AFS 15200 INTRODUCTION TO WEST AFRICAN CULTURES 3 Credit Hours
Students will study the history, culture, geography, ecology, and historical specifics of the region of West Africa from the 9th to the 19th centuries.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 20001 INTRODUCTION TO AFRICANA STUDIES 3 Credit Hours
This course uses an interdisciplinary approach to introduce students to the discipline and field of Africana Studies. Using primary source materials from literature, film and various art forms, students will be exposed to concepts, critical issues, events and major thinkers that have shaped the global Black world. Emphasis will be placed on the relationship between Peoples of African descent, Latin and Indigenous Peoples. Selected course materials represent the ways in which Peoples of African descent have demonstrated resiliency, activism and agency.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 20101 KISWAHILI III 3 Credit Hours
Continuation of Kiswahili II, aimed at developing knowledge competence and recognition of Kiswahili usage in all forms of Kiswahili literature.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 20102 KISWAHILI IV 3 Credit Hours
Continuation of Kiswahili III, aimed at developing knowledge, competence and recognition of Kiswahili usage in all forms of Kiswahili literature.
Prerequisite: AFS 20101.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 20300 BLACK IMAGES 3 Credit Hours
Examines the historical origins and representations of racial images and anti-black perceptions through newspapers, magazines, songs, plays, literature, textbooks, radio, television, films, comic books, etc. and the role of these images in American culture past and present.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 22000 CREATIVE WRITING IN THE BLACK WORLD 3 Credit Hours
Explores the major aesthetic and cultural issues that have historically shaped creative writing in the Black world since the beginning of the African Griot tradition. Students will investigate the African-American tradition in literature as an organic part of the larger Africana world. Students are expected to write, perform, critique and produce original works in the modes and performance styles of the global African world.
Prerequisite: ENG 11011 or HONR 10197.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 22101 AFRICAN AMERICAN VISUAL ARTISTS 3 Credit Hours
The course is an Afrocentric survey of visual and aural artistry. The course also examines context and perspectives, mediums of expression, form, style, content and patronage of African American artists from 1800.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 22200 INTRODUCTION TO THE AFRICAN ARTS 3 Credit Hours
This course investigates the function of creative forms of artistic expression particular to experiences of the Africana community at home and abroad.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 23001 BLACK EXPERIENCE I: BEGINNINGS TO 1865 (DIVG) (KHUM) 3 Credit Hours
This course examines the African experience prior to and following the arrival of Africans in the New World. It explores the contributions of Africans in the areas of state formation, arts/architectural designs, scientific explorations, religion and other great human achievements. Discussion will also focus on major historical events such as the Trans-Saharan trade, Trans-Atlantic Slave trade, Middle Passage, and Slavery in America. The experiences of people of African descent in North and South America as well as the Caribbean will be examined.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Attributes: Diversity Global, Kent Core Humanities
AFS 23002 BLACK EXPERIENCE II: 1865 TO PRESENT (DIVD) (KHUM) 3 Credit Hours
This course covers the Black Experience from 1865 to the present, including events, ideas and persons in Africa, North and South America, and the Caribbean. The course will also examine slavery in America, the struggles for freedom, the Civil War, Reconstruction and Jim Crow eras, Black politics, culture, and society. The contributions of African Americans to the American society will also be examined.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Attributes: Diversity Domestic, Kent Core Humanities
AFS 23095 SPECIAL TOPICS IN PAN-AFRICAN LITERATURE AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS 1-4 Credit Hours
(Repeatable for a maximum of 6 credit hours) Introduction to a current and specialized topic in Pan-African Literature and/or communication skills.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 1-4 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 23310 NATIVE AMERICAN STUDIES 3 Credit Hours
Study and analysis of Native American history, sovereignty and civil rights. Ensures an understanding of self-determination in the context of colonization, decolonization and neocolonization, through the use of Native American literature, philosophy, politics and other cultural outlets. Being that we all live in a broader community, students also examine historical and contemporary relationships with the African American community and other ethnic communities in the US.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 24407 INTRODUCTION TO CARIBBEAN STUDIES (DIVG) 3 Credit Hours
This course examines the histories, social and political frameworks, cultural and religious traditions of Caribbean regions from the pre-colonial era to the present. The course focuses in particular on the experience of people of African descent in the Caribbean.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Attributes: Diversity Global
AFS 26010 BLACK LIVES MATTER: THE CONTINUED STRUGGLE FOR BLACK LIBERATION 3 Credit Hours
This course examines the historical, cultural and sociopolitical development of the global #BlackLivesMatter movements. By linking the current movements for Black liberation to past and current resistance movements, this course explores the intersectional relationship between identity development and the anti-blackness of state sanctioned violence through strategies and tactics of various movements and individuals who represent the legacy of the Black Radical Tradition.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 30001 CULTURAL EXPRESSIONS I 3 Credit Hours
Exploration of African creative endeavors and cultures through traditionally integrated forms of music, dance and song. Some emphasis on the study of design, color and fashion merged with family, food and environment, as well as traditional African societies. The class strives to foster in the student, through song and dance and through plastic arts, an aesthetic appreciation of the traditional African society such as the Yoruba people, the Dan, Dogon, Bambura, Mandingo and Senufu and many more.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 30310 BLACK HOLLYWOOD 3 Credit Hours
Examines the complexities of race relations in the film industry and the need for “Hollywood” and Black filmmakers to create films for mainstream audiences with a multitude of themes from the African American experience in America and the Black experience around the world.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 30311 HIP HOP: THE SOCIAL, POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC INFLUENCES 3 Credit Hours
Examines the social, political and economic influences of and on Hip-hop and analyzes the historical and current relationships between Hip-hop and mainstream America, including the role that corporate America has played. In-depth history of the culture and major pioneers and contributors.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 32001 AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE TO 1900 3 Credit Hours
(Cross-listed with ENG 33010) Study of African-American literature from its beginning to 1900, including such writers as Wheatley, J. Hammon, Terry, B. Hammon, Jones, Marrant, Allen, Hall, Walker, Truth, Garnet, Douglass, Delany, Harper, Stewart, Turner, Jacobs, Keckley, Brown, Wilson, Griggs, Chesnutt and Dunbar.
Prerequisite: ENG 21011 or HONR 10297.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 32002 MODERN AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE 3 Credit Hours
Study of African-American literature from the early twentieth century to the present. The authors include Toomer, Hughes, Larsen, Wright, Baldwin, Hansberry, Jones, Lorde, Walker, Morrison, Mosley, Youngblood and Carter.
Prerequisite: ENG 21011 or HONR 10297.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 32050 AFRICAN LITERATURES (DIVG) 3 Credit Hours
(Cross-listed with ENG 33015) Examines works of major 20th-century African, African American and Caribbean writers and intellectuals. Authors include Niane, Achebe, Emecheta, Prince, Hurston, Hughes, Cesaire, Senghor, Soyinka and many others.
Prerequisite: ENG 11011 or HONR 10197.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Attributes: Diversity Global
AFS 33110 BLACK WOMEN, CULTURE AND SOCIETY: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES (DIVD) 3 Credit Hours
This course surveys the experiences of Black women throughout various periods of history, and their roles in shaping the social, economic, political and cultural development of their societies.
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Attributes: Diversity Domestic
AFS 33120 THE BLACK MAN: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES 3 Credit Hours
This course will investigate both the historical as well as the cultural evolution of the African man in America. We will consider the Black man’s development within the larger context of the African experience in the United States. It will focus primary attention on the cultural, social, economic and political aspects of African community development and the impact of Black men on that development.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 33130 GENDER AND SEXUALITY IN AFRICA AND THE AFRICAN DIASPORA 3 Credit Hours
Using lectures, videos, discussions, readings and application this course explores ways in which gender and sexuality in Africa and the African Diaspora have and can be constructed, performed, articulated and researched. Attention is also paid to the existence of LGBTQ identities within the global black community.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 33171 AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITIES (DIVD) 3 Credit Hours
This course explores the challenges facing African-American communities through historical and contemporary perspectives. Issues such as geography, black/demography, public administration, health, transportation, socio-economic/finance as well as education, civil rights, crime/justice will be covered. The course will also explore contemporary social movement issues and implications on these communities.
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Attributes: Diversity Domestic
AFS 33310 AFRO-LATINX COMMUNITIES IN THE U.S. (DIVD) 3 Credit Hours
Introduction to the social, cultural, and political experiences of Afro-Latinx communities in the U.S. The communities include Afro-Mexican, Puerto Rican, Afro-Cuban, Dominican, Garifuna, etc.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Attributes: Diversity Domestic
AFS 34000 INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN WORLD VIEW (DIVG) 3 Credit Hours
This course will introduce students to the basic features of the Traditional African Worldview. We will identify and examine those concepts that all African peoples hold in common. It will provide a working context within which to discuss fundamental aspects of Traditional African identity and culture. In addition, we will consider the transformation of the African Worldview in the so-called New World.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Attributes: Diversity Global
AFS 37000 ORAL AND WRITTEN DISCOURSES IN AFRICANA STUDIES (WIC) 3 Credit Hours
This course examines foundational text, speech and cultural expressions in the Africana World. Students will develop their writing skills and learn new techniques to improve their oral and written communication.
Prerequisite: ENG 21011 or HONR 10297.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Attributes: Writing Intensive Course
AFS 37001 THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO AFRICANA STUDIES 3 Credit Hours
A critical analysis of the diverse approaches to the underlying principles of Africana Studies.This course aims to expose students to various theoretical perspectives and models that scholars use to explore and understand the Africana experience. The course has a multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary scope that allows for a thorough investigation of the political, socio-economic and cultural significance of the unity, self-determination and resistance forged by People of African Descent.
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 37010 RESEARCH METHODS IN AFRICANA STUDIES (ELR) 3 Credit Hours
This course will expose students to the basic components on interdisciplinary research methods used in Africana Studies. Students will learn about research concepts, paradigms, models and perspectives in the design of African-centered research projects.
Prerequisite: AFS 37000 and AFS 37001.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Attributes: Experiential Learning Requirement
AFS 37020 THE MODEL AFRICAN UNION (ELR) 3 Credit Hours
Students examine role, structure and performance of the African Union in the search for solutions to key economic, social and political-security issues facing Africa. Students attend the annual meeting of the Model African Union Conference in Washington D.C., which is a simulation of proceedings of the African Union, augmented by briefings at African Embassies. Participants gain an understanding of the various determinants, capabilities and constraints shaping the domestic and foreign policies of African countries.
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Attributes: Experiential Learning Requirement
AFS 37100 AFRICANA WOMEN’S LITERATURE (DIVG) 3 Credit Hours
(Cross-listed with ENG 33013). This course introduces students to literary works by Africana women. The course will explore concerns and issues impacting Africana women including but not limited to the intersections of psychological, social, historical and political issues of race and gender.
Prerequisite: ENG 11011 or HONR 10197.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Attributes: Diversity Global
AFS 37150 SECRET AND MAROON SOCIETIES IN THE STRUGGLE AGAINST THE INSTITUTION OF SLAVERY 3 Credit Hours
This course examines secret and maroon societies including but not limited to the Underground Railroad, the Quilombos of Brazil, Black Seminoles of Florida, and other maroon communities in the Africana world.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 37200 AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN'S LITERATURE 3 Credit Hours
(Cross-listed with ENG 33014) Introduces students to literary works by African-American women.
Prerequisite: ENG 11011 or HONR 10197.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 40001 CULTURAL EXPRESSIONS II 3 Credit Hours
This course continues Cultural Expressions I in greater depth and sophistication: Exploration of African creative endeavors and cultures through traditionally integrated forms of music, dance and song. Some emphasis on the study of design, color and fashion merged with family, food and environment, as well as traditional African societies. The class strives to foster in the student, through song and dance and through plastic arts, an esthetic appreciation of the traditional African society such as the Yoruba people, the Dan, Dogon, Bambara, Mandingo, Su Su, Senufu and many more.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 41192 PRACTICUM IN AFRICANA COMMUNITIES (ELR) 1-12 Credit Hours
(Repeatable for credit) This practicum provides students with hands-on experience in community service and engagement. In coordination with a selected faculty member, students will have the opportunity to work in government agencies, public and private schools, non-profit organizations, etc.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Practical Experience
Contact Hours: 3-36 other
Grade Mode: Standard Letter-IP
Attributes: Experiential Learning Requirement
AFS 43095 SPECIAL TOPICS IN PAN-AFRICAN LITERATURE, ARTS AND CULTURES 3 Credit Hours
(Repeatable for credit) Broadens upper division offerings in holistic study and performance in Pan-African literatures, arts and cultures.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 43100 RACE, CLASS AND FEMINIST THOUGHT 3 Credit Hours
(Slashed with AFS 53100) Explores issues of race, class and gender through the lens of Black women and feminists of color. This course also examines how gender, race, and class intersect in the construction of identity, institutional formations and social movements in the African world.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 43200 MALCOLM AND MARTIN 3 Credit Hours
A critical study of the major ideas and doctrines, including religious and theological beliefs, of Malcolm X and Martin L. King and their roles in American history.
Prerequisite: Junior standing.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 44095 SPECIAL TOPICS IN CONTEMPORARY AFRICA 3 Credit Hours
(Repeatable for a total of 12 credit hours when topic varies) Study of selected topics related to contemporary Africa.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 47095 SPECIAL TOPICS IN THEORETICAL AND APPLIED RESEARCH 3 Credit Hours
(Repeatable for a maximum of 12 credit hours)Selected topics in the intellectual, cultural, political and historical development of Pan-Africanism, its diverse theoretical approaches and multiple applications including the Organization of African Unity.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 47099 SENIOR SEMINAR IN AFRICANA STUDIES (ELR) (WIC) 3 Credit Hours
This upper-division course is designed to provide AFS students the opportunity/framework to critically review and reflect on their academic and experiential learning experiences and other academic undertakings before graduation. In addition to reviewing relevant topical/contemporary issues of interest in the field of Africana Studies or the Pan-African world, students will develop individual research papers on these topical issues for presentation before the departmental faculty, students and the general public.
Prerequisite: AFS 37010.
Schedule Type: Project or Capstone
Contact Hours: 3 other
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Attributes: Experiential Learning Requirement, Writing Intensive Course
AFS 47100 RACE, GENDER AND SOCIAL JUSTICE 3 Credit Hours
(Slashed with AFS 57100) This senior level course introduces students to the interconnected fields of race, gender and social justice in America and the rest of the world. Students will explore the intersectionality of these fields and how they shape our understanding of social justice issues. The course will enhance the knowledge and understanding of students on critical issues of race, gender, sexuality/other categories. Drawing on interdisciplinary approach/perspective, students will study and develop a global understanding of the complex intersectional systems of oppression that shape the lives of people of African descent, including other people of color. Discussions will focus on issues of civic engagement, public policy, policy advocacy, and the practice/methodology of activism.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 47122 SEMINAR IN ACTIVISM AND SOCIAL CHANGE 3 Credit Hours
(Slashed with AFS 57122) This senior level seminar course will provide students the opportunity to gain knowledge and understanding of activism and social change. Discussion will focus on strategies and methods of social change through community activism, policy advocacy, community organizing and development. Students will engage in readings, discussions, and analyses of relevant works on issues of activism, race, gender and social change. In addition to reviewing major theoretical and methodological approaches, students will develop a theory-driven research paper on a topical issue of interest on race, gender, and social justice by the end of the semester.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Seminar
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 47144 BLACK SOCIAL AND POLITICAL THOUGHT 3 Credit Hours
(Slashed with AFS 57144) This course explores the evolution of Black social and political thought and leadership within the global Black world. Drawing on the concepts of leadership and liberatory practices, the course will discuss the changing trends of Black social and political thought, strategies, ideologies, race, class, gender, conflict, competition and future prospects of Black political mobilization and leadership.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 49093 VARIABLE TITLE WORKSHOP IN PAS 2-6 Credit Hours
(Repeatable for credit)
Prerequisite: Special approval.
Schedule Type: Workshop
Contact Hours: 2-6 other
Grade Mode: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory
AFS 49095 SELECTED TOPICS 2,3 Credit Hours
(Repeatable for credit) Scheduled topic announced. Intended to encourage further study in areas not treated adequately in standard courses. Offered irregularly by available or visiting faculty.
Prerequisite: None.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 2-3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter-IP
AFS 49096 INDIVIDUAL INVESTIGATION 1-3 Credit Hours
(Repeatable once for credit) Research in areas of interest not available in departmental courses. Approval by faculty member or chairperson necessary prior to registration.
Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing.
Schedule Type: Individual Investigation
Contact Hours: 1-3 other
Grade Mode: Standard Letter-IP
AFS 53100 RACE, CLASS AND FEMINIST THOUGHT 3 Credit Hours
(Slashed with AFS 43100) This graduate level course explores issues of race, class and gender through the lens of Black women and feminists of color. This course also examines how gender, race, and class intersect in the construction of identity, institutional formations and social movements in the African world.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 57100 RACE, GENDER AND SOCIAL JUSTICE 3 Credit Hours
(Slashed with AFS 47100) This graduate level course introduces students to the fields of race, gender and social justice in America and the rest of the world. Students will explore the intersectionality of these fields and how they shape our understanding of critical social justice issues. The course is designed for M.A. and/or PhD students who wish to complement and strengthen their research and pedagogical framework in their degree program, and those who are interested in working towards equity with regard to race, gender, sexuality/other categories. Drawing on interdisciplinary approach/perspective, students will study and develop a global understanding of the complex intersectional systems of oppression that shape the lives of people of African descent, including other people of color. Discussions will focus on issues of civic engagement, public policy, policy advocacy, and the practice/methodology of activism. The knowledge of students in the interdisciplinary field of Africana Studies will also be broadened after taking this course.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 57122 SEMINAR IN ACTIVISM AND SOCIAL CHANGE 3 Credit Hours
(Slashed with AFS 47122) This graduate seminar course is designed to provide students the opportunity to undertake a critical overview of their graduate minor program in Race, Gender and Social Justice with a focus on strategies and methods of social change through community activism. Discussions will focus on critical issues of policy advocacy, community organizing and development. Students will engage in readings, discussions, and analyses of relevant works on issues of activism, race, gender and social change. In addition to reviewing major theoretical and methodological approaches, students will develop a theory-driven research paper on a topical issue of interest on race, gender, and social justice by the end of the semester.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
Schedule Type: Seminar
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
AFS 57144 BLACK SOCIAL AND POLITICAL THOUGHT 3 Credit Hours
(Slashed with AFS 47144) This graduate level course explores the evolution of Black social and political thought and leadership within the global Black world. Drawing on the concepts of leadership and liberatory practices, the course will discuss the changing trends of Black social and political thought, strategies, ideologies, race, class, gender, conflict, competition and future prospects of Black political mobilization and leadership.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Contact Hours: 3 lecture
Grade Mode: Standard Letter