College of Arts and Sciences

Curriculum

Curriculum
Courses
Faculty

Program Information

The multidisciplinary Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies seeks to:

1. create and share with academic and nonacademic com­munities scholarship of the highest quality dealing with the broad range of the African American and African Diaspora experience;
2. promote the study and understanding of the historical and contemporary connections among Africans, African Ameri­cans, and other New World black communities; and
3. affirm the democratic tradition of equal opportunity for all by combating all forms of discrimination based on ethnic­ity, gender, class, and religious differences. The department assumes the ongoing responsibility of creating materials and conducting seminal research that aids in the develop­ment and shaping of African American and African Diaspora Studies as a discipline.

Master of Arts Degree

The Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies at Indiana University is committed to being one of the world's leading multi- and interdisciplinary graduate studies programs focused on peoples of African descent in the United States in comparison to African-descent peoples in other glo­balized contexts. With an emphasis on diverse epistemologies, theories, methodologies, ethical considerations, and innovative teaching pedagogies, our goals are:

1. to offer students an intense program in the examination of African American issues as well as diasporic African descent issues in and outside the United States and their transna­tional continuities and discontinuities;
2. to encourage students to develop and/or fine-tune excel­lent and creative research skills, superb writing and oral communications skills, multidisciplinary and interdisciplin­ary analytical skills, technological competencies, innovative problem solving and problem creation skills, collaborative research skills, and intercultural competence skills;
3. to provide students with invaluable intellectual training by bridging curriculum content and practical experience gained from oral history, survey, and ethnographic field work; research based in museums and library archives; and internship opportunities in a broad spectrum of agencies, organizations, and institutions;
4. to sustain a learning environment in which students create as well as refine critical questions and develop problem creation as well as problem solving skills in the humanities and social sciences and synthesizing bridges between the humanities and social sciences in their explorations and interpretations of African descent experiences in the United States and abroad;
5. to give students planning to pursue doctoral training in the social sciences, humanities, or in interdisciplinary fields excellent research foundations;
6. to prepare students for a broad spectrum of career possi­bilities in academia, creative and performing arts, nonprofit management, public policy, libraries, philanthropy, muse­ums, urban studies, conflict resolution, and social services.

The purposes of this program are:

1. to offer students an intense program in the analysis of Afri­can American issues;
2. to expose students to both historical and current method­ological approaches;
3. to expose students to issues throughout the African Diaspora;
4. to refine critical and problem-solving skills in both the hu­manities and social sciences;
5. to extend a sound basis for those going into a doctoral program; and
6. to prepare students for administrative, teaching, communi­cation, and social service careers.

In sum, the program provides a theoretical base of knowledge, methods of research, and a context for analyzing African Ameri­can and Diaspora experiences that can be invaluable either in further graduate studies or in a specific job or career choice.

Admission Requirements

The program is open to any eligible student with a bachelor's degree from an accredited college. Applicants must have a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.0. Letters of recommendation, a brief personal essay, and GRE scores are the main sources of information upon which decisions will be made.

Course Requirements

All students will complete a minimum of 32 credit hours with a minimum 3.0 GPA. Students are required to complete courses in the following categories:

1. Introduction to African American and African Diaspora Studies, parts I and II;
2. Choice of two proseminars (Writings and Literatures; Social and Behavioral Sciences; Performing, Visual, and Material Arts; and Historical and Cultural Studies);
3. Research and master's thesis colloquium;
4. Seminars in area of specialization;
5. Core readings; and
6. Field study and research seminar

Foreign Language

M.A. candidates may satisfy the foreign language requirement by showing satisfactory completion of course work or passing a language proficiency exam. Students in the History, Culture, and Social Issues concentration have the additional option of selecting between computer science or statistical methods.

Dual M.A./M.L.S. in African American and African Diaspora Studies (Master of Arts) and the School of Library and Information Science (Master of Library Science)

The dual M.A./M.L.S. program requires completion of a minimum of 58 credit hours of graduate course work. (The degrees if completed separately would require 68 credit hours.) Students must apply for admission to the master's programs of both African American and African Diaspora Studies and the School of Library and Information Science and meet the admis­sions criteria established for each. The two degrees must be awarded at the same time.

M.A. in African American and African Diaspora Studies

Requirements (28 credit hours minimum)

General Requirement (12 cr.)

• A500 Introduction to African American and African Diaspora Studies, Part I (3 cr.)
• A690 Core Readings in African American and African Diaspora Studies (4 cr.)

Proposed Graduate Internship

Specialization (12 cr. minimum):
Students would take a minimum of 9 graduate hours in one of the three concentration areas in African American and African Diaspora Studies. An additional 3 graduate hours should be taken in one of the other concentration areas.

• M.A. Thesis A698 Field Study Seminar (4 cr.)
• Master of Library Science Requirements (30 credit hours)
• Completion of the M.L.S. Foundation courses (15 cr.)
• Either SLIS L623 Information in the Humanities or
• SLIS L625 Information in the Social Sciences (3 cr.)
• SLIS elective courses (12 cr.)

Dual M.A./M.P.A. in African American and African Diaspora Studies (Master of Arts) and School of Public and Environmental Affairs (Master of Public Affairs)

Students must apply separately to and be accepted into both the African American and African Diaspora Studies Master of Arts degree program and the School of Public and Environmen­tal Affairs degree program. Students must indicate on both application forms that they are applying for the AAADS/SPEA dual degree.

M.A. in African American and African Diaspora Studies Requirements (28 credit hours minimum)

General Requirement (12 cr.):

• A500 Introduction to African American and African Diaspora Studies, Part I (3 cr.) 
• A690 Core Readings in African American and African Diaspora Studies (4 cr.)

Proposed Graduate Internship

Specialization (12 cr. minimum):

Students would take a minimum of 9 graduate hours in one of the three concentration areas in African American and African Diaspora Studies. An additional 3 graduate hours should be taken in one of the other concentration areas.

• M.A. Thesis A698 Field Study Seminar (4 cr.)
• M.A. of Public Affairs Requirements (36 cr.)
• M.P.A. Core (21 cr.)
• V501 Professional Development Practicum: Information Technology (1 cr.)
• V502 Public Management (3 cr.)
• V503 Professional Development Practicum: Writing and Presentation (1 cr.)
• V505 Professional Development Practicum: Teamwork and Integrated Policy Project (1 cr.)
• V506 Statistical Analysis for Effective Decision Making (3 cr.)
• V517 Public Management Economics (3 cr.)
• V540 Law and Public Affairs (3 cr.)
• V560 Public Finance and Budgeting (3 cr.)
• V600 Capstone in Public and Environmental Affairs (3 cr.)

Specialized Concentration (15 cr.)

Students are required to develop specialized concentrations comprised of courses approved by SPEA faculty advisors.

Doctor of Philosophy Degree

The interdisciplinary doctoral degree in African American and African Diaspora Studies (AAADS) focuses on the experiences of people of African descent in the United States, in the African Diaspora, and in the world. These shared experiences—among them, slavery, emancipation, imperialism, decolonization, and racism—warrant close attention, and mark this field (Black Studies/Africana Studies) as a discrete unit of study that bears directly and powerfully on world history, literature, and politics. The doctoral degree offers graduate students two different tracks or specializations to focus their course work—“Power, Citizenship, and the State” and “Race, Representation, and Knowledge Systems”—which reflect the current state of the field and take advantage of the traditional strengths of the de­partment, its adjunct faculty, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Bloomington campus. Within each of these tracks, the degree emphasizes the importance of transnational, global, and comparative perspectives, with an emphasis on the inter­disciplinary analysis of race in the world. To provide meaningful support and guidance, this degree program offers extraordi­narily supportive mentoring, a reflection of the department’s 40-year commitment to quality teaching.

Admission Requirements

The AAADS Graduate Studies Committee, in consultation with the chair of the department and faculty, will be responsible for the admission of graduate students into the doctoral program. That committee will consider Graduate Record Examination scores, a personal statement, a writing sample of no more than 30 pages, and at least three letters of reference from instruc­tors who have sufficient evidence to write candidly about the student’s intellectual abilities and potential for success in this endeavor. Prospective graduate students who hold a master’s degree must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale in their prior program(s). Incoming graduate students who have recently completed their undergraduate studies must have at least a 3.3 grade point average for their last two years of undergraduate studies.

Course Requirements

All students must complete a minimum of 90 hours with a cu­mulative grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale in their prior program(s). Incoming graduate students who have recently completed their undergraduate studies must have at least a 3.3 grade point average for their last two years of undergraduate studies.

90 hours total, including:

• 24 core credit hours, taken through 6 core courses: A500, A556, A557, A605, A606 and A696
• 21 elective hours, including 3 credits in an overseas studies/study abroad class, with graduate content, approved by the DGS; 6 hours in disciplinary methods courses offered outside the department and chosen in consultation with the DGS; and 12 additional hours in related course work
• 6 hours of a foreign language of the African diaspora
• 15 hours in an outside minor
• 24 hours of dissertation research
• Pre-candidacy qualifying examination (The M.A. is automatically granted to students passing the qualifying exam.)
• Dissertation
• Final examination (defense of the dissertation)

Tracks:

• Race, Representation, and Knowledge Systems
• Power, Citizenship, and the State

Core curriculum:

• A500 Introduction to African American and African Diaspora Studies I
• A556 Race and Culture in the African Diaspora
• A557 Race and Politics in the African Diaspora
• A605 Race and the Global City I
• A606 Race and the Global City II
• A696 Interdisciplinary Research Methods

Ph.D. Minor in African American and African Diaspora Studies

The department offers the Ph.D. minor in African American and African Diaspora Studies for students enrolled in any doctoral program at Indiana University. The minor requires 15 credit hours: A500 and A503: Introduction to African American andAf­rican Diaspora Studies I and II, and 9 credit hours of a concentra­tion in one of the department's three concentration areas:

1. arts;
2. literature; and
3. history, culture, and social issues.

With written permission of the graduate advisor, students may take two courses (6 cr.) in one concentration area and one course (3 cr.) in another.

Admission

Doctoral students in good standing are admitted to the African American and African Diaspora Studies minor through inter­view or correspondence with the graduate advisor. At the time of admission, each student and the graduate advisor together plan an individualized program of study, including the selection of a major concentration area.

Course Requirements

A total of 15 credit hours, to include three courses (9 cr.) in one concentration area and two courses (6 cr.) in another area. With written permission of the graduate advisor, students may take four courses (12 cr.) in a single concentration area and one course (3 cr.) in another area.

Grades

A cumulative grade point average of 3.4 is required of work for the Ph.D. minor.

Examination