This course serves as the introductory offering in Africana Studies. It explores, in an interdisciplinary fashion, salient aspects of the Black experience, both ancient and modern, and at the local, national and international levels. This course provides an overview of many related themes, including slavery, Africanisms, gender, colonialism, civil rights, and pan-African exchange.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 30
Prerequisites: None
Instructor: Carter-Jackson
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis; HS - Historical Studies
Typical Periods Offered: Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall
Notes:
A survey of the Afro-American experience as depicted in literature from the eighteenth century through the present. Study of various forms of literary expression including the short story, autobiography, literary criticism, poetry, drama, and essays as they have been used as vehicles of expression for Black writers during and since the slave experience.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 30
Crosslisted Courses: ENG 260
Prerequisites:
Instructor: Cudjoe
Distribution Requirements: LL - Language and Literature
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
This course examines arguments, claims, and evidence used to justify intervention or non-intervention in key humanitarian crises that have affected Black countries, such as the 1994 Rwandan conflict, 2014 Ebola Outbreak, or the 2010 Earthquake in Haiti. This also questions the role of international organizations that routinely work in such countries and their impacts in local communities. Students interested in global affairs and international relations may be interested in this course, no pre-requisites are needed.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 30
Prerequisites: None.
Instructor: Franklin
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall
Notes:
Rooted in Afro-centric principles, the course explores the foundations of Black Pedagogies and examines the ingenious ways enslaved Africans and their progeny tapped into their sacred cosmologies, wisdom and memories, and devised emancipatory strategies of learning and passing on information during the period of enslavement and its aftermath. Through the enactment of violent slave codes and anti-literacy legislation, enslaved Africans were prohibited to read and/or write in the language of the enslaver-colonizer. Moreover, they were not allowed to freely access or openly express an education that reflected their dynamic history or heritage, which was later enforced by discriminatory Jim Crow and colonial laws. In this way, the course dismantles the intended-ills and history of Western Eurocentric curricula, religious instruction, and media. It unearths and underscores Black pedagogical tools, intellectualism, institutions, and creative expressions as redemptive, remedial, and inclusive pathways for diversifying and humanizing the education curriculum. We will peruse the wide breadth of languages and cultural modes of knowledge production and transmission that emerged during the harrowing passages of the trans-Atlantic trade of captured Africans and their subsequent enslavement and oppression in the Americas. Central themes and areas of study include: the praxis of love, sacred science, oral and literary traditions, memory, storytelling, nature and communal engagement, community, quilt-making, food-ways, dress, art and artifacts, religion, ritual, trauma, resilience, black talk/black text, interjections, body language/gesticulations, theatre, music, dance, genealogy, ancestral reverence, graveyards, schools, and other sites of knowledge creation, expression, and preservation. The course will be aided by a wealth of lively and interactive lectures, discussions, documentaries, literature, works of art, oral tradition and first-hand testimonies.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Crosslisted Courses: EDUC 20 5
Prerequisites: None.
Instructor: Fitzpatrick
Distribution Requirements: EC - Epistemology and Cognition
Typical Periods Offered: Fall and Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring
Notes:
An introductory survey of the political, social, economic, and cultural development of African Americans from their African origins to the present. This course examines the foundations of the discipline of African American history, slavery, Africans in colonial America, migration, Reconstruction, and Harlem Renaissance artistry and scholarship.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: None
Instructor: Jackson
Distribution Requirements: HS - Historical Studies
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
This course is a survey of the first half of African American History and Culture and traces the historical, political, social, and cultural contexts of black Americans from the slave trade to the American Civil War. Thematically, we explore the meaning of freedom, the dynamic between black struggle and white resistance, and the ways in which factors such as gender and geography complicate any notions of a single black experience. Each week we will focus on different events, writings, narratives, debates, and political ideologies. This course combines discussion, lecture, and multimedia. It presents a narrative, interpretation, and analysis of African American history.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: None.
Instructor: Carter-Jackson
Distribution Requirements: HS - Historical Studies
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
This course is a survey of the second half of African American History and Culture and traces the historical, political, social, and cultural experiences of black Americans from Reconstruction to the modern freedom movement for Black Lives. This course will focus upon a number of specific movements in the history of black Americans. Thematically, we explore the meaning of freedom, the dynamic between black struggle and white resistance, and the ways in which factors such as gender and geography complicate any notions of a single black experience.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: None.
Instructor: Carter-Jackson
Distribution Requirements: HS - Historical Studies
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
The development of African literature in English and in translation. Although special attention will be paid to the novels of Chinua Achebe, writers such as Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Camara Laye, Wole Soynika, Miriama Ba, Nawal El Saadawi, and Buchi Emecheta will also be considered. The influence of oral tradition on these writers' styles as well as the thematic links between them and writers of the Black awakening in America and the West Indies will be discussed.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 30
Prerequisites: None.
Instructor: Staff
Distribution Requirements: LL - Language and Literature
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
The Black woman writer's efforts to shape images of herself as Black, as women, and as an artist. The problem of literary authority for the Black woman writer, criteria for a Black woman's literary tradition, and the relation of Black feminism or "womanism" to the articulation of a distinctively Black and female literary aesthetic.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Crosslisted Courses: ENG 279
Prerequisites: None.
Instructor: Maurissette
Distribution Requirements: LL - Language and Literature
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall
Notes:
This course is designed to examine the meaning of race and ethnicity and the determinants and fluidity of membership in a particular racial or ethnic group. We will also explore different ways to measure ethnic and racial identification and how ethnicity affects attitudes, economic development, social mobilization and migration. We will seek to assess to what extent ethnic and racial identities shape trust and prejudice, and examine the impact of ethnic diversity on development and the provision of public goods. Analyses will be made of ethnic and racial electoral politics and the varying extent and impact of ethnic voting patterns in relation to democratic governance and ethnic conflict.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: None.
Instructor: Dendere
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring
Notes:
Through a critical and exhilarating exploration of the life and legacy of dramatist-historian, producer-director, and activist, Val Gray Ward, this course underscores the emancipatory, political, and pedagogical power of Black Arts and Black Life. Known as “The Voice of the Black Writer” and founder of Chicago’s pioneering Kuumba Theatre, Val Gray Ward was born and reared in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, one of the oldest all-Black towns in the U.S. before she migrated to the city of Chicago in the early 1950s. Inspired by her assertion, “Black Art is Black Life,” the course is immersive in nature and will be facilitated by an enriching combination of audio/visual materials such as interactive lectures, discussions, first-person testimonies, interviews, music, poetry, plays, photos, quotes, books, articles, documentaries, library research, and "The HistoryMakers Digital Archive." Further, we will study “Kuumba Theatre’s 12 Principles” and Val Gray Ward’s autobiographical quilt titled "Peace The Way Home" to learn about notable people and moments through her family ties and friendships with Gwendolyn Brooks, Mari Evans, James Baldwin, C.L.R. James, John Henrik Clarke, Sonia Sanchez, Nikki Giovanni, Elma Lewis, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Betty Shabazz, John O. Killens, Walter Rodney, Sammy Davis Jr., Lerone Bennett Jr., Abdias do Nascimento, Margaret Burroughs, and Useni Perkins to name a few along with her travels to Africa for the Sixth Pan-African Congress (6PAC) and FESTAC ‘77, Japan, the Caribbean, and other parts of the world. Additionally, we will listen to her tribute CD, "rhapsody in hughes 101," and view the docutainment film "Precious Memories: Strolling 47th Street." Central themes of the course include Blackness, Black consciousness and cosmology, identity, family, community, the arts, language, oral tradition, orality/literacy, Black talk/Black text, ritual theatre, womanism, activism, Civil Rights, Black Power, Black Arts Movement (BAM), FESTAC ‘77, Pan-Africanism, and freedom.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 15
Prerequisites: None.
Instructor: Fitzpatrick
Distribution Requirements: LL - Language and Literature
Typical Periods Offered: Fall and Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall
Notes:
This foundation and team-taught course surveys the history, importance, and core tenets of Black Studies, and its emergence and evolution at Wellesley College. Facilitated by stimulating lectures, discussions, readings, archival research, oral historical testimonies, and invaluable interactions with living alums, faculty, and staff, we explore (1) the dynamic lives and legacies of members of the Black community at the College; (2) the pioneering architects and pillars of the Black Studies department; and (3) the establishment of Black intellectual and cultural organizations, and communal spaces founded by students, faculty, and staff on campus. Students will also learn from the interdisciplinary expertise and experiences of the current Africana Studies faculty in Black studies, literature, history, political science, psychology, cosmology, ontology, religion, and culture. Central themes include Black pedagogy and intellectualism, cultural identity and expression, self-definition and -determination, community consciousness, activism, systemic discrimination, civil rights, political and social movements, Black Power to Black Lives Matter, wellness, and wholeness.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: None.
Instructor: Fitzpatrick
Distribution Requirements: EC - Epistemology and Cognition
Typical Periods Offered: Fall and Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
The façade of European culture expresses enlightenment, progressive politics, and a sense of freedom amongst scenic beauty. However, did you know that a review of the 2017-2019 mortality cases showed that Black women are four times more likely than White women to die during pregnancy or childbirth in the U.K? This is despite the country’s well known universal healthcare services, The NHS. Or, did you know that it is illegal in France to collect statistics on racial, ethnic, or religious demographics, thus making it harder to track problems such as housing or employment discrimination? Or that for the first time in Ireland and Finland, hate crimes are rising, and yet, these countries do not have any legislations on hate crimes. This course examines the implications of ethnic and racial identities in Western Europe through a comparative politics lens. It is designed to learn the history, dynamics, and salience of ethnic and racial inequality and political cleavage. It would appeal to students in Africana studies, humanities, and social sciences. No prerequisites are required.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 27
Crosslisted Courses: POL 2270
Prerequisites: None.
Instructor: Franklin
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
This course is designed to provide an overview of Black psychology as a field of study. Both conceptual frameworks and empirical research related to the psychology of individuals of African descent will be presented, with appropriate historical and sociopolitical context. Topics include the Black child, Black youth, achievement and schooling, kinship and family, identity development and socialization, gender norms and behaviors, sexuality, religion and spirituality, wellness, and mental health. The course will also look at the psychology of Black people through the lenses of gender, ethnicity/nationality/culture, and religion. Additionally, this course will explore the legacies of enslavement, racism, discrimination, and racial violence as factors in Black psychology, as well as the role of the Black social movement in the psychology of Black people. The course will incorporate current topics and controversies related to Black psychology, as well as recent advances in the field of Black psychology.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 30
Crosslisted Courses: PSYC 225
Prerequisites:
Instructor: Staff
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
This course is designed to examine interdisciplinary theories, methods, and analytical approaches to define and study of Black girlhood. We will explore Black girlhood as a developmental period, a public and private performance, and a source of identity and agency. Students will discuss the duality of Black girlhood, risk versus resilience, to understand how Black girlhood is enacted and evaluated in families, schools, communities, mass media, and the larger society. The cultural, social, psychological, and political constructions of Black girlhood in the U.S. context will be interrogated by analyzing academic texts, film, media, poetry, novels, art, and music focused on Black girls.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 20
Crosslisted Courses: AFR 227
Prerequisites: None
Instructor: Lindsay-Dennis
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Every other year
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
This course offers an introduction to contemporary African politics. The primary goal is to introduce students to the diversity of challenges and development issues facing African countries since independence. Questions motivating the course include: (1) Why state institutions weaker in African than in other developing regions? (2) What explains Africa's slow economic growth? (3) What can be done to improve political accountability on the continent? (4) Why have some African countries been plagued by high levels of political violence while others have not?
In answering these questions, we will examine Africa’s historical experiences, its economic heritage, and the international context in which it is embedded. At the same time, we will explore how Africans have responded to unique circumstances to shape their own political and economic situations.
As we address the core themes of the course, we will draw on a wide range of academic disciplines, including political science, history, economics and anthropology. We will study particular events in particular African countries, but we will also examine broad patterns across countries and use social science concepts and methods to try to explain them.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Crosslisted Courses: POL 2231
Prerequisites: None.
Instructor: Dendere
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall
Notes:
This course explores the historical landscape of Ancient Africa, with specific emphasis on its founding civilizations, politics, trade & commerce, culture and cosmologies. It serves to dispel the myth that the African continent was ahistorical, “dark” and primitive before European invasion in the 1400s. Through an interdisciplinary approach, the course encourages students to critically engage Africa from an Afro-centric perspective by examining its ancient kingdoms such as Egypt, Ghana, Mali, Songhay and Great Zimbabwe. It is anticipated that by studying these early civilizations and cultural formations, students will see Africa’s contribution and engagement in the global exchange of ideas and goods. Major themes include the political, economic and social impacts of European imperialism; the Atlantic Slave Trade; ‘Legitimate Trade’ and prelude to colonialism.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: None.
Instructor: Fitzpatrick
Distribution Requirements: HS - Historical Studies
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring
Notes:
With readings, documentary films, discussions, and lectures, this course will examine the complex spiritual beliefs and expressions of peoples of African descent in Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, and North America. The course surveys African diasporic religions such as Candomble, Santeria, Voodoo, Shango, and African American religions. Attention will be paid to how diasporic Africans practice religion for self-definition, community building, and sociocultural critique, and for reshaping the religious and cultural landscapes of the Americas.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 30
Crosslisted Courses: REL 214
Prerequisites: None
Instructor: Fitzpatrick
Distribution Requirements: REP - Religion, Ethics, and Moral Philosophy
Typical Periods Offered: Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall
Notes:
This course examines the development of the Black Church and the complexities of black religious life in the United States. Using an interdisciplinary approach, this course explores the religious life of African Americans from twin perspectives: 1) historical, theological dimensions, and 2) the cultural expression, particularly music and art. Special emphasis will be placed on gospel music, Womanist and Black Liberation theologies as forms of political action and responses to interpretations of race in the context of American religious pluralism.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Crosslisted Courses: PEAC 243
Prerequisites: None
Instructor: Fitzpatrick
Distribution Requirements: REP - Religion, Ethics, and Moral Philosophy; ARS - Visual Arts, Music, Theater, Film and Video
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
This course is designed to offer an inside look into the processes of globalization in Sub Saharan Africa and the Caribbean. This course will focus on the ways that international forces, the political economy and new technologies are affecting citizens and countries on the continent, as well as the way that African and Caribbean countries and actors are influencing the rest of the world. We will explore a diverse set of topics including changing political landscapes, digital & technological change and development, immigration, art and culture, foreign aid, and China’s role in Africa and the Caribbean. The course will attempt to highlight the new opportunities for citizens as well as the challenges that remain for African and Caribbean countries in the globalized world.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Crosslisted Courses: POL 3245
Prerequisites: None
Instructor: Dendere
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes: Ann E. Maurer '51 Speaking Intensive Course.
This course focuses on African American Women's history in the United States with certain aspects of black women's activism and leadership covered within the African Diaspora. The course is intended explore the ways in which these women engaged in local, national, and international freedom struggles while simultaneously defining their identities as wives, mothers, leaders, citizens, and workers. The course will pay special attention to the diversity of black women’s experiences and to the dominant images of black women in America from Mumbet (the first enslaved black woman to sue for her freedom and win) to contemporary issues of race, sex, and class in the Age of Obama. We will explore such questions as: What is black Women’s History? How does black women’s history add to our understanding of American history? Where should black women’s history go from here?
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 30
Prerequisites: None.
Instructor: Carter-Jackson
Distribution Requirements: HS - Historical Studies
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring
Notes:
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 15
Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor.
Instructor:
Typical Periods Offered: Spring; Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring; Fall
Notes:
This course is conducted in English and will introduce students to the cultures of the Portuguese-speaking world through selected films, music and readings. In this interdisciplinary course, we will explore how filmmakers, musicians and writers respond to social and political changes in Angola, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Mozambique and Portugal. Topics covered include colonialism; postcolonialism; wars of independence in Africa; Brazil’s military dictatorship; Portugal´s New State dictatorship; evolving national identities; and representations of trauma and memory. Readings are in English and films have subtitles.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 14
Crosslisted Courses: AFR 256,CPLT 256
Prerequisites: None
Instructor: Igrejas
Distribution Requirements: LL - Language and Literature; ARS - Visual Arts, Music, Theater, Film and Video
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring
Notes:
As an introduction to the arts and architecture of Africa, this course explores the meaning and the contexts of production within a variety of religious and political systems found throughout the continent, from Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mali, to name a few. We will consider important topics such as the ancient art outside the Nile Valley sphere, symbols of the power of royalty, and the aesthetic and spiritual differences in masquerade traditions. We will pay special attention to traditional visual representations in relation to contemporary African artists and art institutions.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Crosslisted Courses: AFR 264
Prerequisites: None
Instructor: Greene
Distribution Requirements: ARS - Visual Arts, Music, Theater, Film and Video
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall
Notes:
This course traces the life stories of prominent African Americans, which, in their telling, have led to dramatic changes in the lives of African American people. Some were slaves; some were investigative journalists; some were novelists; and one is the president of the United States. We will examine the complex relationship between the community and the individual, the personal and the political and how these elements interact to form a unique African American person. The course also draws on related video presentations to dramatize these life stories. Authors include Linda Brent, Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, Richard Wright, Maya Angelou, Malcolm X, and Barack Obama.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 30
Crosslisted Courses: ENG 265
Prerequisites: None
Instructor: Cudjoe
Distribution Requirements: LL - Language and Literature
Typical Periods Offered: Every other year
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
This course will examine the history of cinema through the lens of American slavery. Outside of the classroom much of what we know, or think about slavery derives often from popular media-particularly through film and television. Can Hollywood do the work of historians? Does historical interpretation through film serve as useful, beneficial, or detrimental? Can we make an argument for the historical efficacy of films? What is the difference between historical accuracy and historical authenticity? In examining these films, we will take into account the time period, location, and the political and social context in which they were created. We will see how much film tells us about slavery and, most importantly, what film might tell us about ourselves. Through a critical reading of a range of historical works, cultural critiques and primary sources, students will have a better comprehension of how historians and filmmakers both differ or find mutual agreement in their understanding of the past.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Crosslisted Courses: CAMS 271
Prerequisites: None
Instructor: Jackson
Distribution Requirements: ARS - Visual Arts, Music, Theater, Film and Video
Typical Periods Offered: Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
We will investigate the transmission and transformation of African art and culture and their ongoing significant impact on the continent, in Europe, and in the Americas. This course explores the arts of primarily western and central Africa, including the communities of the Bakongo, Yoruba, and Mande, among many others. The influences of early European contact, the Middle Passage, colonialism, and postcolonialism have affected art production and modes of representation in Africa and the African Diaspora for centuries. Documentary and commercial films will assist in framing these representations. The study of contemporary art and artists throughout the African Diaspora will allow for a particularly intriguing examination of postmodern constructions of African identity.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Crosslisted Courses: AFR 292
Prerequisites: None. ARTH 100 recommended.
Instructor: Greene
Distribution Requirements: ARS - Visual Arts, Music, Theater, Film and Video
Typical Periods Offered: Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
This is an exploration of the Harlem Renaissance, a movement of African American literature and culture of the early twentieth century, which encompassed all major art forms, including poetry, fiction, and drama, as well as music, the visual arts, cabaret, and political commentary. This movement corresponds with the publication of The New Negro anthology (1925). Literary authors we will study may include Langston Hughes, Jean Toomer, Nella Larsen, Zora Neale Hurston, Wallace Thurman, and Richard Bruce Nugent. We will also enter into contemporary debates about “the color line” in this period of American history, reading some earlier work by W.E.B. Du Bois, Booker T. Washington, or James Weldon Johnson, in the context of early Jim Crow, the Great Migration, the Jazz Age, and transatlantic Modernism. Fulfills the Diversity of Literatures in English requirement
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 30
Crosslisted Courses: AFR 295
Prerequisites: None.
Instructor: González
Distribution Requirements: LL - Language and Literature; HS - Historical Studies
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
This course exposes students to the dynamic forms of Caribbean cultural expressions and the demographic diversity of its peoples. Through a multidisciplinary lens, students shall explore major themes including identity, migration, language, religious expression, cultural expression including festivals, music and cuisine, the role of women, and Caribbean traditions of intellectualism. We will engage in critical examination of the history of slavery, colonialism and emancipation, as well as regional movements toward independence and unification and the contribution of the region to global development.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: None.
Instructor: Fitzpatrick
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
During the twentieth century the Anglophone Caribbean produced a rich body of ideas that had an enormous impact upon the colonial and postcolonial worlds. These ideas cover fields such as history, politics, economics, and culture. This course traces the development of these ideas, examines their applicability to the specific circumstances in the Caribbean, and analyzes how they resonated in the larger world of ideas. We will look at the works of writers and thinkers that could include: A.R.F. Webber, Marcus Garvey, Arthur Lewis, Eric Williams, C.L.R James, Amy Ashwood Garvey, Jamaica Kincaid, Patricia Mohammed, Erna Brodber, Cheddi Jagan, Walter Rodney, Maurice Bishop, and Michael Manley.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: One 200-level course of relevance to Africana Studies or permission of the instructor.
Instructor: Cudjoe
Distribution Requirements: LL - Language and Literature
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
This course will examine the history of black cinema through the lens of American slavery. The institution of slavery has had a profound impact on the United States and Atlantic World. Yet, it has not always been the easiest topic for public discussion. Outside of the classroom much of what we know, or think about American slavery derives often from popular media—particularly through film and television. Classics like Gone with the Wind, the television miniseries Roots, and even lesser known films such as Langston Hughes’ (screenwriter) Way Down South have done much to shape our perspective regarding how we remember and understand the slave system, the enslaved, its participants and politics. This course poses the following question: Can Hollywood do the work of historians?
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 15
Prerequisites: AFR 105 or AFR 206. Not open to students who have taken AFR 271.
Instructor: Carter-Jackson
Distribution Requirements: ARS - Visual Arts, Music, Theater, Film and Video
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring
Notes:
Why is it that although the majority of cocoa is grown in Africa the most expensive chocolate is made in Europe? Why is it that the average cocoa farmer lives in poverty or earns just $2,000/year when the wealthiest chocolate and candy families are worth more than $10 billion? During the course of this semester, we will study the supply chain from natural resource extraction to final project and investigate the politics that allow for inequalities as well as the progress that has been made. Therefore, this course will examine the sociohistorical legacy of chocolate, with a delicious emphasis on the eating and appreciation of the so-called “food of the gods.” Interdisciplinary course readings will introduce the history of cacao cultivation, the present-day state of the global chocolate industry, the diverse cultural constructions surrounding chocolate, and the implications for chocolate’s future in terms of scientific study, international politics, alternative trade models, and the food movement. Assignments will address pressing real-world questions related to chocolate consumption, social justice, responsible development, honesty and the politics of representation in production and marketing, hierarchies of quality, and myths of purity.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 15
Crosslisted Courses: POL 330 2
Prerequisites: At least one Africana Studies or Political Science course.
Instructor: Dendere
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall
Notes:
Throughout the African Diaspora, economic change has resulted in the migration of large numbers of people to urban centers. This course explores the causes and consequences of urban growth and development, with special focus on the most disadvantaged cities. The course will draw on examples from the United States, the Caribbean, South America, and Africa.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: One 200-level course of relevance to Africana Studies or permission of the instructor.
Instructor:
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
This seminar examines various works of W.E.B. Du Bois within their historical, social, and cultural contexts. Although this course will pay special attention to Du Bois's literary endeavors, it will also examine his concept of race and color and his approaches to colonialism, civil rights, and politics. This seminar will examine The Souls of Black Folk, Darkwater, John Brown, The Autobiography of W.E.B. Du Bois, and The Suppression of the African Slave-Trade as well as some of his poems and other fiction.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 20
Crosslisted Courses: SOC 310
Prerequisites: One 200-level course of relevance to Africana Studies or permission of the instructor.
Instructor: Cudjoe
Distribution Requirements: LL - Language and Literature
Typical Periods Offered: Every other year
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
This course examines key themes on the political economy of natural resources and development in sub-Saharan Africa. It considers the following questions: Why are resource-rich African countries often poor? Is the ‘paradox of plenty” real, or there are other alternative explanations that account for this phenomenon? What is the agency of African communities and governments in shaping outcomes with resource endowment? What are the antidotes to the resource curse? The course uses historical and theoretical analyses in African political economy to answer these questions in a holistic, multipronged manner, focusing on themes such as colonialism, post-colonial state-building, the ‘decade of development’, and Africa in the global system. It combines this with analyses of the governance of oil and diamonds, and case studies on how resource endowment has affected producer countries in different ways.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: AFR 263 or POL2 204, or by permission of the instructor.
Instructor: Shingirai Taodzera
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
C. L. R. James is an outstanding intellectual/activist of the 20th century. He has also been described as one of the seminal thinkers of the anti-colonialist struggles in the Third World and is seen as a profound thinker of Marxism. Although James has written on history, politics, culture, philosophy and sports this seminar will examine four areas of his theorising: history (The Black Jacobins); cultural theory (Beyond a Boundary); literary theory (Mariners, Renegades and Castaways); and his novel (Minty Alley). The seminar will also look at his thoughts on other subjects such as Black Studies, Athenian democracy and feminist writings.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: Open to students who have taken one 200-level literature course in any department, or by permission of the instructor.
Instructor: Cudjoe
Distribution Requirements: LL - Language and Literature
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
This course charts past and present artistic mediations of racial, ethnic, and gendered experiences throughout the world, using the rubric of the body. In the struggle to understand the relation between self and other, artists have critically engaged with the images that define our common sense of belonging, ranging from a rejection of stereotypes to their appropriations, from the discovery of alternative histories to the rewriting of dominant narratives, from the concepts of difference to theories of diversity. The ultimate goal of the course is to find ways of adequately imagining and imaging various identities today. We will discuss socio-political discourses, including essentialism, structuralism, postmodernism, and post-colonialism and we will question the validity of such concepts as diaspora, nationalism, transnationalism, and identity in an era of global politics that celebrates the hybrid self.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 15
Crosslisted Courses: AFR 316
Prerequisites: ARTH 100 or a 200-level ARTH course or a 200-level AFR course or a visual culture course.
Instructor: Greene
Distribution Requirements: ARS - Visual Arts, Music, Theater, Film and Video
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes: Ann E. Maurer '51 Speaking Intensive Course.
The ongoing global pandemic and elections have revived conversations on race and the marginalization of the Black Diaspora. In this course, we will engage with the various ways in which black people practice politics in Africa and elsewhere in the diaspora. We will pay special attention to the ongoing impact of national politics on the global pandemic. Scholars taking the course will each week respond to a reading by writing public facing work such as blogs, editorials and/or opinion pieces, and other forms of public writing. A primary goal in this course is to learn how to bring academic arguments to the general public.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 12
Prerequisites: At least one Africana Studies or Political Science course.
Instructor: Dendere
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Other Categories: CSPW - Calderwood Seminar in Public Writing
Typical Periods Offered: Fall and Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring
Notes:
In 2015 a global movement began at the University of Cape Town to decolonize education, research, and tackle institutional racism in academia. This course gives students an introductory engagement of decolonial research practices. Decolonizing research and knowledge means to center the concerns and perspectives of non-Western individuals on theory and research. Thus, this course will be a process of “unlearning” social and scientific standards that we have taken as universal, resisting coloniality in academic production of knowledge, and moving research into action. This course will broadly discuss research methods and praxis in social sciences and in public health/medicine.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 15
Crosslisted Courses: WGST 332
Prerequisites: None
Instructor: Franklin
Distribution Requirements: EC - Epistemology and Cognition
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring
Notes:
This course will examine the history, linguistic structure, and sociocultural patterns of use of English as spoken by African Americans in the United States. We will focus on the phonology and morphosyntax that is considered unique to AAE, and discuss lexical and discursive features as well. We will cover the major debates that continue to rage within AAE scholarship, including the debates surrounding its origins and its use in education. Additional topics include AAE and hip hop, appropriation, and crossing.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 15
Crosslisted Courses: AFR 338
Prerequisites: Either LING 114 or CLSC 216/PSYC 216 and related coursework at the 200 level or permission of the instructor.
Instructor: S. Fisher
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis; EC - Epistemology and Cognition
Typical Periods Offered: Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring
Notes:
This course explores the nature and composition of the African Diaspora and its changing meanings. We will examine the sociocultural connections among diasporic Africans such as the forced migrations of enslaved Africans and voluntary emigration of Africans out of continental Africa. The seminar also explores the historical, religious, and cultural factors that foster distinctive diasporic African identities and how these people constitute and contribute to global citizenry.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 15
Prerequisites: One 200-level course of relevance to Africana Studies or permission of the instructor.
Instructor: Fitzpatrick
Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis
Typical Periods Offered: Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
This course is intended to explore ways in which enslaved women engaged in local, national and international freedom struggles while simultaneously defining their identities as slaves, mothers, leaders, and workers. This course will pay special attention to the diversity of black women’s experiences and to the dominant images of black women in North America, the Caribbean and Brazil, but greater emphasis will be placed on the American experience. The course asks: What role did gender play in the establishment of slavery and racial hierarchy in the trans-Atlantic World? How did gender shape the experience of slavery for enslaved women and men and their masters?
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 15
Prerequisites: AFR 209 or AFR 105
Instructor: Carter-Jackson
Distribution Requirements: HS - Historical Studies
Typical Periods Offered: Every other year
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 15
Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor. Open to juniors and seniors.
Typical Periods Offered: Spring; Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall; Spring
Units: 0.5
Max Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor.
Typical Periods Offered: Spring; Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall; Spring
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 15
Prerequisites: Permission of the department.
Instructor:
Typical Periods Offered: Spring; Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall; Spring
Notes: Students enroll in Senior Thesis Research (360) in the first semester and carry out independent work under the supervision of a faculty member. If sufficient progress is made, students may continue with Senior Thesis (370) in the second semester.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: AFR 360 and permission of the department.
Instructor:
Typical Periods Offered: Spring; Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall; Spring
Notes: Students enroll in Senior Thesis Research (360) in the first semester and carry out independent work under the supervision of a faculty member. If sufficient progress is made, students may continue with Senior Thesis (370) in the second semester.
This course will examine the role of political violence in the form of riots, rebellions, and revolutions in the black Atlantic world. Together, we grapple with black liberation in the face of chattel slavery and white supremacy. We will spend considerable time examining the unfinished work of the American Revolution, the success of the Haitian Revolution, and the failed rebellions of the French Antilles. From there, we will examine how equality is obtained in post-emancipation societies. This course asks: What is a revolution? What makes revolutions revolutionary? What does failure mean? Is progressive change possible without the tools of war? In the last part of the course, we will focus on some recent and contemporary events that involve political violence and carry the potential to turn into a revolutionary process. In sum, this course reckons with the inseparable ideas of race, violence, and political power.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 15
Prerequisites: One 200-level course of relevance to Africana Studies or permission of the instructor.
Instructor: Carter-Jackson
Distribution Requirements: HS - Historical Studies
Typical Periods Offered: Every other year; Spring
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes:
American slavery was a national crime. Every state in colonial America enslaved black people. However, the North’s profit from—indeed, dependence on—slavery has mostly been a shameful and well-kept secret. This course reveals the history of the slave trade and slavery in the American North. We grapple with New England in particular as we examine the lives of the enslaved people in places that feel incredibly “close to home.” From there, we will explore how after the Civil War, structural racism and white supremacy manifested in the policy, housing, education, and policing systems of northern cities and states. This course covers the false promises of the Great Migration and the myth of an equal North in the face of Jim Crow South. Ultimately, this class uses history to combat the idea that slavery and racism are regional.
Units: 1
Max Enrollment: 15
Prerequisites: None. A course in African American History recommended (AFR 209 or AFR 210).
Instructor: Carter-Jackson
Distribution Requirements: HS - Historical Studies
Typical Periods Offered: Every other year; Fall
Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered
Notes: