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Undergraduate

Bachelor's Degree Programs
Africana Studies

Major in Africana Studies

The Africana Studies major prepares undergraduates for productive local, national and international careers or graduate work. It grounds students in the essential theory and basic information about people of African descent that serves as a foundation of knowledge for advanced study in the discipline. Recognizing the importance of cross-cultural understanding and regional differences of the African experience, it also provides students with a trans-national perspective on the life, history and culture of people of African descent in the United States, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean Europe, and Africa. To ensure coherence within the overall major, students must also complete one introductory course and one senior seminar capstone course.

The Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Africana Studies (AFRO) requires satisfactory completion of the following:

  • Completion of general education and distribution requirements as indicated in the School of Liberal Arts section of the IUPUI bulletin that was current when the student declared a major in Africana Studies.
  • Completion of a total of 33 credit hours, with a minimum grade of C in each course.
  • Completion of a minimum of 15 credit hours in the Africana Studies major at IUPUI (effective Fall 2015).
  • There is no double counting within the major. Courses which can potentially count in two or more areas can only fulfill one requirement within the major. 
  • Students cannot take more than 6 hours of AFRO-A 495: Independent Study, AFRO-A 499:  Community Experience Internship, or AFRO-A 499:  Honors Thesis for credit.

Major Requirements:

  • AFRO-A 140: Introduction to African American and African Diaspora Studies (3 cr.)
  • AFRO-A 200: Research in African American and African Diaspora Studies (3 cr.)
  • AFRO-A 306: Globalization, Struggle and Empowerment in the African Diaspora (3 cr.)

Senior capstone course requirement choose from:

  • AFRO-A 414: Seminar in African American and African Diaspora Studies (3 cr.) or, with approval from the director, a 3 credit AFRO-A 495:  Independent Study capstone project
Area concentration requirement (9 credits) in one of the following geographical regions:
  • Africa
  • Latin America and the Caribbean
  • North America

The area concentration must include courses from at least 2 different School of Liberal Arts departments and at least 2 courses at the 300 level or higher.

Elective credits (12 credits) selected from the following Africana Studies program specific and/or School of Liberal Arts department courses

Africa: 3 credits each

  • AFRO-A 152: Introduction to African Studies
  • ANTH-E 310: Cultures of Africa
  • ENG-L 382: Fiction of the Non-Western World 
  • ENG-L 411: Literature and Society: South African Literature and Society   
  • HER-H 300: Black Visual Artists    
  • HIST-H 227: African Civilizations 
  • HIST-H 421: Topics in African, Asian, or Latin American History: Peoples and Cultures of Africa  
  • POLS-Y 338: African Politics
  • REL-R 314:  Religion and Racism 

Latin America and the Caribbean: 3 credits each

  • ANTH-E 384: The African Diaspora 
  • ENG-L 245: Introduction to Caribbean Literature 
  • ENG-L 406: Topics in African-American Literature: Anglophone Caribbean Writers
  • ENG-L 406: Topics in African-American Literature: Caribbean Women Writers
  • GEOG-G 323: Geography of Latin America 
  • GEOG-G 324: Geography of the Caribbean 
  • HIST-F 341: Latin America: Conquest and Empire 
  • HIST-F 342: Latin America: Evolution and Revolution since Independence 
  • POLS-Y 337: Latin American Politics 
  • REL-R 328: Afro-Diasporic Religions 
  • SOC-R 461: Race and Ethic Relations 
North America: 3 credits each
  • AFRO-A 150: Survey of the Culture of Black Americans 
  • AFRO-A 202: The West and The African Diaspora 
  • AFRO-A 255: The Black Church in America
  • AFRO-A 352: Afro-American Art II: Afro-American Artists 
  • AFRO-A 303: Topics in African American Studies
  • AFRO-A 369: The African American Experience
  • ANTH-E 403: Women of Color in the US
  • ANTH-P 405: Fieldwork in Archaeology (subject to Africana Studies advisor’s permission)
  • ENG-L 370: Black American Writing 
  • ENG-L 406: Topics in African American Literature (varies)
  • ENG-L 406: Topics in African American Literature: Women Novelists Since 1900
  • FOLK-F 354: African American Folklore/Folklife/Folk Music 
  • HIST-A 355: African-American History I 
  • HIST-A 356: African-American History II 
  • HIST-H 421: Topics in African, Asian, or Latin American History: African Americans in Indiana
  • HIST-H 421: Topics in African, Asian, or Latin American History: Interpreting African American History at Museums and Historic Sites
  • MUS-M 394: Black Music in America 
  • MUS-Z 393: History of Jazz 
  • POLS-Y 325: African American Politics 
  • REL-R 363: African-American Religions 
  • REL-R 370: Islam in America    
  • SOC-R 461: Race and Ethic Relations 

Africana Studies Courses: 3 credits each

  • AFRO-A 106: Perspectives from the African American Diaspora
  • AFRO-A 495: Individual Readings in Afro-American Studies
  • AFRO-A 499: Community Experience Internship
  • AFRO-A 499: Honors Thesis