African American Studies Minor

Thurgood Marshall College
Administration Building, Room 120

Affiliated Faculty

Boatema Boateng, Associate Professor, Communication

David Borgo, Associate Professor, Music

Robert Cancel, Associate Professor, Literature

Dennis Childs, Assistant Professor, Literature

Anthony Davis, Professor, Music

Zeinabu Davis, Professor, Communication

Fatima El-Tayeb, Associate Professor, Literature

Ivan Evans, Associate Professor, Sociology

Camille F. Forbes, Assistant Professor, Literature

Nadine George, Associate Professor, Theatre and Dance

Michael Hanson, Assistant Professor, Communication

Sara Johnson, Assistant Professor, Literature

Bennetta Jules-Rosette, Professor, Sociology

Cecil Lytle, Professor Emeritus, Music

Gabriel Mendes, Assistant Professor, Ethnic Studies

Denise Ferreira da Silva, Associate Professor, Ethnic Studies

Cauleen Smith, Acting Associate Professor, Visual Arts

Megan Wesling, Assistant Professor, Literature

Daniel Widener, Associate Professor, History

Winifred Woodhull, Associate Professor, Literature

The Minor

The African American Studies Minor is an interdisciplinary minor that is designed to lead to an understanding of the 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. Thereafter, students will complete twenty-eight total units of which at least twenty (five courses) must be upper division. Students may take no more than three upper-division courses in any one department. The required distribution of the five upper-division courses may be selected from among the following courses. Students may petition to receive credit for courses not listed below. 

CORE COURSES

(Choose ONE COURSE from the list below)

HILD 7A. Race and Ethnicity in the United States (4)

LTEN 27. Introduction to Afro-American Literature (4)

ELECTIVE COURSES

(Choose SIX COURSES from the list below)

ANTHROPOLOGY

ANTH 21. Race and Racisms (4)

ANTH 23. Debating Multiculturalism (4)

ANSC 110. Societies and Cultures/Caribbean (4)

COMMUNICATION

COMM 137. Black Women Filmmakers (4)

COMM 139. Black Popular Music (4)

COMM 138. Black Women, Feminism, and Media (4)

ETHNIC STUDIES

ETHN 105/USP 104. Ethnic Diversity and the City (4)

ETHN 140. Language and American Ethnicity (4)

ETHN 141. Language and Culture (4)

ETHN 151. Ethnic Politics in America (4)

ETHN 152. Law and Civil Rights (4)

ETHN 160. Black Politics and Protest 1885–1941 (4)

ETHN 161. Black Politics and Protest Since 1941 (4)

ETHN 163. Leisure in Urban America (4)

ETHN 164/MUS 153. African Americans and the 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)

HISTORY

HILD 7A. Race and Ethnicity in the United States (4)

HILA 121. History of Brazil

HILA 122. History of Cuba

HIUS 126. History of Race in the U.S. (4)

HIUS 128. African American Legal History (4)

HIUS 137. Slavery/Freedom/U.S. 1775–1877 (4)

HIUS 134. African American Cultural History (4)

HIUS 138. African American History/War and Peace (4)

HIUS 139. African American History/Twentieth Century (4)

HIUS 144. Topics in US History* (4)

HIUS 146. Race, Riots, and Violence in the U.S. (4)

HIUS 148. American Cities in the Twentieth Century (4)

HIUS 155. Zoot Suit–Hip Hop: Race and Popular Culture (4)

HIUS 176. Race and Sexual Politics

HIUS 183. Topics/African American History (4)

HIUS 187. Topics in American Social History (4)

HIUS 188. Topics in Culture and Politics (4)

LITERATURE

LTAM 111. Comparative Caribbean Discourse (4)

LTAM 130. Reading North by South (4)

LTEN 27. Intro to Afro-American Literature (4)

LTEN 148. Genres/English and American Literature (4)

LTEN 183. Afro-American Prose (4)

LTEN 185. Themes in Afro-American Literature (4)

LTEN 186. Literature of the Harlem Renaissance (4)

LTEN 187. Black Music and Text: Communication and Cultural Expression (4)

LTEN 188. Contemporary Caribbean Literature (4)

LTAM 111. Comparative Caribbean Discourse

LTAM 140. Topics in Culture and Politics* (4)

LTCS 130. Gender, Race, Ethnicity, Class, and Culture (4)

LTCS 150. Topics in Cultural Studies* (4)

LTCS 170. Visual Culture: Revolutionary Black Culture

LTCS 172. Topics/Screening Race and Ethnicity* (4)

LTCS 132. Topics is Social Identities and the Media (4)

LTEN 176. Major American Writers* (4)

LTEN 178. Comparative Ethnic Literature* (4)

LTSP 137. Caribbean Literature

LTWL 120. Popular Literature and Culture* (4)

LTWL 172. Special Topics in Literature* (4)

MUSIC

MUS 95. Ensemble Performance (2)

Section G. Gospel Choir* (Except for the two-unit performing arts courses in Music, which may be repeated for credit.)

Section JC. Jazz Chamber Ensemble**[formerly MUS 95. Jazz Ensemble (2)]

Section JL. Large Jazz Ensemble**

MUS 116. Popular Music Studies Seminar

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. Advanced Improvisation Performance (4)

MUS 150. Jazz and the Music of the African Diaspora

MUS 151. Race, Culture, and Social Change

MUS 152. The Politics of Hip Hop

MUS 153. African Americans and the Mass Media

POLITICAL SCIENCE

POLI 13. Power and Justice (4)

POLI 100H. Race and Ethnicity in American Politics (4)

POLI 100J. Race in American Political Development (4)

POLI 102K. The Urban Underclass (4)

POLI 108. Politics of Multiculturalism (4)

SOCIOLOGY

SOCI 10. American Society. Social Structure and Culture/US (4)

SOCI 113. Sociology of the AIDS Epidemic (4)

SOCI 127. Immigration, Race, and Ethnicity (4)

SOCI 139. Social Inequality. Class, Race, and Gender (4)

SOCI 148E. Inequality and Jobs (4)

SOCI 151. Comparative Race and Ethnic Relations (4)

SOCI 153. Urban Sociology (4)

SOCI 187E. The Sixties (4)

THEATRE AND DANCE

TDAC 120. Ensemble

THDT 109. African American Theatre

TDGE 127. The Films of Spike Lee (4)

TMDV 3. Beginning Jazz (2)

TMDV 11. Theatrical Tap (2)

TMDV 130. Intermediate Jazz (2)

TMDV 133. Advanced Jazz Dance (4)

TMDV 138. Hip Hop (2)

TMDV 143. West African Dance (4)

URBAN STUDIES PROGRAM

USP 103/HIUS 148. American 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)

VISUAL ARTS

VIS 1. Introduction to Art Making: Two Dimensional Practices (4)

VIS 126DN (Now VIS 126J). African and Afro-American Art (4)

VIS 130. Special Projects in Visual Arts (4)

VIS 154. Hard Look at the Movies (4)

VIS 167. Social Engagement/Photography (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 Academic Advising Office for further information or contact the minor program’s coordinator in the Office of the Provost.