Africana Studies Major

Requirements for the Major

Major requirements ensure that students are thoroughly exposed to the broad range of research and scholarship in the discipline. Africana studies majors must complete 11 courses from the following list, plus a senior thesis. While six of these courses are expected to be at the upper-division level, credit will be given, where appropriate, to courses numbered lower than 100. Students elect to focus on one of the following areas of concentration: arts, humanities, or social sciences.

• AFRI 010A AF - Introduction to Africana Studies
• AFRI 010B AF - Introduction to Africana Studies: Research Methods two courses. AFRI010A AF and AFRI010B AF is a two-semester course that should be completed by the end of the student’s sophomore year.
• Literature (African, African American, or Caribbean): one course.
• History (African, African American, or Caribbean): one course.
• Social Science (e.g. Economics, Politics, Psychology, or Sociology): one course from the list of approved Africana Studies courses .
• Art, Music, or Religion: one course from the list of approved Africana Studies courses .
• Four courses which represent Africa and its Diaspora in the student’s area of concentration within the major, e.g. Arts, Humanities, or Social Sciences
• Senior Seminar. Required of all majors.
• Senior Thesis.

Note:

Upon approval by the department Chair, substitutions in the major requirements can be made to respond to an individual student’s interests and needs.

Students majoring in Africana studies are strongly encouraged to spend a semester or a year abroad, preferably in Brazil or countries in Africa or the Caribbean. In addition, the department strongly recommends that students take four semesters of a language spoken in the African diaspora, e.g., Arabic, French, Portuguese, Spanish, or an African language.