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Course Listing
Core Courses
Expressive Arts and Cultural Studies
Histories
Politics, Society, and Culture
Related Courses in Other Departments
Core Courses
AF AM ST 210-1,2 Survey of African American Literature
Two-quarter sequence on the literature of blacks from
slavery to freedom. Works of major writers and significant
but unsung bards of the past.
AF AM ST 225-0 African American Culture
Survey of African American culture from slavery to the present.
Relationship of African American culture to African and
Euro-American cultures, the Black Atlantic as a unit of analysis, representations of blackness in the public imaginary.
AF AM ST 236-1,2 Introduction to African American
Studies
Key texts and concepts in African American studies
from a range of disciplinary perspectives. 1. Africa, slavery,
rural and urban life, class division, and the constructs of
"race," "racism," and "blackness." 2. The institutional
development of politics, church, education, culture, women/
family, and the social conditions that give rise to such formations.
Both 1 and 2 will connect their respective themes
to the historical and contemporary liberation struggle,
featuring occasional guest lectures by faculty members.
Expressive Arts and Cultural Studies
An asterisk (*) preceding the course number indicates a
course that may count toward one or more other areas of
concentration.
AF AM ST 259-0 Introduction to African American Drama
Thematic and historical survey of African American drama.
Sociopolitical context, the aesthetic reflected in the work,
impact on African American and general theater audiences.
AF AM ST 316-0 African American Folklore
African American folklore in a variety of genres and forms of presentation, from both rural and urban communities. Includes
folk narratives, folksongs, the dozens, toasts, jokes and
humor, folk beliefs, preachers, folk heroes, and the literary
transformation of folk materials.
AF AM ST 331-0 The African American Novel
Readings in classic black American fiction. The author as creator and
participant. Works of Wright, Ellison, Baldwin, and others.
Prerequisite: sophomore standing.
*AF AM ST 340-0 Slavery and Abolitionist Discourse
Investigation of the rise of abolitionist discourse in the
West, including the evolution of the debates over slavery
from the latter part of the 18th century to the late 19th
century. May also count toward historical and comparative
studies concentration.
*AF AM ST 345-0 Race and Literature in 19th-Century
America
Examination of the evolution and persistence of
the notion of "race" in 19th-century America, with attention
to the origins of the idea of race in the West. Focus
on the multiracial character of 19th-century America.
May also count toward historical and comparative studies
concentration.
AF AM ST 350-0 African American Literary Criticism and
Theory
Advanced introduction to African American literary
cultural criticism and theory. Topics include the "black
aesthetic"; black writers as critics; black feminism, representation,
and sexuality; critiques of the roles of black intellectuals;
and the uses of and resistance to poststructuralist
theory in African American criticism.
*AF AM ST 355-0 20th-Century Intellectual and Popular
Culture
Examination of the rise and persistence of the
notion of black cultural/racial authenticity in the 20th
century through the lens of various forms of intellectual
and popular culture. May also count toward politics, society,
and policy concentration.
AF AM ST 360-0 Major Authors
In-depth examination of a selected author's body of work. Choice of author varies. May be repeated for credit with change of author.
AF AM ST 378-0 The Harlem Renaissance
African American political and social movements and cultural production in theater, music, visual arts, and literature from
1915 to 1930. Prerequisites: consent of instructor and
210-1,2 or another African American literature course.
AF AM ST 379-0 African American Women Playwrights
Texts written from approximately 1916 to the present.
Use of the stage as an arena of social activism, theatrical
representations of "the folk," the family, respectability, and
feminism. Prerequisites: consent of instructor and 259
and/or other African American literature courses.
Histories
AF AM ST 212-1,2 Introduction to African American
History
1. Key concepts in African American history from
1700 to 1861. Includes African origins, the Atlantic slave
trade, origins of slaving and racism in the United States,
life under slavery in the North and South, religion, family,
c u l t u re, and resistance. 2 . Key concepts in African American
history from emancipation to the beginnings of the civil
rights era. Focus on constructions of class, gender, and
community; the rise of Jim Crow; strategies of protest; and
migration and urbanization.
AF AM ST 214-1,2 Comparative Race Studies in the
United States
Problems and experiences of racialized minorities: blacks, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanic Americans. Comparative exploration of their relationships to each other and to the majority society. 1. 1600-1865. 2. 1865-1974.
AF AM ST 220-0 Civil Rights and Black Liberation
Examination of the Northern and Southern civil rights movements and the rise of black nationalism and feminism, 1945-72.
AF AM ST 245-0 The Black Diaspora and Transnationality
Examination of events, movements, theories, and texts that
have shaped development of the African diaspora. Topics
include slavery; abolitionism; Pan-Africanism; linkages
among gender, sexuality, and diasporic sensibilities; the
culture/politics nexus; hip-hop; and AIDS.
AF AM ST 330-0 Black Women in 20th-Century United
States
Experiences and leadership of African American
women in major events in recent history, including antilynching,
women's suffrage, civil rights movements, and World War II.
AF AM ST 345-0 Politics of Afro-Latin America
Introduction to the racial politics of African American communities
outside the United States; exploration of relationships
between racial and social inequality, racial difference, and
political development in selected Latin American nations.
AF AM ST 370-0 Black Activist Debates
Analysis of African American political thought and advocacy since
Reconstruction. Major ideological and tactical debates
among Ida B. Wells, W. E. B. Du Bois, Booker T.
Washington, and Marcus Garvey; the shift from civil rights
to Black Power in the black liberation movement; the rise
of black feminism and the gay and lesbian rights movement;
the rise of black conservatism and the contemporary
struggle for reparations for slavery and segregation.
Politics, Society, and Culture
An asterisk (*) preceding the course number indicates a
course that may count toward one or more other areas of
concentration.
AF AM ST 250-0 Race,Class,and Gender
Introduction to scholarship and key theories that treat race, class, and gender as intersecting social constructs. Race, class, and
gender in work, family and reproduction, education,
poverty, sexuality, and consumer culture. How race, class,
and gender inform identity, ideology, and politics to incite
social change.
*AF AM ST 319-0 Race,Ethnicity, and the American
Constitution
Investigation of how race and ethnicity have
influenced the evolution of the U.S. Constitution and legal
debate and practice. Topics include affirmative action,
school integration, and the death penalty. May also count
toward Historical and Comparative Studies concentration.
Prerequisite: POLI SCI 220 or 230 or AF AM ST 220.
AF AM ST 320-0 The Social Meaning of Race
Race as a social concept and recurrent cause of differentiation in
multiracial societies. Impact of race on social, cultural, economic,
and political institutions. Discussion of prejudice,
racism, and discrimination.
AF AM ST 321-0 Researching Black Communities
Introduction to the methodology and findings of qualitative
research on black communities in the United States. Topics
include black migration, urban geography, black culture,
class and gender stratification, racial identity.
*AF AM ST 325-0 Race, Poverty, and Public Policy in
America
Examination of the scope of poverty in America,
competing theories about its causes, and how racial stratification
creates and perpetuates economic marginalization.
Public policy responses to the plight of the poor; debates
about the future of antipoverty policy, with emphasis on
the relationship between racial and economic stratification.
May also count toward Historical and Comparative Studies
concentration. Prerequisite: 236-1 or SOCIOL 110-0.
*AF AM ST 327-0 Politics of African American Popular
Culture
Examination of the debates within African
American communities about the proper role and function
of black art and artists in relation to black politics. May also
count toward Expressive Arts and Culture concentration.
Prerequisite: 236-1 or 236-2.
AF AM ST 332-0 Black Feminist Theories
In-depth survey of major constituents of black feminist theory, utilizing interdisciplinary approach with readings from history,
sociology, literature, popular culture, and religious studies.
AF AM ST 334-0 Gender and Black Masculinity
Perceptions and constructions of black masculinity within
African American and "American" cultures in the United
States; readings in gender studies, feminist theory, African
American studies, cultural studies.
Courses for Advanced and Senior Students
AF AM ST 380-0 Topics in African American Studies
Advanced work on social, cultural, or historical topics. May
be repeated for credit with different topic. Depending on
the topic, 380 may, with consent of the director of undergraduate
studies, be counted in any of the areas listed above.
AF AM ST 381-0 Topics in Transnational Black Culture
Examination of middle-passage texts such as novels, poetry,
film, drama, slave narratives, and historical texts in order to
explore comparatively how artists from across the African
diaspora have approached this historically and emotionally
loaded event.
AF AM ST 390-0 Research Seminar in African American
Studies
Methods of researching the African American
experience. Identification of research problems; location,
selection, and critique of relevant literature; data gathering
and analysis; report writing. Topics vary.
AF AM ST 399-0 Independent Study
Open to advanced students with consent of department.
Related Courses in Other Departments
Expressive Arts and Culture
ENGLISH 365 (if related to people of African descent), 366
FRENCH 365, 366
PHIL 368 (when appropriate)
GEN MUS 330, 340-1,2,3 (see the School of Music section
of WCAS Undergraduate Catalog)
COMM ST 326 (see the School of Communication section
of WCAS Undergraduate Catalog)
PERF ST 216, 309 (see the School of Communication
section of WCAS Undergraduate Catalog)
THEATRE 368 (see the School of Communication
section of WCAS Undergraduate Catalog)
Histories
AF ST 390, 398
ECON 321
HISTORY 301-1,2, 306-1,2, 355, 356-1,2, 357, 358-1,2
LATIN AM 391
Politics, Society, and Culture
ANTHRO 320, 332, 372
(when related to people of African descent)
ECON 325, 326, 354
POLISCI 327, 357 (when related to people of African
descent), 359, 360
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