Africana Studies Courses
2007-2008 Course Offerings
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Course Descriptions
FALL COURSES
AFRI0090 Sec 01 - Introduction To Africana Studies
(Required course for all Africana Studies concentrators) This course introduces students to the vibrant yet contested field of Africana Studies by critically exploring and analyzing the links and disjunctures in the cultural, economic, political, and intellectual practices and experiences of people of African descent throughout the African diaspora. The course features an interdisciplinary approach in developing conceptual, theoretical, and analytical frameworks for understanding the depth and range of experiences of people of African descent in the Americas, Caribbean, Europe, and Africa. Beginning with a critical overview of the history, theoretical orientations, and methodological strategies of the discipline, the course is divided into three thematic units that examine intellectuals, politics, and movements; identity construction and formation; and literary, cultural, and aesthetic theories and practices in the African diaspora.
Professor Walker
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AFRI0160 Sec 01 - Twentieth Century Africa
This course combines chronological and topical approaches as an
introduction to recent African history. Organized around the major
epochs of colonialism, decolonization, and post-colonial independence
within these periods, this course will concentrate on themes such as
health, environment, development, the state, and artistic expression,
and will draw heavily on readings from primary sources. This course will provide you with a basic understanding of experiences, major actors, and historical developments in sub-Saharan Africa over the past century to pursue a dynamic historical analysis by thinking in terms of periods and regions to identify common and divergent developments with the goal of producing an integrated, thematic understanding of twentieth century Africa. Students should develop a familiarity with and sensitivity towards the social history of “ordinary” people.
Professor Jacobs
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AFRI0210 Sec 01 - Blacks In Latin American History and Society
Exploring the role of blacks in the national histories and societies of Latin America, this course pays specific attention to slavery, race relations and their domestic and external implications, race and class, and the political and cultural movements among blacks.
Professor Dzidzienyo
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AFRI0880 Sec 01 - Hip Hop Music and Cultures
This course will explore both the history of the emergence of Hip Hop and the heated debates that surround it: aesthetics, censorship, sexism, violence, musical theft, originality, authenticity, the politics of cross-racial exchanges, urban black nihilism, and corporate influences on culture. These debates will be framed by our consideration of urban black life, African-American cultural formations, gender, representation, technology, commodification, pleasure and politics. Enrollment limited to 40.
Professor Rose
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AFRI0950 Sec 01 - History, Literature and the Caribbean Novel
This course examines the ways in which literature is influenced by major historical events with special reference to the literatures of the Caribbean. Students will undertake a critical examination of the fictional representation of Europe's encounter with Africa and Asia in the Americas.
Professor Lamming
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AFRI0980 Sec 01 - Fela Anukalpo Kuti and the Social, Cultural, Political, and Aesthetic Implications of AfroBeat
Fela! The social, cultural, political and aesthetic implications of Afrobeat. This course will examine how all of the above converge in the development and evolution of Afrobeat, with a particular focus on the impact of "colonialism" on African society and culture. Interested students should have an interest in cross-cultural analysis, music appreciation, and the willingness to explore and investigate West African/Nigerian/Yoruba society and culture.
Professor King
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AFRI1020B Sec 01 - Freedom in Africana Political Thought
Interested students should register for AFRI1020B, Sec. 01.
This course will be a comparative analysis of freedom as a central value
in political thought. It will do this by comparing the knowledge and
practices of freedom to slaves in the Haitian Revolution, the ideas of
freedom in the Civil Rights Movement, and then finally, the conceptions
of freedom in South Africa.
Professor Bogues
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AFRI1050 - Seminars in Africana Studies
AFRI1050A Sec 01 - Advanced RPM Playwriting
Interested students should register for AFRI1050A, Sec. 01.
Professor Terry-Morgan
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AFRI1050D Sec 01 - Intermediate RPM Playwriting
Interested students should register for AFRI1050D, Sec. 01.
Professor Terry-Morgan
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AFRI1050E Sec 01 - RPM Playwriting
Playwriting is a creative process of interpreting research on a topic or issue into the form of a play or performance work. This course is designed for students committed to the long-term meticulous process of research, inquiry, experimentation, and re-writing.
Professor Terry-Morgan
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AFRI1050I Sec 01 - Native American-Afro-American Relations in the Americas
Interested students should register for AFRI1050I, Sec. 01.
Despite racism, persons of mixed African and Native American ancestry were often significant political and cultural actors in the Americas. Among the topics explored in this seminar are: relationships among Natives and Blacks, conceptions of one another, slavery, religion, kinship, community formation, and the changing significance of race. The focus is on the 18th and 19th century; but some attention is given to more recent events. Limited enrollment.
Professor Jones
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AFRI1050J Sec 01 - RPM African Music History and Vocal Performance
Interested students should register for AFRI1050J, Sec. 01.
No description provided.
Professor Thompson
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AFRI1060 Seminars in Africana Studies
AFRI1060I Sec 01 - Africana Philosophy of Religion
Who, or rather, what is God to the oppressed? This advanced seminar in Africana philosophy will examine the various theories, methods, and arguments that engage perennial questions that arise when contemplating God. The seminar will focus on questions of philosophical method and theological exposition while also being critically attuned to modes of social and cultural analysis and critique, particularly those perspectives inspired by forms of critical theory, feminist theory, and Marxist theory. Limited enrollment.
Professor Walker
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AFRI1080 Sec 01 - The Life and Work of W.E.B. Du Bois
From the publication of The Souls of Black Folk in 1903 until his death in Ghana sixty years later, W. E. B. Du Bois remained one of America's most penetrating analysts of what he called 'the color line.' Students read and discuss a selection of Du Bois' writings from his career as journalist, essayist, sociologist, historian, poet, political leader, and pioneering Pan-Africanist. Prerequisite: one course in AC, AF or US History. Written permission required.
Professor Campbell
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AFRI1110 Sec 01 - Voices Beneath the Veil
Interested students should register for AFRI1110, Sec. 01.
Thirty plays, written by Afro-American playwrights and presented on the American stage between 1858 and the 1990s, are examined as cultural and historical documents of Afro-American realities. Supplementary readings from the humanities and social sciences provide critical framework for in-class discussions and student papers. Enrollment limited to 40. Written permission required.
Professor Terry-Morgan
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AFRI1120 Sec 01 - African American Folk Traditions and Cultural Expression
A research, development, and performance workshop designed to explore, examine, and articulate various folk traditions and cultural expressions of African Americans. Readings include slave narratives, folktales, and the works of Hughes, Hurston, Bass, and Baraka. Topics covered are music as the African American language of choice; Africanisms in Afro-American culture; and race, color, class, and culture. Enrollment limited to 20. Written permission required.
Professor Thompson
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AFRI1150 Sec 01 - Afro-Caribbean Philosophy
An introduction to the field of Afro-Caribbean philosophy. The first half focuses on the history of the field, identifying its African background and surveying some of its major schools, such as the Afro-Christians, the poetics, the historicists, and existentialists. The second half consists of a more intensive comparative focus on the ontologies and epistemologies of two of these schools.
Professor Henry
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AFRI1210 Sec 01 - Afro-Brazilians and the Brazilian Polity
Explores the history and present-day conditions of Afro-Brazilians, looking specifically at the uses of Africana in contemporary Brazil, political and cultural movements among Afro-Brazilians, domestic politics and its external dimensions, and Brazilian race relations within a global comparative framework. Texts are from a variety of disciplines. A reading knowledge of Portuguese is not required but students so advantaged should inform the instructor. DP.
Professor Dzidzienyo
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AFRI1580 Sec 01 - Contemporary African Women's Literature
The aim of the course is to introduce students to some of the major prose female writers in contemporary African Literature. Enrollment limited to 25. Written permission required.
Professor Aidoo
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AFRI1970 Sec 01 - Independent Reading and Research
Students should contact professor directly regarding independent reading and research
Staff
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Courses of Interest to Africana Studies Concentrators – AFRI XLIST
The following courses may be taken for concentration credit. Please see the sponsoring department for the time and location of each course.
American Civilization
AMCV 1700C – Slavery in American History, Culture and Memory
Biology
BIOL 1920A – Imperialism and Public Health in Africa: Past and Present
English
ENGL 2760K – Postcolonial Theory and Africanist Discourse
ENGL 1710P – The Literature and Culture of Black Power Reconsidered
ENGL 2760U – Reading the Black Masses in Literature and Critical Practice
French
FREN 1710B – Black, Blanc, Beur
History
HIST 1970X – Comparative American Slavery
Literary Arts
LITR 1150F – The Novel in a Multicultural Context
LITR 1110L – Aspects of Contemporary Prose Practice
Sociology
SOC 0150 – Economic Development and Social Change
Theatre, Speech and Dance
TSDA 0060 – Introduction to Playwriting Workshop
SPRING COURSES
AFRI0170 Sec 01 - Afro-American History & Society Before 1800
Focusing on the history of Africans and persons of African descent in that part of North America which now constitutes the United States, this course will primarily give attention to the 18th century with some given to the 17th and 19th centuries. Most of the readings are devoted to the English colonies, while others will focus on the Dutch, French, and Spanish settlements.
Professor Jones
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AFRI0200 Sec 01 - Modern Caribbean History and Society
Critically examining five (5) themes of modern Caribbean history and society, this course will reference and discuss the different geographical, racial, cultural, and political spaces which comprises the Caribbean, while examining the complex entity of New World civilization. It will dissect its different elements and demonstrate how conceptions of racial and “raceless” identities operate within the Caribbean.
Professor Bogues
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AFRI0570 Sec 01 - 20th Century Black Feminist Thought and Practice in the U.S.
This course will explore the ways that black women in the U.S. have experienced racial and gendered discrimination as well as what sorts of strategies (e.g., political, intellectual, narrative, and creative) black women have devised in response. It will be especially concerned with elements of African-American feminist thought and its articulation in writings, music, literature and practice/activism in the 20th century U.S.
Professor Rose
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AFRI0630 Sec 01 - Drama and War in Africa: New Voices
This course is an historical, political and topical examination of the subject of War on the African continent as seen through the lens of artistic response. Class discussions will be based on the different Stage, Screen and Radio Dramas that will serve as course materials. We will analyze reflections by African artists and scholars on the violent conflicts that have characterized the region's recent history, as well as closely related international perspectives, such as those evident in Hotel Rwanda and The Last King of Scotland. We will also explore how political actors have used performative techniques, and will specifically examine the ways that other members of society (especially women and children) deal with such crisis. Canonical African dramatists like Fugard, Ngugi, Soyinka and Ousmane will be referred to, but emphasis will be laid upon the New Voices emerging from a range of African nations, including Rwanda, Uganda, Congo, Senegal, Sudan and South Africa, that have engaged with the subject of war. Enrollment limited to 20.
Professor Bogues, Mr. Charles Mulekwa
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AFRI0640 Sec 01 - Contemporary Issues in African Politics and Culture - Thinking Africa Differently
Using an interdisciplinary methodology this course will examine three current issues in African societies: War, Violence and Sovereignty ; the Politics of Gender in the African postcolony and the meanings of History , Trauma and Public Memory in some African societies. We will undertake this examination by “ thinking about Africa differently,” that is by thinking about these three issues outside of the dominant set of images , tropes and ideas that have conventionally constructed a particular version of Africa . This is a seminar class and limited to 20.
Professor Bogues
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AFRI0710B Sec 01 - Ethics of Black Power
In his now classic text Blood in My Eye, George Jackson writes "All revolution should be love inspired". This course will plumb the depths of Jackson's remark by critically interrogating the ethical dimensions of the Black Power concept and the cultural, ideological, and political interventions influenced by the conceptual revolution. We will assess the ethical parameters of the various ideological tendencies that influenced the conceptual formulation and political articulation of Black Power including Black Nationalism, Feminism, Liberalism, Marxism-Leninism-Maoism and Pan Africanism.
Professor Walker
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AFRI0990 Sec 01 - Black Lavender: A Study of Black Gay and Lesbian Plays and Dramatic Constructions in the American Theatre
An interdisciplinary approach to the study of plays that address the identities and issues of black gay men and lesbians and offers various perspectives from within and without the black gay and lesbian artistic communities. Focuses on analysis of unpublished titles. Also includes published works by Baraka, Bullins, Corbitt, Gibson, Holmes, West, and Pomo Afro Homos. Some evening screenings of videotapes. Enrollment limited to 20. Written permission required.
Professor Terry-Morgan
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AFRI1020 - Special Topics in Africana Studies
AFRI1020C - Afro-Luso-Brazilian Triangle
Examines three historical components of the South Atlantic in terms of history, culture, and contemporary political and economic consequences. European colonialism in Africa and Brazil constitutes the baseline for this exploration, but the long and tardy nature of Portuguese colonialism in Africa in comparison with other European colonial powers, especially in its post-World War II manifestations, is our starting point.
Professor Dzidzienyo
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AFRI1050 - Seminars in Africana Studies
AFRI1050A Sec 01 - Advanced RPM Playwriting
Interested students should register for AFRI1050A, Sec. 01.
Professor Terry-Morgan
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AFRI1050D Sec 01 - Intermediate RPM Playwriting
Interested students should register for AFRI1050D, Sec. 01.
Professor Terry-Morgan
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AFRI1050E Sec 01 - RPM Playwriting
Playwriting is a creative process of interpreting research on a topic or issue into the form of a play or performance work. This course is designed for students committed to the long-term meticulous process of research, inquiry, experimentation, and re-writing.
Professor Terry-Morgan
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AFRI1050H Sec 01 - Introduction to Post-Colonial African and African Diasporic Theatre
Interested students should register for AFRI1050H, Sec. 01.
Professor King
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AFRI1050J Sec 01 - RPM African Music History and Vocal Performance
Interested students should register for AFRI1050J, Sec. 01.
Professor Thompson
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AFRI1050K Sec 01 - Special Topics in RPM Playwriting: Playwriting Strategies From 20th Century Black Theatre
A study of Aristotle’s Poetics in relation to Dubois’ four principles of black theatre and Audre Lorde’s essay “The Master’s Tools.” What makes black theatre “black”? We will analyze plays from the 20th Century African-American canon as sites of aesthetic resistance to “normative” American Theatre; and write our own one-act plays based upon our discoveries.
Professor Terry-Morgan and Mr. Urueta
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AFRI1060 Seminars in Africana Studies
AFRI1060E Sec 01 - West African Writers and Political Kingdom
Interested students should register for AFRI1060E, Sec. 01.
Do West African writers have a role to play in the changing political landscape of their countries? An examination of the ways and means through which a select group of West African writers have dealt with issues that relate to the role of the state in the management of individual and group relations, the politics of gender, civil and military relations, and the construction of new forms of civil society.
Professor Dzidzienyo
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AFRI1060H Sec 01 - Racial Frontiers in South African History
This seminar will focus on racial categories in South Africa. We will explore dynamic categories of race from the 17th through 20th centuries. Topics include the relationship of race and class; racial violence; the transmission of culture and knowledge across racial boundaries; intimate relations over racial boundaries; segregation; and race and nation. We will give attention to critiquing the ways that historians have represented race and the ways that conceptions of the category have evolved within the discipline, but the emphasis will be on recent scholarship. Students will be expected to participate actively in the seminar, to write one book review, and one research paper. Enrollment limited to 20.
Professor Jacobs
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AFRI1060J Sec 01 - African Philosophy
This seminar will examine some of the significant issues, themes, and arguments advanced in contemporary African philosophy. Specifically, the seminar will focus on the technical and theoretical debates regarding the status of African philosophy, the analysis of specific philosophical concepts and frameworks advanced within the field, and the relation of African philosophy and to questions of culture, politics, and modernity. Texts by Appiah, Eze, Gbadegesin, Gyeke, Hountondji, Masolo, Mbembe, Mbiti, Mudimbe, Oruka, Serequeberhan, Wiredu and others will be considered. This is a seminar class and limited to 20.
Professor Walker
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AFRI1060K Sec 01 - African Literature After Achebe; Emerging African Writers
In this course we will analyze how contemporary, emerging and marginally-read African writers contest the traditional and widely-held interpretations, understanding and assumptions of African literature. We will read and think about African literature In the contemporary post-colonial and post apartheid moment In Africa. Authors discussed include Dambudzo Marechera, Zoe Wicomb and Binyavanga Wainaina, among others. This is a seminar course limited to 20.
Mr. Bernard Matambo
AFRI1260 Sec 01 - The Organizing Tradition of the Southern Civil Rights Movement
This seminar aims to fill in some of the gaps of the official canon by emphasizing that the modern (1954-1966) southern civil rights movement was not as it is mainly portrayed, a movement of mass protest in public spaces led by charismatic leaders; but rather, a movement of grassroots community organizing - quiet day-to-day work.
Professor Cobb
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AFRI1360 Sec 01 - Africana Studies: Knowledge, Texts, and Methodology
This course will explore the issues of Africana Studies as a discipline by
Engaging in a series of critical readings of the central texts, which laid the
Protocols of the discipline. The course will also raise issues of knowledge
Production and methodologies. This course is a Senior Capstone Seminar.
Professor Bogues
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AFRI1450 Sec 01 - Developing the RPM Songbook
This Research-to-Performance Method workshop is designed for students of all musical and singing skills. The course examines the history and diversity of African-American music. The course includes the rudiments of reading music, developing a music vocabulary; spontaneous and studied music creation.
Professor Thompson
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AFRI1710 - Topics in Africana Studies
AFRI1710A SEC01 - Political Visions and Community Formations
This course aims to consider the depths of connection between forms of racialized, gender, class and sexual oppression viz a viz the creation and maintenance of community and intimate social bonds among the oppressed. We will read sociologists, historians and others who have worked at this intersection and musicians and writers such as: Morrison, Bambara, Baldwin, Hill-Collins, Hansberry, soul and neosoul artists.
Professor Rose
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AFRI1850 SEC 01 - The Civil Rights Movement: History and Legacy
Explores the origins, conduct and complex legacy of the Civil Rights Movement. Topics include: historical roots of the movement; the campaign against legal segregation; the birth of S.N.C.C.; Black Power; the impact of the Cold War, Vietnam and the coming of African independence; and the movement's impact on other political struggles, including movements among women, Latinos, and Native Americans. Enrollment limited to 20. Written permission required.
Professor Campbell
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AFRI1970 Sec 01 - Independent Reading and Research
Students should contact professor directly regarding independent reading and research
Staff
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Courses of Interest to Africana Studies Concentrators – AFRI XLIST
The following courses may be taken for concentration credit. Please see the sponsoring department for the time and location of each course.
American Civilization
AMCV 1740 – African American History, 1876 to the Present
English
ENGL 0610B – Introduction to African American Literature, 1920-Present
ENGL 1760B – Contemporary African American Literature and the End(s) of Identity
ENGL 1760H – African American Women Novelists
ENGL 1760T – Literary Africa
French
FREN 1720B – Foreign Bodies/Forbidden Sexualities in Africa and the Caribbean
History
HIST 1972S – Red, White, and Black in the Americas
Literary Arts
LITR 1010E - Advanced Screenwriting
LITR 2010A – Graduate Fiction