Africana Studies Spring 2017 Courses

Spring 2017 Courses:

AFRS 168: Introduction to the African Diaspora (3)

Students will explore a variety of historical, theoretical, and cultural approaches to studying the African Diaspora. The assigned readings cover both the geographic and conceptual nature of the African Diaspora beginning on the African continent, moving through the Americas (North, South, and the Caribbean basin), and into Europe.

AFRS 226: Traditional African Cultures (3)

Comprehensive overview of the African societies and cultures from the earliest times to the 20th century. Case studies in ethnology, kinship and marriage, economic and political institutions, religion and philosophy, the arts and the interaction between the traditional African cultures and the non-African cultures.

AFRS 246: Introduction to African American Drama (3)

Chronological survey of the major works of representative African American dramatists from 1925 to the present, with particular focus on their techniques, ideas and the cultural milieu in which the works were produced.

AFRS 252: Popular Culture in the Black World (3)

This course examines popular culture as it relates to the cultural transmission, inheritance, and complex relations between African origins and the irreversible scatterings of the Black diaspora. We will examine the role of media and the arts in enabling, facilitating, or challenging the social constructions of "Blackness" in Black popular culture.

AFRS 301: Economics of the African American Community II (3)

Study of the household as a consuming unit and the firm as a producing unit, exploring factor costs, price determinatives and income distribution, with emphasis on the African American community and its lack of control over the means of production.

AFRS 337: Black Images on the Silver Screen (3)

Prerequisite: Completion of the Lower Division writing requirement. In-depth exploration of the history and criticism of the black image on the American screen and the social and political background from which the African-American image has developed. Emphasizes technical (how a film is composed) and critical (the meaning that can be drawn from those compositions) perspectives.

AFRS 344: Literature of the Caribbean and African Experience (3)

Prerequisite: Completion of the Lower Division writing requirement. Examines the literatures of people in Africa and the Caribbean, establishes the theoretical, historical, cultural and imagistic framework within which that literature operates. Thematic analysis of the literatures with respect to their experiences and backgrounds.

AFRS 346: Contemporary Black Female Writers (3)

Prerequisites: CHS, ENGL or AFRS 155; Completion of the Lower Division writing requirement. Study of selected works by contemporary Black women writers, including Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, Ntozake Shange and Maya Angelou. Themes explored include correcting the images, movement from masking to self-revelation, male-female relationships and search for wholeness.

AFRS 350: Advanced Writing (3)

Prerequisite: Completion of the Lower Division writing requirement. Advanced course emphasizing alternative strategies in writing skills development. Focuses on reports, the research paper, critiques, the essay examination and selected forms of correspondence. Review of grammar, mechanics and syntax is offered as needed. More intensive review of such basics are available on an individualized basis in the Writing Center.

AFRS 355: Black World News Practicum (3)

Prerequisite: Completion of the Lower Division writing requirement. Supervised work on a newsletter published 3 times a semester. Students work as writers-reporters, photographers and editors. Includes analysis of black urban press and black college newspapers.

AFRS 361: African American Politics (3)

Prerequisite: Completion of the Lower Division writing requirement. Introduction to the politics of the African American, including political socialization, voting, interest groups, political parties and the political behavior within the sub-cultural context.

AFRS 366: Colonialism in Africa (3)

Prerequisite: Completion of the Lower Division writing requirement. Comprehensive overview of the motives of the European colonizers of Africa and the methods they used in their colonial pursuits. Consequences of the colonization of Africa and the slave trade. African liberation movements. Case studies of colonialism in specific regions and/or specific countries. (Available for General Education, Comparative Cultural Studies.)

AFRS 367: African American Social Movements (3)

This course is an examination of the theory and practice of African American social movements to study and apply them to the African American experience. Theories that promulgate non-violent direct action, the use of violence and other non-systemic activity will be assessed within the context of African American movement activity. Its focus is on the Modern Civil Rights and Black Power movements, but also examines the early abolition and Negro Convention Movement for historical context. Contemporary grassroots activism in the African American community and African American global initiatives, including African American involvement in the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, will be examined.

AFRS 368: Politics of Hip Hop (3)

Examination of African American youth and society through the medium of Hip Hop. This course also explores the connection between the Hip Hop community and the various political, corporate and institutional actors that influence society both locally and globally. Special emphasis is placed on the impact of Hip Hop on African identity, culture and politics. Required for the AFRS Minor.

AFRS 391: Psychological Foundations of Education (3)

Not applicable for any Credential program. Overview of the development of African American children from preschool to adolescence. Explores psychological perspectives on learning, development and instruction. 40 hours of fieldwork required.

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