Departments
Minority Studies
Afro-American Studies Courses
- AFRO-A 101 Contemporary Minority Political Problems (3 cr.) Introductory study of the contemporary political problems of the Afro-American. Attention will be given to immediate as well as long-range alternative solutions. (Fall)
- AFRO-A 103 Introduction to Urban Studies (3 cr.) A survey course designed to expose students to the social, economic, and political issues that affect America's urban communities. (Spring)
- AFRO-A 150 Survey of the Culture of Black Americans (3 cr.) The culture of black people in America viewed from a broad interdisciplinary approach, employing resources from history, literature, folklore, religion, sociology, and political science. (Fall, Summer I)
- AFRO-A 151 Minority People in the United States (3 cr.) A study of the cultural experiences of minority people in the United States. Focus will be on African Americans and Latinos. Other minority groups will be studied where appropriate. The course will be interdisciplinary with heavy emphasis on original texts. Credit cannot be earned for both AFRO-A 151 and CHRI-C 151. (Spring)
- AFRO-A 169 Introduction to Afro-American Literature (3 cr.) Representative Afro-American writings, including poetry, short stories, sermons, novels, and drama. (Fall)
- AFRO-A 204 Topics in Afro-American Studies (3 cr.) Analysis of selected topics and contemporary issues relating to the Afro-American experience. (Fall, Spring)
- AFRO-A 206 The Urban Community (3 cr.) An examination of the urban community in general, with a focus on the African-American community from an asset perspective. Focus on uneven development and how race and class have formed the basis for the inequalities among urban communities. (Fall)
- AFRO-A 208 The African Caribbean (3 cr.) Introductory examination to issues concerning Africans in the Caribbean from a historical, cultural, social, and political perspective. Themes discussed include: the system of plantation slavery, the Haitian revolution, de-colonization, Pan-Africanism, class conflicts, neo-colonialism, struggles for national identity, and the impact of race, color, gender, music, and religion on regional distinctiveness.
- AFRO-A 210 Black Women in the Diaspora (3 cr.) Interdisciplinary examination of salient aspects of black women's history, identity, and experience, including policies, cultural assumptions, and knowledge systems that affect black women's lives. While the primary focus will be North America, the lives of black women in other cultural settings within the African diaspora will also be examined. (Fall)
- AFRO-A 230 Contemporary Urban Affairs and the African American Experience (3 cr.) An examination of contemporary urban affairs and the socioeconomic and cultural experiences of the African-American male. Focus on social and economic change and how these changes affect communities in general, the African-American community, the family, and particularly the role and status of the African American male. (Fall)
- AFRO-A 240 Social Welfare and Minorities (3 cr.) P: AFRO-A 103 Review and study of the factual information regarding the welfare system as it is currently administered. Emphasis on the interface between minority welfare recipients and the welfare system. (Spring)
- AFRO-A 249 Afro-American Autobiography (3 cr.) A survey of autobiographies written by black Americans in the last two centuries. The course emphasizes how the autobiographers combine the grace of art and the power of argument to urge the creation of genuine freedom in America. (Occasionally)
- AFRO-A 250 U.S. Contemporary Minorities (3 cr.) R: AFRO-A 151 or CHRI-C 151 An interdisciplinary study of how members of four minority groups - Asian Americans, African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans - combine their struggle for social justice with their desire to maintain their own concepts and identity. (Fall - Occasionally)
- AFRO-A 255 The Black Church in America (3 cr.) History of the black church from slavery to the present emphasis on the church's role as a black social institution, its religious attitudes as expressed in songs and sermons, and its political activities as exemplified in the minister-politician. (Fall)
- AFRO-A 260 Contemporary Minority Problems (3 cr.) A seminar, primarily designed for sophomores and juniors, directed to critical analysis of selected topics germane to the future socioeconomic and political position of Afro-Americans. (Spring)
- AFRO-A 261 The Black Family (3 cr.) P: 6 credit hours in sociology An analysis of the historical background of the black family. The contemporary social forces that affect the black family are examined, along with strategies for social reform. (Fall)
- AFRO-A 280 Racism and Law (3 cr.) Contemporary racial problems in American society with regard to law and constitutional principles of basic freedom and associated conflict. The effects of societal norms and the impact of racism. (Occasionally)
- AFRO-A 282 The Black Community, Law, and Social Change (3 cr.) A study of the black community with emphasis on law and social change. (Spring)
- AFRO-A 290 Sociocultural Perspective of Afro- American Music (3 cr.) Survey of cultural, social, and political attitudes that influenced blacks in the development and participation in blues, jazz, urban black popular music, and "classical" music. (Spring)
- AFRO-A 301 Community Planning and Development (3 cr.) P: AFRO-A 103 or consent of instructor Overview of the planning process and its impact on urban minority communities. Topics include socioeconomic studies, land use planning, and urban development strategies. (Spring)
- AFRO-A 302 Strategies of Community Organizations (3 cr.) P: AFRO-A 240 or consent of instructor Examination of several communities and the various theories and strategies developed for community organizations. (Fall)
- AFRO-A 304 Housing and the Minority Community (3 cr.) P: AFRO-A 301, SPEA-V 365, or consent of instructor An examination of contemporary issues in housing, urban development, and the provision of public services as they affect minority communities. Topics include gentrification, exclusionary zoning, housing assistance, disinvestment, and economic development. (Occasionally)
- AFRO-A 333 Africans and Cultural Minorities in International Film (3 cr.) Introduction to cinema from French-speaking Africa, the Caribbean and Europe involving enthnocultural minority groups from an interdisciplinary approach. Course topics covered will explore issues surrounding colonialism and its aftermath, multiculturalism, expressions of national identity, interracial relations, gender, class, and the social position of enthnocultural minority groups from a world view.
- AFRO-A 341 Poverty in America (3 cr.) Intensive comparative analysis of the way of life of America's urban poor and their relationship to the larger society. (Fall)
- AFRO-A 343 Practicum in Urban Studies (3 cr.) P: AFRO-A 301 or AFRO-A 302 or consent of instructor Designed to enhance the student's practical, working knowledge of the social, economic, and political dynamics affecting the urban community. Field placement will be facilitated within three areas of professional endeavor: social services, local government, and community development and planning. Does not count toward fulfillment of College of Arts and Sciences Group III distribution requirements. (Spring)
- AFRO-A 355 (HIST A355) Afro-American History I (3 cr.) History of blacks in the United States. Slavery, abolitionism, Reconstruction, post-Reconstruction to 1900. (Fall)
- AFRO-A 356 (HIST A356) Afro-American History II (3 cr.) History of blacks in the United States from 1900 to present. Migration north, NAACP, Harlem Renaissance, postwar freedom movement. (Spring)
- AFRO-A 370 Recent Black American Writing (3 cr.) A study of selected black American writers of the late- nineteenth and twentieth centuries with emphasis on very recent writing. The focus of this course will be on the literary qualities unique to those writers as individuals and as a group. Credit not given for both AFRO-A 370 and ENG-L 370. (Spring - Occasionally)
- AFRO-A 379 Early Black American Writing (3 cr.) Afro-American writing before World War II with emphasis on critical reactions and analyses. Includes slave narratives, autobiographies, rhetoric, fiction, and poetry. (Spring—Occasionally)
- AFRO-A 380 Contemporary Black American Writing (3 cr.) The black experience in America as it has been reflected since World War II in the works of outstanding Afro-American writers: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama. (Spring—Occasionally)
- AFRO-A 384 Blacks in American Drama and Theatre, 1945–Present (3 cr.) Images of Blacks as reflected in American drama from 1945 to present. Emphasis on the contributions of Black playwrights such as Lorraine Hansberry, Langston Hughes, Imamu Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones), Ted Shin, and Ed Bullins
- AFRO-A 392 Afro-American Folklore (3 cr.) Afro- American culture in the United States viewed in terms of history (antebellum to present) and social change (rural to urban). Use of oral traditions and life histories to explore aspects of black culture and history. Credit not given for both AFRO-A 392 and Folklore-F 394. (Fall—Occasionally)
- AFRO-A 398 Introduction to Black Studies Research (3 cr.) An introduction to historical sociological methods of research and experimental design with emphasis on the application of those methods to the black community. The appropriate quantitative methods and their computation are also used for each research approach. (Occasionally)
- AFRO-A 401 Minorities, Politics, and Social Change (3 cr.) Topical study of the struggle of black Americans to obtain representative political power. Redistricting and gerrymandering, independent candidates and new political alternatives, the impact of the 18-year-old vote on black political activity, black quasi-political organizations, black power in the U.S. Congress. (Spring)
- AFRO-A 404 Topics in Afro-American Studies (3 cr.) P: consent of instructor Extensive analysis of selected topics and contemporary issues relating to the Afro- American experience. Topics vary from semester to semester. May be repeated once for a different topic with a maximum of two courses or 6 credit hours. (Fall, Spring)
- AFRO-A 406 Literature by American Women of Color (3 cr.) This course explores the literature of Native American, African American, Asian American, and Latina writers. These works as art define and theorize the experience of minority women in the United States. Critical and artistic issues are examined in light of their sociohistorical context. (Fall)
- AFRO-A 410 The Black Woman and the Afro- American Experience (3 cr.) Historical examination of the black woman in America—from the African past to the present—in relationship to her position in the family and in society. Analysis of the social science paradigm, which creates and perpetuates stereotypes of black women. (Spring)
- AFRO-A 440 History of the Education of Black Americans (3 cr.) Education of black Americans and its relationship to the Afro-American experience. Trends and patterns in the education of black Americans as such relate to the notions of education for whom and for what. (Occasionally)
- AFRO-A 488 Community Experience Internship (3 cr.) P: AFRO-A 398 and AFRO-A 498 or departmental consent Field placement for majors in Afro-American studies. Work with an agency or organization that deals primarily with inner-city minority groups under joint supervision of agency and departmental staff members. Does not count toward fulfillment of College of Arts and Sciences Group III distribution requirements. (Fall, Spring, Summer I)
