African American Studies

The material on this page is from the 1995-96 catalog and may be out of date. Please check the current year's catalog for current information.

Professors Turlish (English), Branham (Rhetoric), Taylor (English); Associate Professors Brinkley (Sociology and Women's Studies)(on leave, winter semester and Short Term) and Creighton (History); Assistant Professors Nero (Rhetoric), Chair, Carnegie (Anthropology), and Chin (English); Mr. Jensen (History) and Ms. Gordon-Mora (Political Science)

African American studies is an interdisciplinary program designed to enrich knowledge of the experience of African Americans from the past to the present, both within and beyond the United States. Attention is given to race as a critical tool of analysis for explaining the allocation of economic resources, the formation of personal and group identity, and the changing nature of political behavior. Study of African American experiences provides insight into secular cultural practices, intellectual traditions, religious doctrines and practices, and social institutions with attention to issues of class, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation.

Major requirements: Students must complete eleven courses and a thesis. Seven of the courses must be core courses and four may be core or component courses. Students must complete either AAS 457 or AAS 458 (senior thesis). In addition, students should fulfill the following requirements from the core or component courses approved for the major: one course must have an experiential component; one course must focus on the experiences of people of African descent outside of the United States; one course must have as its focus either critical methods of analysis and theory or race and gender as tools of critical analysis.

The Chair of African American studies provides a list of core and component courses offered each year. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the program, students should 1) consult regularly with the Chair or a faculty advisor in African American studies to ensure that their programs have both breadth and depth, and 2) devise a program of study approved by the Chair or a faculty advisor by the fall semester of the junior year.

Thesis advisors should be chosen by each student, in consultation with the Chair, according to the subject matter of the thesis.

Core Courses
250. Interdisciplinary Studies: Methods and Modes of Inquiry. Interdisciplinarity involves more than a meeting of disciplines. Practitioners stretch methodological norms and reach across disciplinary boundaries. Through examination of a single topic, this course introduces students to interdisciplinary methods of analysis. Students examine what practitioners actually do and work to become practitioners themselves. Topic for 1995: Sex and Citizenship. This course is the same as American Cultural Studies 250 and Women's Studies 250. Prerequisites: any two courses in women's studies, African American studies, or American cultural studies. Open to first-year students. Mr. Nero. W

360. Independent Study. Independent study of selected topics by individual students. Approval of the Chair is required. Students must meet periodically with the instructor and complete papers or projects. May be taken more than once for credit. Written permission of the instructor is required. Staff.

457, 458. Senior Thesis. The research and writing of an extended essay or report, or the completion of a creative project, under the supervision of a faculty member. Majors normally register for either 457 (fall) or 458 (winter semester); honors students register for 457 and 458. Staff.

The following courses are cross-listed with other departments.

Core Courses
Anthropology 250. Caribbean Societies: Emergence of Post-Nationalism. Mr. Carnegie. F
Anthropology 370. Post-Emancipation Societies. Mr. Carnegie. W
Anthropology s21. Cultural Production and Social Context: Jamaica. Same course as English s21. [Mr. Carnegie, Mr. Chin].

English 121. Colloquia in Literature. Reading Race and Ethnicity in American Literature. Mr. Chin. F
English 250. The African American Novel. Mr. Chin. F
English 395. Junior-Senior Seminar. African American Literary Theory [Mr. Chin]; Displacement and Identity in African American/Caribbean Writers. [Mr. Chin]; Caribbean Literature. Mr. Chin. W
English s21. Cultural Production and Social Context: Jamaica. Same course as Anthropology s21. [Mr. Carnegie, Mr. Chin].

First-Year Seminar 014. African American Enslavement. Mr. Carignan. F
First-Year Seminar 153. Race in American Political and Social Thought. Ms. Hill. F

History 243. African American History. Mr. Jensen. F
History 349. Black America in the Twentieth Century. Mr. Carignan. W
History s19. Origins of the Cuban Revolution. Ms. Chomsky.
History s24A. The Civil Rights Movement. [Mr. Jensen].
History s26. Brazilian Slavery Through Documents. [Ms. Chomsky].

Music 247. Jazz and Blues: History and Practice. [Mr. Matthews].
Music s26. Jazz: History and Practice. [Mr. Matthews].

Political Science 235. Black Women in the Americas. Ms. Hill. F
Political Science 372. Nationalism and Political Identification. Ms. Gordon-Mora. W
Political Science 376. Poverty and Democracy. [Ms. Gordon-Mora].
Political Science s21. Internships in Community Service. Mr. Kessler.

Rhetoric 275. African American Public Address. Mr. Nero. F
Rhetoric 386. Language and Communication of Black Americans. [Mr. Nero].
Rhetoric s20. Performance of African American Literature. [Mr. Nero]

Sociology 240. Race and Ethnicity in the United States. Ms. Brinkley. F
Sociology s17. Sexual Harassment and the U.S. Senate's Thomas-Hill Hearings. Ms. Brinkley, Ms. Malcolmson.

Theater 225. The Grain of the Black Image [Mr. Pope.L]
Theater 226. Minority Images in Hollywood Film. Mr. Pope.L. F

Women's Studies 201. African American Women and Feminist Thought. [Ms. Brinkley].

Component Courses
Anthropology 228. Person and Community in Contemporary Africa. Ms. Eames. F
Anthropology 275. Gender Relations in Comparative Perspective. Ms. Eames. W
Anthropology 352. Sociology of Colonialism. [Ms. Eames].
Anthropology s22. Politics of Cultural Expression: African Films and Filmmaking. Same course as Political Science s22. [Ms. Eames, Ms. Hill].
Anthropology s29. Nigerian Narratives: The Construction of History in the Works of Chinua Achebe and His Contemporaries. Ms. Eames.

Art 283. Contemporary Art. Ms. Rand. F
Art 287. Women and Modern Art. [Ms. Rand].

Biology 200. The Social Context of Science. [Mr. Minkoff].

Classics 305. Africa and the Classics. [Ms. O'Higgins].

Education 231. Perspectives on Education. Mr. Wortham. F W

English 141. American Writers to 1900. Mr. Turlish. F
English 152. American Writers Since 1900. Mr. Turlish. W
English 252. Literature and Empire. Ms. Nayder. W
English 280. Personal Narrative in American Literature. [Mr. Turlish].
English 294. Storytelling. Ms. Taylor. F
English 395. Junior-Senior Seminar. Dissenting Traditions in Twentieth-Century American Literature. Ms. Taylor. F; Literature and Cultural Critique. [Ms. Taylor]; Five American Women Poets. [Mr. Farnsworth].
English s28. Three African Women Writers. [Ms. Taylor].

First-Year Seminar 172. Power and Perception: Cinematic Portraits of Africa. Ms. Eames. W

German 260. Germany and Its Others. Mr. Sweet. F

History 247. Social History of the Civil War. [Ms. Creighton].
History 261. American Protest in the Twentieth Century. Mr. Jensen. F
History 390. Junior-Seminar. Currents in American Intellectual History. Mr. Jensen. W

Music 246. American Music: Imaginary Landscapes. Mr. Matthews. W
Music 260. Women and Music. Ms. Hunter. W

Political Science 161. Patterns in Political Systems. Ms. Gordon-Mora. F
Political Science 329. Law and Gender. Mr. Kessler. W
Political Science s22. Politics of Cultural Expression: African Films and Filmmaking. Same course as Anthropology s22. [Ms. Hill, Ms. Eames].
Political Science s25. Labor, Class, Community Action. Mr. Corlett.

Psychology 315. Body Image and Eating Disorders. Ms. Lopes. W
Psychology 370. Psychology of Women and Gender. Ms. Nigro. F

Religion 216. American Religious History, 1550-1840. [Mr. Bruce].
Religion 247. City Upon the Hill. [Mr. Bruce].
Religion s24. Religion and the City. Mr. Bruce, Mr. Avram.

Rhetoric 255. Moving Pictures: The Rhetoric of Committed Documentary. [Mr. Branham].
Rhetoric 331. Rhetorical Theory and Practice. Mr. Nero. W

Theater 215. Popular Performance in Urban America: 1820-1920. [Staff].
Theater 250o. Twentieth-Century American Dance. Ms. Plavin.
Theater 250e. Twentieth-Century American Dance II. [Ms. Plavin].
Theater s22. Contemporary Performance Poetry. [Mr. Pope.L].
Theater s29. Dance as a Collaborative Art. Ms. Plavin.