Afro-American Literature of the Twentieth Century
[
hum
ss
wi
]
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.
Ms. Abdur-Rahman
AAAS
82a
Urban Politics
[
ss
]
Examines urban politics in the United States from the early twentieth century to the present. Topics include urban political machines; minority political participation; the evolution of American suburbs; and racial, economic, and political inequities that challenge public policymaking. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Mapps
AAAS
114b
Race, Ethnicity, and Electoral Politics in the United States
[
ss
]
Explores the role that racial and ethnic politics play in American political campaigns and elections. Readings provide historical, theoretical, and empirical overviews of racial and ethnic politics in four contexts: political parties, presidential elections, congressional campaigns, and state legislative contests. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Mapps
AAAS
125b
Caribbean Women and Globalization: Sexuality, Citizenship, Work
[
ss
wi
]
Utilizing perspectives from sociology, anthropology, fiction, and music to examine the relationship between women's sexuality and conceptions of labor, citizenship, and sovereignty. The course considers these alongside conceptions of masculinity, contending feminisms, and the global perspective. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Smith
AAAS
133b
The Literature of the Caribbean
[
hum
nw
ss
wi
]
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.
Ms. Smith
AAAS
134b
Novel and Film of the African Diaspora
[
hum
nw
]
Writers and filmmakers, who are 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.
Ms. Smith
AAAS
148b
Dancing the African Diaspora: Keyterms, Grammars
[
ca
ss
]
Introduces students to theories, debates, and critical frameworks in African Diaspora Dance Studies. This course asks: How is black movement political? What makes a dance 'black'? How do conceptualizations of gender and sexuality inform our reading of dancing bodies? Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Johnson
AAAS
155b
Hip Hop History and Culture
[
ss
]
Examines the history of hip hop culture, in the broader context of U.S., African American and African diaspora history, from the 1960s to the present. Explores key developments, debates and themes shaping hip hop's evolution and contemporary global significance. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Williams
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.
Staff
AAAS
160b
African American Military History
[
ss
]
Examines the role war and the military has played in the history of African Americans from slavery to the present. We will explore themes of violence, freedom, citizenship, manhood, internationalism and civil rights. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Williams
AAAS
168b
The Black Intellectual Tradition
[
ss
wi
]
Introduces broad historical themes, issues and debates that constitute the black intellectual tradition. Examines the works of male and female black intellectuals from slavery to present. Will explore issues of freedom, citizenship, uplift, gender, and race consciousness. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Williams
AAAS/WGS
136a
Black Feminist Thought
[
ss
]
Formerly offered as AAAS 136a.
Critical examination of the historical, political, economic, and ideological factors that have shaped the lives of African-American women in the United States. Analyzing foundation theoretical texts, fiction, and film over two centuries, this class seeks to understand black women's writing and political activism in the U.S. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Abdur-Rahman
AMST
40a
Women in American History
[
ss
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took AMST 123b in prior years.
Examines the private and public experiences of women-family life, sexuality, work, and activism-as reflected in historical and autobiographical sources, fiction, and many films. The diverse experiences of women of different races, ethnicities, and classes are highlighted. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Antler
COML
166b
Literacy, Language and Culture
[
hum
nw
]
Examines contemporary cross-cultural literary representations of the relationships among languages and cultures. We will read texts such as Hoffman's Lost in Translation, Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions, and Ngugi's Decolonising the Mind as well as poetry and essays from Haiti, French Guyana, the Navajo Nation and a variety of immigrant communities in the US. Questions we will consider include: Does language carry culture? When is language an instrument of power? What's the difference between learning to speak and/or write a particular language? What happens when children must learn a new language when they enter school? Students will share their own richly diverse linguistic experiences. Usually offered every year.
Staff
COML
168a
Things Fall Apart: The Novel and Postcolonial Anarchy
[
hum
]
Explores the shared history of British Imperialism and examines the postcolonial novel's response to the breakdown of colonial power and the advent of the postcolonial state. We will read novels from South Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. Usually offered every fourth year.
Ms. Singh
ECON
69a
The Economics of Race and Gender
[
ss
]
Prerequisite: ECON 2a or 10a.
The role of race and gender in economic decision making. Mainstream and alternative economic explanations for discrimination, and analysis of the economic status of women and minorities. Discussion of specific public policies related to race, class, and gender. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Brainerd
ED
170a
Critical Perspectives in Urban Education
[
ss
]
Examines the nature of urban schools, their links to the social and political context, and the perspectives of the people who inhabit them. Explores the historical development of urban schools; the social, economic, and personal hardships facing urban students; and challenges of urban school reform. Usually offered every year.
Staff
ENG
16a
Slavery and Self-Making in African American Literature
[
hum
]
Critical investigation of African American writing as it engages slavery, freedom, and literary self-fashioning. We will read autobiographies, uplift novels, protest fiction and neo-slave narratives. Particular attention will be paid to issues of identity, sexuality, and social status; textual modes of representation and liberatory politics; the literary culture of sentiment; and African American constructions and contestations of race, gender, nation, and expressive culture since the antebellum period. Authors may include Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, Gayl Jones, Harriet Wilson, William Wells Brown, Frances E. W. Harper, Pauline Hopkins, and Toni Morrison. Contemporary films may include Sankofa, Amistad, and Daughters of the Dust. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Abdur-Rahman or Ms. Smith
ENG
57b
Writing the Nation: James Baldwin, Philip Roth, Toni Morrison
[
hum
]
An in-depth study of three major American authors of the twentieth century. Highlights the contributions of each author to the American literary canon and to its diversity. Explores how these novelists narrate cross-racial, cross-gendered, cross-regional, and cross-cultural contact and conflict in the United States. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Abdur-Rahman
ENG
77a
Screening the Tropics
[
hum
nw
]
How territories and modes of life are designated as "tropical," and how this is celebrated or "screened out" in film, photography, national policy, travelogues, and fiction. Films by Cozier, Cuaron, Duigan, Denis, Fung, Henzell, Ousmane, and Sissako. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Smith
ENG
80a
Black Looks: The Promise and Perils of Photography
[
hum
]
Explores photography and Africans, African-Americans and Caribbean people, from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. This course will examine fiction that refers to the photograph; various photographic archives; and theorists on photography and looking. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Smith
ENG
87a
Sex and Race in the American Novel
[
hum
]
Depictions of racial and sexual others abound in American literature of the twentieth century. Reading texts across racial, geographical, and temporal divides, this course investigates the representation of non-normative sexualities as signaled, haunted, or repaired by an appeal to race. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Abdur-Rahman
ENG
107a
Women Writing Desire: Caribbean Fiction and Film
[
hum
]
About eight novels of the last two decades (by Cliff, Cruz, Danticat, Garcia, Kempadoo, Kincaid, Mittoo, Nunez, Pineau, Powell, or Rosario), drawn from across the region, and read in dialogue with popular culture, theory, and earlier generations of male and female writers of the region. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Smith
ENG
127b
Migrating Bodies, Migrating Texts
[
hum
]
Beginning with the region's representation as a tabula rasa, examines the textual and visual constructions of the Caribbean as colony, homeland, backyard, paradise, and Babylon, and how the region's migrations have prompted ideas about evolution, hedonism, imperialism, nationalism, and diaspora. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Smith
ENG
138a
Making Modern Subjects: Empire, Citizenship, Intimacy
[
hum
]
Considers inflections of "the modern" across the Americas, allowing us to compare models and strategies at a historical moment when shifts from slavery to "freedom" and from Europe to the U.S.A., frame anxieties about empire, citizenship, technology, vernaculars, and aesthetics. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Smith
ENG
167b
20th-Century Black Fiction
[
hum
]
A study of experimental fiction of prominent twentieth-century African-American authors. Investigates features of the postmodern novel including disruptive chronologies, the representation of fragmented identities, intertextual play and parody, and the critique of Western modernity as long-standing practices in black writing. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Abdur-Rahman
FREN
164a
Haiti, Then and Now
[
fl
hum
nw
]
Prerequisite: FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Studies Haiti's cultural history through literature, music, painting, film, and journalism. Topics include: Haiti's first inhabitants, the Arawaks and Taino; slavery and colonialism; the world's first black republic; dictators and presidents; Creole and French; Catholicism and Vaudou; the island's ecology; the 2010 earthquake and international aid. Usually offered every second year.
Staff
HIST
115a
History of 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. Explores how theoreticians explain and account for differences, and how race and ethnicity relate to economic class and social institutions. Usually offered every second year.
Staff
HIST
116b
The History of Black/Jewish Relations in America
[
ss
]
Explores the origins of Black/Jewish cooperation and conflict from the Slave Trade through the Civil Rights Movement and on to debates on the "ownership" of hip-hop. Analyzes the formation of, and interplay between, "race" and "ethnicity." Usually offered every second year.
Staff
HIST
153b
Slavery and the American Civil War
[
ss
]
A survey of the history of slavery, the American South, the antislavery movement, the coming of the Civil War, and Reconstruction. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Fischer
HIST
157b
The Secret Life of Slaves: African-Americans and the Writing of History
[
ss
]
Seeks to understand not only the system but the inner lives and cultures of slaves within that system. This course is a reading-intensive seminar examining both primary and secondary sources on American slaves. Focuses on the American South but includes sources on the larger African diaspora. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Cooper
HIST
175b
Resistance and Revolution in Latin America and the Caribbean
[
nw
ss
]
Focuses on questions of race, gender and modernity in resistence movements and revolutions in Latin American and Caribbean history. The Haitian Revolution, Tupac Amaru Rebellion, and Vaccination Riots in Brazil are some topics that will be covered. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Childs
HS
120a
Race and the Law
[
ss
]
Explores how race has been defined and used to uphold or undermine the principles espoused in the Constitution and other sources of the law in the United States. Issues discussed range from treatment of Native Americans at the nation's birth to the modern concept of affirmative action. One of our premises is that ideally the law represents the synthesis of the narratives of various elements of a society. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Hill
HS
515a
Race/Ethnicity and Gender in Health and Human Services Research
Explores theoretical and empirical approaches to race/ethnicity and gender as factors in health and human services practices, programs, and policies in the United States. Begins by examining current data on racial/ethnic and gender differences in health, mental health, functional status, and lifestyle. Attention then turns to alternative accounts of the causes of these differences. Although primary focus is on patterns of race/ethnicity and gender differences in health outcomes and services that have received the most comprehensive attention, the course offers perspectives on research methods and analytic frameworks that can be applied to other issues. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Nsiah-Jefferson
HSSP
114b
Racial/Ethnic and Gender Inequalities in Health and Health Care
[
ss
]
An examination of the epidemiological patterns of health status by race/ethnicity, gender, and socio-economic status. Addresses current theories and critiques explaining disparities in health status, access, quality, and conceptual models, frameworks, and interventions for eliminating inequalities. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Jefferson
IGS
170a
The Rise of Brazil
[
ss
]
Examines how Brazil now wields global influence in energy, South-South politics, culture and environmental affairs. This course looks at key elements - from the favela to high finance, carnvial to Candomblé - that make up one of the world's most dynamic societies. Usually offered every second year.
Staff
THA
144b
African-American Theatre: From Emancipation through the Obama Administration
[
ca
]
Explores the history, development and voice of African-American theater. The course will examine commercial controversial and crucial work in the canon of African-American theater. Usually offered every second year.
Staff