Program Adviser: Ralph Austen, P 214, 702-8344
Program Coordinating Committee: Andrew H. Apter, Chairman, H 318,
702-7735; Ralph Austen, P 214, 702-8344; Edgar G. Epps, J 328, 702-1578; Kenneth
Warren, Cochairman, G-B 429, 702-9761
Program Office: P 226, 702-0902
Program of Study
The Bachelor of Arts concentration in African and African-American Studies provides a context in which College students might examine African and African-American cultures and communities from a rigorous, interdisciplinary perspective. Its intellectual justification lies in the direction taken by African and African-American studies over the past few years, which has been characterized by a growing insistence on the integrity and coherence of the links (historical, sociocultural, and experiential) between Africa and its diasporas.
Program Requirements
The concentration requires a B.A. thesis and eleven courses distributed according to the following guidelines:
1. Six basic courses dealing with African and African-American materials. These must include the three-quarter African civilization sequence and a combination of three courses in African or African-American subjects approved by the Program Coordinating Committee. Since the African civilization sequence is used to fulfill a program requirement, students should take another civilization sequence to satisfy their Common Core requirement. The remaining three courses are to be selected from other offerings listed by the committee in any year.
2. Three courses in the social sciences and/or the humanities relevant to African and African-American studies. The courses require approval by the Program Coordinating Committee and should contribute to the overall coherence and integrity of a student's program of study. Courses in a language such as Portuguese, Arabic, French, or Swahili may be used to satisfy this requirement. Students may also learn an African language such as Zulu under the auspices of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, through which the necessary arrangements can be made. The Common Core language requirement must still be satisfied.
3. Two reading courses, taken during the student's final year, to prepare a B.A. thesis. Students are required to write the B.A. thesis under the supervision of a faculty member approved by the Program Coordinating Committee. The committee must approve the proposed paper topic by the end of the autumn quarter of the final year.
It is expected that the Common Core requirements in the social sciences are completed before a student enters the program. A student who has not done so should complete them during the first year of the program.
Each student in the program has an adviser who is a member of the program faculty, listed below, or a lecturer appointed for his or her special knowledge of African or African-American subjects.
Summary of Requirements
Concentration|
3 |
SocSci 225-226-227 (Introduction to African Civilization I, II, III) | |
|
3 |
approved African or African-American courses | |
|
3 |
relevant courses in the social sciences and/or humanities | |
|
2 |
reading courses (AfAfAm 297 and 299) | |
|
11 |
||
Grading. All courses must be taken for a quality grade.
Honors. The B.A. with honors is awarded to all students who meet the following requirements: a grade point average of at least 3.0 overall and 3.25 in the concentration, and a grade of A- or above on the thesis.
Faculty
ELIZABETH ALEXANDER, Assistant Professor, Department
of English
ANDREW H. APTER, Associate Professor, Department
of Anthropology and the College; Chairman, Committee on African & African-American
Studies
RALPH A. AUSTEN, Professor, Department of History,
Committee on African & African-American Studies, and the College
LAUREN BERLANT, Associate Professor, Department
of English
JAMES E. BOWMAN, M.D., Professor Emeritus, Departments
of Pathology and Medicine, Committees on Genetics and African & African-American
Studies, and the College
JEAN COMAROFF, Bernard E. and Ellen C. Sunny Distinguished
Service Professor, Department of Anthropology; Committee on Human Nutrition
& Nutritional Biology, Morris Fishbein Center for the History of Science
& Medicine, and the College; Committee on African & African-American
Studies; Chairman, Department of Anthropology
JOHN L. COMAROFF, Harold H. Swift Distinguished
Service Professor, Departments of Anthropology and Sociology and the College,
Committee on African & African-American Studies
MICHAEL DAWSON, Associate Professor, Department
of Political Science, Committee on African & African-American Studies, and
the College
EDGAR G. EPPS, Marshall Field Professor, Department
of Education; Cochairman, Committee on African & African-American Studies
JOHN A. GOLDSMITH, Professor, Department of Linguistics
GENE B. GRAGG, Professor, Departments of Near Eastern
Languages & Civilizations and Linguistics, Oriental Institute, and the College
WENDY GRISWOLD, Associate Professor, Department
of Sociology, Committee on the History of Culture, and the College
THOMAS HOLT, Professor, Department of History and
the College
LOREN KRUGER, Associate Professor, Department of
English Language & Literature and the College
DAVID LAITIN, Professor, Department of Political
Science and the College; Director, Center for the Study of Politics, History,
and Culture
DONALD N. LEVINE, Peter B. Ritzma Professor, Department
of Sociology and the College
SALIKOKO S. MUFWENE, Professor, Department of Linguistics;
Chairman, Department of Linguistics
DOLORES G. NORTON, Professor, School of Social
Service Administration
JULIE SAVILLE, Associate Professor, Department
of History and the College
RONALD SINGER, Robert R. Bensley Professor, Departments
of Organismal Biology & Anatomy and Anthropology and Committees on Evolutionary
Biology and African & African-American Studies
RAYMOND T. SMITH, Professor Emeritus, Department
of Anthropology
KENNETH WARREN, Associate Professor, Department of English Language & Literature and the College; Cochairman, Committee on African & African-American Studies
Courses
An asterisk (*) denotes general courses with more than half the content directly devoted to African and/or African-American materials. For additional course offerings, see the Program Coordinating Committee or program adviser.
African and African-American Studies
*AfAfAm 201-202-203. The African Diaspora I, II, III.
AfAfAm 201. The African Diaspora I: Atlantic Slave Trade (=Hist 200/300/702). R. Austen. Autumn.
AfAfAm 202. The African Diaspora II: Race, Class, and Nationalism in the Caribbean (=Hist 292). L. Derby. Winter.
AfAfAm 203. The African Diaspora III: Rethinking The African Diaspora (=Anthro 313-3). A. Apter. Spring.
AfAfAm 297. Readings in African and African-American Studies. PQ: Consent of instructor and program adviser. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
AfAfAm 299. B.A. Thesis Preparation. PQ: AfAfAm 297. Consent of instructor and program adviser. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Must be taken for a letter grade. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
Anthropology
*Anthro 212/336. Intensive Study of a Culture: The Tswana, Past and Present (=AfAfAm 205). J. Comaroff. Not offered 1998-1999; will be offered 1999-2000.
Anthro 212/406. Intensive Study of a Culture: Yoruba (=AfAfAm 204). A. Apter. Autumn.
*Anthro 213/453. Modern Readings in Anthropology: Explorations in Oral Narrative (The Folk Tale). J. Fernandez. Not offered 1998-1999; will be offered 1999-2000.
*Anthro 231-1,-2,-3. Introduction to African Civilization I, II, III (=SocSci 225-226-227). A. Apter, Autumn; R. Austen, Winter; M. Dietler, Spring.
Anthro 251/451. Anthropology of the Body. J. Comaroff. Not offered 1998-1999; will be offered 1999-2000.
Anthro 313-1,-2,-3. The African Diaspora III: Rethinking the African Diaspora (=AfAfAm 203). A. Apter. Spring.
Economics
Econ 221/321. Colonization, Servitude, and Slavery: The Early American Experience. D. Galenson. Winter.
Econ 270. International Trade. L. Sjaastad. Autumn.
Econ 296. Problems of Economic Policy in Developing Countries (=PubPol 286/375). L. Sjaastad. Winter.
Education
Educ 281/381. Colonialism and Schooling (=Hist 290/390). J. Craig. Winter.
History
Hist 200. Diaspora II: Atlantic Slave Trade (=AfAfAm 201). R. Austen. Autumn.
Hist 201/301. Colonial Autobiography. R. Austen. Spring.
Hist 272/372. African-American History, 1600 to Present. T. Holt. Autumn.
Hist 273/373. African-American History, 1600 to Present. T. Holt. Winter.
Hist 274. Race and Racism in America. T. Holt. Winter.
Hist 282/382. African-American Women: Lives and Symbols (=GendSt 282/382). J. Saville. Spring.
Hist 292. The Diaspora II: Race, Class, and Nationalism in the Caribbean (=AfAfAm 202-2). L. Derby. Winter.
Law, Letters, and Society
LL/Soc 243. American Law and the Rhetoric of Race (=Law 598). D. Hutchinson. Winter.
Music
*Music 231/331. Jazz. R. Wang. Winter.
Public Policy
PubPol 286/375. Problems of Economic Policy in Developing Countries (=Econ 286). PQ: Econ 201-202 or consent of instructor. L. Sjaastad. Winter.
Social Sciences
*SocSci 225-226-227. Introduction to African Civilization I, II, III (=Anthro 306-1,-2,-3). A. Apter, Autumn; R. Austen, Winter; M. Dietler, Spring.