AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES
The objectives of the African American Studies Program are to provide students with opportunities to learn about the African heritage in the Americas. Its curriculum is designed 1) to explore past and present cultural, political, and economic links between Africa and African descent populations in the Americas, and 2) to provide a comparative interdisciplinary theoretical and methodological examination of issues shaping the lives of persons of African descent in the United States and other nations of the Americas. The program seeks to accomplish these goals by 1) identifying courses offered in other departments and programs which focus on Africa or populations of African descent in the Americas, and 2) providing a minor in African American studies which provides different perspectives from which to examine issues to which students are exposed. African American studies courses are intended to supplement disciplinary offering as well as provide students with perspectives from within and across disciplines which challenge and question their established theories, methods, and conclusions.
For the minor in African American studies, students are required to successfully complete twenty-two (22) credit hours of courses. Ten (10) credit hours must be taken in Area I and the remaining twelve (12) can be taken in any one, not a combination, of the other four study areas. Cross-listed offerings acceptable for the African American studies requirement are included in the appropriate study area described below. (Note: these acceptable cross-listed courses may change. Students should seek advice from the African American studies advisor to determine whether a course is acceptable.