The Major
The Program in Africana encompasses the study of world making in Africa and its global diaspora. The program faculty embrace a progressive interdisciplinary approach, foregrounding Blackness, white supremacy, and anti-blackness. Courses emphasize the dynamics of unequal power, the production of culture and aesthetics, and the formation of personal and group identity. The program aims to enrich knowledge of the peoples of Africa and its global diaspora, whether in conditions of freedom or unfreedom. Students of Africana work to understand race as an intersectional concept constituted by gender, sexuality, ability, and class, among other social locations, as well as the global movement of ideas, including secular practices, intellectual traditions, religion and spirituality, and social formations of African-descended peoples. Africana prepares students for a range of careers, including research and teaching, public policy, law, advocacy and community work, and artistic production and curation.
Requisites
The major in Africana requires ten courses and a thesis. Courses taken for the major must include:
1) Introductory course(s).
One of the following:
| AFR 100 | Introduction to Africana |
| ANTH 100 | African Perspectives on Justice, Human Rights, and Renewal |
or two courses from the following list:
| AFR 162 | White Redemption: Cinema and the Co-optation of African American History |
| AFR 249 | African American Popular Music |
| AMST 207 | Race, Racism and Redress |
| AMST 288 | Visualizing Race |
| BIO 128 | Out of the Sea |
| EDUC/SOC 242 | Race, Cultural Pluralism, and Equality in American Education |
| FYS 468 | Beyond Nelson Mandela: Themes and Personalities in South African History |
2) AFR 250. Interdisciplinary Studies: Methods and Modes of Inquiry.
3) One course that centers on gender, which may include any of the following courses, or one of the courses linked to below:
| AFR 201 | Race, Ethnicity, Feminist Thought |
| AFR 202 | Coming of Age While Black |
| AFR 257 | African American Women’s History |
| AFR 265 | Toni Morrison |
| AFR 302 | Black Feminist Traditions |
| AFR 303 | Birthing While Black |
| AFR 325 | Black Feminist Literary Theory & Practice |
Courses in Non-Africana departments and programs that fulfill the Gender Requirement can be found here.
4) One course that examines Blackness from a historical perspective, which may include any of the following courses, or one of the non-Africana courses linked to below:
| AFR 114 | African American Literature 1: 1600-1910 |
| AFR 115 | African American Literature II: 1910-Present |
| AFR 119 | Cultural Politics |
| AFR 162 | White Redemption |
| AFR 202 | Coming of Age While Black |
| AFR 249 | African American Popular Music |
| AFR 257 | African American Women’s History |
| AFR 280 | Health and Healing in Africa |
| AFR 301 | Black Struggle vs. American Slavery |
| AFR 302 | Black Feminist Traditions |
| AFR 308 | Black Resistance in US History |
Courses in Non-Africana departments and programs that fulfill the Blackness Requirement can be found here.
5) Two courses that center on diaspora, which may include any of the following courses, or one of the non-Africana Programs linked to below:
| AFR 119 | Cultural Politics |
| AFR 202 | Coming of Age While Black |
| AFR 221 | Sociology of Immigration |
| AFR 223 | Literatures of the Caribbean |
| AFR 233 | African Religions and Literature |
| AFR 239 | Anti-Blackness and the Environment |
| AFR 265 | Toni Morrison |
| AFR 268 | Survey Literatures of Africana |
| AFR 269 | Narrating Slavery |
| AFR 280 | Health and Healing in Africa |
| AFR 301E | Black Struggle vs. American Slavery |
| AFR 302 | Black Feminist Traditions |
| AFR 320 | Immigrant Racialization |
| AFR 321 | Afroambiente |
| AFR 325 | Black Feminist Literary Theory and Practice |
| AFRS11 | Bordering Hispaniola |
| AFRS14 | Disaster Displacement Diaspora |
Courses in Non-Africana departments and programs that fulfill the Diaspora Requirement can be found here.
6) One junior-senior seminar.
7) Senior Thesis