African American Studies Minor

OFFICE: Thurgood Marshall College, Administration Building, Room 120

Affiliated Faculty

Boatema Boateng, Assistant Professor, Communication
Robert Cancel, Associate Professor, Literature
Anthony Davis, Professor, Music
Zeinabu Davis, Professor, Communication
Shalanda Dexter, Assistant Professor, Ethnic Studies
Farima El-Tayeb, Assistant Professor, Literature
Ivan Evans, Associate Professor, Sociology
Nadine George, Associate Professor, Theatre and Dance
Sara Johnson, Assistant Professor, Literature
Benetta Jules-Rosette, Professor, Sociology
Nicole King, Associate Professor, Literature
Cecil Lytle, Professor, Music
David Pellow, Associate Professor, Ethnic Studies
Megan Wesling, Assistant Professor, Literature
Daniel Widener, Assistant Professor, History
Winifred Woodhull, Associate Professor, Literature

The Minor

The African American Studies Minor is an interdisciplinary minor which is designed to lead to an understanding of the unique attitudes, evolution, circumstances, and experiences of African Americans. The Core Requirement sets the stage for the formation and codification of an African American intellectual and political tradition into the twentieth century. The History and Context selection of courses focuses on the formation of identity through the lens of history and media. Politics and Society involves students in an investigation of the contest between that forming identity and the social systems of urbanization, politics, and class stratification. Representation and Voice courses provide for a selection of performing and fine arts experiences as representations of African American culture.

CORE COURSES (choose ONE COURSE from the list below)

  • HIUS 138/ETHN 167. African American History in War and Peace, 1917–Present (4)
  • HIUS 138/ETHN 149. African American History in the Twentieth Century (4)

HISTORY and CONTEXT (choose TWO COURSES from the list below)

  • ETHN 105/USP 104. Ethnic Diversity and the City (4)
  • ETHN 140. Language and American Ethnicity (4)
  • ETHN 151. Ethnic Politics in America (4)
  • ETHN 152. Law and Civil Rights (4)
  • ETHN 160. Black Politics and Protest, 1850–1941 (4)
  • ETHN 161. Black Politics and Protest Since 1941 (4)
  • ETHN 163. Leisure in Urban America (4)
  • ETHN 164/MUS 153. African Americans and Mass Media (4)
  • ETHN 165. Sex and Gender in African American Communities (4)
  • ETHN 166. The Black Press and Social Change (4)
  • ETHN 184. Black Intellectuals in the Twentieth Century (4)
  • ETHN 187. Black Nationalism (4)
  • HILD 7A. Race and Ethnicity in the United States (4)
  • HIUS 135B/ETHN 170B. Slavery and the Atlantic World (4)
  • HIUS 164/264/ETHN 181. Topics in Comparative History of Modern Slavery (4)
  • HIUS 165/ETHN 182. Segregation, Freedom Movements, and the Crisis of the Twentieth Century (4)
  • HIUS 166. Topics in Southern History (4)
  • HIUS 175. Crime, Law, and Society in the United States, 1600–1900 (4)
  • HIUS 176. Race and Sexual Politics (4)
  • HIUS 183/ETHN 159. Topics in African American History (4)

POLITICS and SOCIETY (choose TWO COURSES from the list below)

  • ANLD 23. Debating Multiculturalism: Race, Ethnicity, and Class in American Society
  • COCU 182. Black Popular Music (4)
  • COCU 123. Black Women Filmmakers (4)
  • POLI 100H. Race and Ethnicity in American Politics (4)
  • POLI 100J. Race in American Political Development (4)
  • POLI 108. Politics of Multiculturalism (4)
  • Soc/C 139. Social Inequity: Class, Race, and Gender (4)
  • Soc/D 187S. The Sixties (4)
  • USP 103/HIUS 148. U.S. Cities in the Twentieth Century (4)
  • USP 104/ETHN 105. Ethnic Diversity and the City (4)
  • USP 132/ETHN 107. African Americans, Religion, and the City (4)

REPRESENTATIONS and VOICE (choose EIGHT UNITS from the list below)

  • LTEN 148. Genres in English and American Literature (4)
  • LTEN 183/ETHN 172. African American Prose (4)
  • LTEN 184/ETHN 173. African American Poetry (4)
  • LTEN 185./ETHN 174. Themes in African American Literature (4)
  • LTEN 188. Contemporary Caribbean Literature (4)
  • LTWR 100. Short Fiction (4)
  • LTWR 102. Poetry (4)
  • LTWR 120. Personal Narrative (4)
  • MUS 95G. Gospel Choir (2)
  • MUS 95JC. Jazz Chamber Ensembles (2)
  • MUS 95JL. Large Jazz Ensemble (2)
  • MUS 126/ETHN 178. Blues: An Oral Tradition (4)
  • MUS 127A/ETHN 179A. Jazz Roots and Early Development (4)
  • MUS 127B/ETHN 179B. Jazz since 1946: Freedom and Form (4)
  • MUS 131. Jazz Improvisation (4)
  • TDMV 136 Dances of the World (formerly TDHA 132) (4)
  • TDAC 120. Ensemble (formerly THAC 120) (4)
  • VIS 1. Introduction to Art Making: Two-Dimensional Practices (4)
  • VA126DN: African and Afro-American Art (4)

Students interested in either taking African American Studies courses or completing the minor are encouraged to discuss their interests and develop a course of study with an affiliated faculty member of the program at their earliest convenience. See the Marshall College Provost’s Office for further information.