The African American Studies Major

The Department of African-American Studies was founded in 1994.  African-American Studies offers an interdisciplinary approach to the study of African people nationally and globally.  It recognizes how issues and factors in addition to race affect the lives of African people worldwide.  As an interdisciplinary field of concentration, it offers critiques of knowledge presented in traditional disciplines and professions, scholarly and artistic accounts of realities of the lives of African-American, and perspectives on social change.  The Department of African-American Studies provides students with the intellectual origins, concepts, research, and models of disciplines, the knowledge and skills necessary for the study of group cultures, and a curriculum that contributes to the goals of multicultural education.  Faculty and courses are drawn from the department itself and from other departments/schools/institutes in the university.

Presently, the Department of African-American Studies offers the Bachelor of Arts degree and a minor in African-American Studies.

Degree offered:
    Bachelor of Arts
        Major in African-American Studies

Majors should complete the following:
1.  "Undergraduate Core Curriculum," previously described (specific recommendations listed below);
2.  "Area F: Course Appropriate to the Major," listed below;
3.  "Major Courses," listed below; and
4.  "Minor and/or Additional Courses," listed below, if needed.

Alternatives are available to some core and major requirements.  Please see a degree program advisor for specific guidelines.

Area A: Essential Skills (9)

Area B: Institutional Options (4)

Area C: Humanities and Fine Arts (6)

Area D: Science, Mathematics, and Technology (11)

Area E: Social Science (12)

Area F: Courses Appropiate to Major (18)
1.  AAS 1140/HIST 1140:  Introduction to African and African-American History (3)
     AAS 2010:  Introduction to African-American Studies (3)

2. Foreign Language 2001, 2002 (6 hours)

3. Electives (6) hours from the following:
    ANTH 2020                  HIST 1110,  1120, 1130           PHIL 2010, 2410
    EC 2010, 2020              PSY 1010, 2020                       SOC 2010, 2020
    GEOG 1010                  PSY 2030, 2040                       WST 2010

Core Required Courses (9 hours)

AAS 3120: African Diaspora (3); AAS 4120:  African-American Political Thought (3); and AAS 4980: Senior Seminar and Practicum (3).

Other Required Courses (15 hours)

A minimum of 15 hours must be taken from African-American Studies courses at 3000-4000 level, which must include three (3) courses from one of the two areas (Humanities and Social/Behavioral Sciences) of concentration and two (2) courses from the remaining area of concentration:

Humanities Concentration
 AAS 3080 History of African-American Philosophy (3)
 AAS 3500 Jazz History (3)
 AAS 3450 History of African-Americans in Georgia (3)
 AAS 3810 History of African-American Music (3)
 AAS 3880 African-American Literature (3)
 AAS 3950 Language in the African-American Community (3)
 AAS 3960 African-American Literature by Women (3)
 AAS 4230 Religions of the African World (3)
 AAS 4250 African-American Religion (3)
 AAS 4300 African Art (3)
 AAS 4310 Art of Egypt, Nubia and Maghrib (3)
 AAS 4320 African-American Art (3)
 AAS 4600 Enslavement and Resistance in North America (3)
 AAS 4620 Enslavement in the Americas (3)
 AAS 4640 African-American History (3)
 AAS 4650 African-American Theatre (3)
 AAS 4660 African-American Women's History (3)
 AAS 4750 African-American Ethical and Legal Issues (3)
 AAS 4760 Eastern Africa and the Horn of Africa (3)
 AAS 4760 Central and Southern Africa (3)
 AAS 4770 Western Africa (3)
 AAS 4772 Women in Africa (3)
 AAS 4774 African Rebellious (3)
 AAS 4776 Africa and Hollywood: Myth, Romance and Savage Imagery (3)
 AAS 4890 Caribbean Literature (3)
 AAS 4950 African-American Popular Culture (3)

 Social/Behavioral Science Concentration
 AAS 3000 African American Family (3)
 AAS 3050 Introduction to African-American Psychology (3)
 AAS 3240 Peoples and Cultures of Africa (3)
 AAS 3480 African-American Rhetoric (3)
 AAS 3980 Research Methods in African-American Studies (3)
 AAS 4000 Issues in the African-American Community (3)
 AAS 4030 African-American Male/Female Relationships (3)
 AAS 4080 African-American Female Activism (3)
 AAS 4100 African-American Women in the United States (3)
 AAS 4160 African-American Politics (3)
 AAS 4180 Politics of the Civil Rights Movement (3)
 AAS 4280 African-American Anthropology (3)
 AAS 4400 Geography of Africa (3)
 AAS 4530 Voices of African-American Feminists (3)
 AAS 4780 African-American Lesbian and Gay Activism (3)
 AAS 4900 African-Americans in Film (3)

Major Courses (24)
(A grade of "C" or better is required in all major courses.)

1.  Major Requirements (9)
     AAS 3120 African Diaspora (3)
     AAS 4120 African-American Political Thought (3)
     AAS 4980 Senior Seminar and Practicum (3)

2.  A minimum of 15 hours must be taken from African-American Studies courses at 3000-4000, level which   must include three (3) courses from one of the two areas (Humanities and Social/Behavioral Sciences) of concentration and two (2) courses from the remaining area of concentration:

 Minor and/or Additional Courses

1.  Students majoring in African-American Studies are not required to take a minor.

2.  Students majoring in African-American Studies must take additional courses as electives to complete a minimum of 120 hours, exclusive of 1000/2000 Physical Education or Military Science courses.

Minor Offerings:

1.  Students who wish to minor in African-American Studies should complete the following requirements. (15)
a.   Complete the following three courses (9)
      AAS 2010.  Introduction to African-American Studies (3)
      AAS 3120.  African Diaspora (3)
      AAS 4120.  African-American Political Thought (3)
b.   Select two African-American Studies courses at the 3000 level or above (6)
c.   A grade of "C" or better is required in all courses counting toward the minor.
 

The African American Studies Minor

All students minoring in African-American Studies must take 15 hours of coursework. A list of courses that can be utilized for the minor is available from the department.

Course Descriptions

AAS 1140.  Introduction to African and African-American History and Culture.  (3) (Same asHIST 1140).
African history and culture, the coming of Africans to the Americas and the development of African-American culture.

AAS 2010.  Introduction to African-American Studies.  (3)
Intellectual and social origins of African-American Studies.  Key concepts, themes, and theories of the discipline.

AAS 3000.  African-American Family.  (3)   (Same as SOCI 3162.)
Contemporary theories and research on the African-American family.

AAS 3050.  Introduction to African-American Psychology.  (3) (Same as PSYC 3520.)
Prerequisites: AAS 2010 or AAS 1140/HIST 1140; PSYC 3520.  Examination of theory and research pertaining to African-American psychology.  Special emphasis on the Afrocentric perspective.

AAS 3080.  History of African-American Philosophy.  (3) (Same as PHIL 3080.)
Prerequisites; AAS 2010 or AAS 1140/HIST 1140.
Analysis of selected figures, such as W.E.B. DuBois, Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King, Jr., Alain Locke and Angela Davis.

AAS 3120.  African Diaspora.  (3)   (Same as ANTH 3120.)
Prerequisites: AAS 2010 or AAS 1140/HIST 1140 or ANTH 2020.
Investigates the dispersal, growth and influence of people of African descent throughout the world.  A comparative analysis of historical, political, cultural, economic and social developments of the African diaspora.

AAS 3240.  Peoples and Cultures of Africa.  (3) (Same as ANTH 3240.)
Origins, adaptations, and contemporary social, economic, political and belief systems of the indigenous and mixed populations of Africa.

AAS 3450.  History of African-Americans in Georgia. (3)
Examination of the political, economic and social development of African-Americans in Georgia.

AAS 3480.  African-American Rhetoric.  (3)   (Same as SPCH 4520.)
Survey of African-American contributions to public communication.  Emphasis on Afrocentric and traditional approaches to rhetorical theory and criticism.

AAS 3500.  Jazz History.  (3) (Same as MUS 3500.)
Study of the development of jazz from its origins to current trends including stylistic periods such as New Orleans, swing, bop, cool, avant garde and fusion.  Emphasis on evolution of form, improvisational style and influential artists.

AAS 3810.  History of African-American Music.  (3) (Same as MI 3810.)
History and styles of African-American music.

AAS 3880.  African-American Literature.  (3) (Same as ENGL 3880.)
History and development of African-American literature with emphasis on major writers.

AAS 3955.  Language in the African-American Community (3) (Same as ENGL 3955.)
A sociolinguistic study of the characteristics that define and connote the varieties of African-American English: origins, currents of change, functions of language identity,   styles, and modes of discourse.

AAS 3960.  African-American Literature by Women. (3) (Formerly AAS 4850) (Same as ENGL 3960/WST 3960.)
Survey of literature from the eighteenth century to the present.  Includes such authors as Wilson, Wheatley, Larson, Hurston, Dove, and Morrison.

AAS 4000.  Issues in the African-American Community. (3) (Same as SOCI 4310.)
Examination of the impact of major societal issues on the African-American community.

AAS 4030 African-American Male/Female Relationships (3) (Same as SOCI 4311.)
Explores historical, social, psychological and economic factors affecting African-American  relationships.  Issues include negative images and stereotypes, color, beauty and pornography, sex-gender and role identity, consumerism and narcissism, and employment.

AAS 4080.  African-American Female Activism.  (3) (Same as WST 4110.)
Overview of African-American women's resistance to racial oppression and gender inequality.

AAS 4100.  African-American Women in the United States.  (3) (Same as SOCI 4312.)
Contemporary social issues of black women.  Emphasis on the historical roots of current issues and the interrelationships of gender, race, and class.

AAS 4120.  African-American Political Thought.  (3) (Same as POLS 4560.)
Examination and critical analysis of African-American political and social issues.

AAS 4160.  African-American Politics.  (3) (Same as POLS 4165)
Prerequisite: AAS 201 or AAS 1140/HIST 1140.  Analysis of the ideology, public opinions and political behaviors of African-Americans.  African-American impact on the electoral system.

AAS 4180.  Politics of the Civil Rights Movement.  (3) (Same as POLS 4157.)
Examinations of the underpinnings, leadership, political strategies and outcomes of the modern civil rights movement.

AAS 4200.  Pan-Africanism.  (3)
Survey of Pan-African thought from the 1900 Pan-African Congress to the present.  Major Pan-African advocates, ideas, and movements.

AAS 4230.  Religions of the African World (3) (Same as RELS 4230.)
An overview of religion from Africa to the Diaspora.  African cosmology and religions among various African peoples such as the Yoruba, and the Dogon of Mali.  African origins of Western religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam.  Various religions among African peoples in the Diaspora such as Santeria, Voudoun, Rastafarianism, as well  as Christianity, Black Judaism and the Nation of Islam.  Special attention to African  survivals in religion in the Diaspora.  The role of religion as a tool of liberation and in community and economic development.

AAS 4250.  African-American Religion.  (3)  (Same as RELS 4250.)
A survey of the development of African-American religion from colonial times to the present, including an examination of both the theoretical arguments of religious elites and the spiritual experience of laypersons.

AAS 4280.  African-American Anthropology.  (3) (Same as ANTH 4280.)
Major writings in the field of African-American studies; theories, categories and methods used in studying complex societies are brought to bear upon the literature; use of ethnographies to provide a comparative perspective for understanding African-American cultures.

AAS 4300.  African Art.  (3)  (Same as AH 4000.)
Survey of the sculpture, architecture, textiles, body ornament, and performance arts of Africa; African visual expression in terms of its form, meaning and function within society;  objects reintegrated into cultural contexts, and examined in light of "tradition" and social and political change.

AAS 4310.  Art of Egypt, Nubia and Maghrib.  (3)  (Same as AH 4010.)
Introduction to the arts of North Africa.  Including painting, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and metal arts from Egypt, Nubia and the Maghrib; objects and monuments within a cultural and historical framework; relationships between cultures.

AAS 4320.  African-American Art.  (3)  (Same as AH 4620.)
Survey of paintings, sculpture and architecture of African-American artists from 1618 to the present.

AAS 4400. Geography of Africa (3) (Same as GEOG 4402 .)
An overview of the physical, economic and cultural geography of Africa, including North Africa.  Emphasis on relationships between Africa's resources, both human and physical, and the development process.

AAS 4530.  Voices of African-American Feminists.  (3) (Same as Spch 4530/ WST 4010.)
Overview of the rhetorical history of African-American female political and social activists.

AAS 4600.  Enslavement and Resistance in North America. (3) (Same as HIST 4280.)
Examines the character of the system of chattel slavery and racial oppression in Colonial America and in the United States and insurgent responses to it by the captive and free population of African descent in North America.

AAS 4620.  Enslavement in the Americas. (3) (Same as HIST 4290.)
Comparative examination of systems of captivity and forced labor in the western hemisphere, commonly known as slavery, and of the social development and popular responses of captive Africans to these systems.  The character of enslavement in various societies in the western hemisphere.  Emphasis on the continuities of African culture and the unique adaptation of culture and social organization in each country.  The nature of resistance and the process of eliminating the system of captivity in several nation-states
.
AAS 4640.  African-American History.  (3)  (Same as HIST 4270.)
Major topics and themes in African-American history, including slavery, development of American racism, urbanization, civil rights and black contributions to American culture.

Top of Page||Faculty||Main Page