African and African American Studies

The Department of African and African American Studies is both an academic unit and a community comprised of students and faculty interested in the interdisciplinary study of Africa and its diaspora. Our work is grounded in the cultural and historical experiences of people of African descent. This focus on experience informs our interpretations of the African Diasporic past and present and propels our directives for the future. The department sponsors a wide range of cultural programs, lectures, and community events. Strong emphasis is placed on preparing students for graduate and professional study and careers in public or community work.

Program Activities

In order to develop student research and writing skills and to promote scholarship at the undergraduate level, the department sponsors an annual student-led symposium based on course-related research. Involvement with faculty research projects is available and highly encouraged.

The Bronx African American History Project (BAAHP) is a major research initiative sponsored by the department in cooperation with the Bronx County Historical Society. The BAAHP is dedicated to uncovering the cultural, political, economic, and religious histories of more than 500,000 people of African descent in the Bronx. The BAAHP hires student researchers and transcribers and has presented its research in public schools, academic conferences, and libraries throughout the city.

For more information

Visit the African and African American Studies department web page.

African and African American studies offers AFAM 1600 Understanding Historical Change: Africa, which fulfills the Understanding Historical Change core requirement. The department also offers a wide variety of Eloquentia Perfecta (EP1, EP3), American Pluralism, and Global Studies courses each year. In addition, a Values Seminar/EP4 and an Interdisciplinary Capstone Course are offered annually.

Our Courses

AFAM 1600. Understanding Historical Change: Africa. (3 Credits)

This course introduces students to major themes in Africa's complex history, including early human origins; religion; trade networks; slavery and the slave trade; colonialism; and liberation struggles. We will explore Africa as an idea and field of study, by attending to the major debates that have shaped historical writing about Africa. Significant class time will be devoted to developing student writing and public speaking skills through individual and group presentations, revision writing, and peer review.

Attributes: GLBL, HC, HIST, INST, IPE, ISAF, ISME, MEST, PJRC, PJST.

AFAM 1650. Black Popular Culture. (4 Credits)

Examines creative expressions of everyday life as well as commodified arenas of mass produced popular culture as sites through which African Americans have been represented and through which they represent themselves. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AMST, ASHS, PLUR, SSCI, URST.

AFAM 1999. Tutorial. (1 Credit)

Indenpendent Study.

AFAM 2005. American Pluralism. (4 Credits)

Contemporary and historical studies in the racial and ethnic diversity of American (U.S.) society with a special emphasis on the issues of race relations migration, and immigration and their relation to either (1) the distribution of economic and political power or (2) their cultural manifestations in literature, the arts, and/or religion. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AMST, APPI, ASHS, HIAH, HIST, HIUL, LALS, LASS, PLUR, URST.

AFAM 2647. Third World and the City. (4 Credits)

This course explores international migration and settlement of third world peoples in urban communities of the United States since 1965. Topics include the impact of globalization on international migration, the formation of ethnic enclaves and informal economies, social networks, employment patterns, undocumented status, and recent immigrant law. Gender and class as well as race form analytical categories within these topics. Students will examine case studies based on the experiences of selected groups, including Chinese, Haitians, Koreans, Southwest Asians, and Dominicans. Recent interdisciplinary research and theoretical perspectives are offered in conjunction with first hand accounts such as immigrant fiction, autobiography and films, Key documentary films are used as supplementary texts and are an integral part of the resources of the class. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: LALS, LASS.

AFAM 2999. Tutorial. (2 Credits)

Independent Study.

AFAM 3001. African American History I. (4 Credits)

Begins with an introduction to the African background and slave trade. An examination of U.S. slave communities, resistance and rebellion, abolitionism, and institutional development through the Civil War. Readings in original texts from 18th and 19th centuries. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AHC, AMST, HIAH, HIST, PJRC, PJST, PLUR.

AFAM 3002. African American History II. (4 Credits)

A survey of African American history from the Reconstruction period to the present: the era of accommodation and the origins of the 20th-century protest; Washington-DuBois debate; migration and urbanization; the Harlem Renaissance; the civil rights movement; black power and contemporary issues. Fulfills urban studies requirement in history. Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AHC, AMST, APPI, ASHS, HIAH, HIST, PJRC, PJST, PLUR.

AFAM 3003. African American Family. (4 Credits)

An intensive examination of the history, economic determinants and lifestyles of the black family in the United States. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ADVD, AMST, ASHS.

AFAM 3030. African American Women. (4 Credits)

A survey of African American women's history using documentary texts, fiction, and social science literature. Examines the multiple jeopardies of race, sex, and economic condition. Explores specific conditions of female slavery, resistance, work, and political activism. Women studied include Sojourner Truth, Anna Julia Cooper, Ida Wells Barnett, Fannie Lou Hamer, Amy Jaques Garvey and Bell Hooks. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ADVD, AMST, APPI, ASHS, COLI, HIAH, HIST, HIUL, PJGS, PJST, PLUR, WGSS.

AFAM 3033. Women in Hip-Hop. (4 Credits)

This course will explore how women are portrayed in hip hop music and culture, addressing women both as consumers and producers. The course will utilize Black feminist theory, consumption theory, and youth culture theory to interpret and critique the ways in which women are represented in hip hop music, art, fashion and dance, and its surrounding culture. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attribute: PLUR.

AFAM 3034. Black Traditions in American Social Dance. (4 Credits)

This course is an introduction to dance as part of a larger cultural expression. The course introduces some of the chronology, the choreographic approaches and changes in dance techniques which have shaped the way AA moved the Black Dance traditions from the history, to the stage and to the streets. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attribute: PLUR.

AFAM 3036. Global Black Youth Cultures. (4 Credits)

Course will explore how adolescent and young adult members of the African Diaspora form youth subcultures and engage with popular culture transnationally. The courses focus is comparative with attention to American, Caribbean, Afro-Latino, and African youth. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction .

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AMST, ASHS, INST, IPE, ISIN, URST.

AFAM 3037. Being and Becoming Black in the Atlantic World. (4 Credits)

A study of dispersed African communities in the New World in the 19th and 20th centuries. Examines diasporic identity formation, enslavement and resistance, religious movements, anticolonial politics and Pan-African thought. Emphasis is on cross-cultural connections and interactions. Areas studied include Haiti, Brazil, Surinam, the British-held Caribbean, Cuba and the United States. Scholars studied include, James, Du Bois, Gilroy and Hall. Fulfills global studies requirement. Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AMST, APPI, ASHS, ASSC, COLI, GLBL, HIGH, HIST, HIUL, INST, IPE, ISAF, ISIN, ISLA, LALS, LASS, PJRC, PJST.

AFAM 3070. African Politics. (4 Credits)

A study of the politics of Africa, including colonial independence struggles, post independence state formation, development paradigms, and grassroots movements. Case studies will be examined. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction .

Attributes: AFSS, AFST, HHPA, HUST, MEST.

AFAM 3072. Civil Wars in Africa. (4 Credits)

Examines the main causes and forms of civil wars on the African continent. A central theme of inquiry will be the relationship between the process of state formation and reproduction of political identities. Looks at the reform of these political identities through the definition of citizenship in Post Independence. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction .

Attributes: AFSS, AFST, GLBL, HHPA, HUST, INST, IPE, ISAF, MEST, PJST, PJWT.

AFAM 3075. Democracy in Africa. (4 Credits)

Examines African experiences in governance focusing primarily on democracy. An examination of the challenges of building and sustaining democratic governments in various African nations. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AFSS, AFST, GLBL, INST, IPE, ISAF, MEST.

AFAM 3102. The Black Family. (4 Credits)

An examination of the history of the black family from slavery to the present facing on the social, political, and economic challenges facing this institution. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction .

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AMST, APPI, ASHS, URST, WGSS.

AFAM 3110. The Black Athlete. (4 Credits)

An examination of the impact of the black liberation movement, the women's movement, and other currents of political and cultural change in amateur and professional sports in America. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction .

Attributes: ASSC, PLUR, SJOR.

AFAM 3112. The Sixties. (4 Credits)

An examination of the political, cultural and economic changes that took place in the United States during the 1960s. Special attention will be given to the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War in shaping public discourse and in presenting Americans with important political and moral choices. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AMST, ASAM, ASHS, HIAH, HIST, HIUL, PLUR, URST, WGSS.

AFAM 3115. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. (4 Credits)

An examination of the lives, philosophies, and historical influences of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. The purpose of this course is to examine the life and thought of Martin L. King Jr. and Malcolm X. Our main goals are to trace the development in their thinking, and to examine the similarities and differences between them. Finally, we will seek to evaluate their contribution to the African-American freedom struggle, American society and the world. Our method of study will emphasize the VERY close reading of the primary and secondary material; the use of audio and videocassettes; lecture presentations and class discussions. But it is important to note that we are not simply interested in the academic study of these two men's political and religious commitment; we are also concerned with how they inform our own political and spiritual lives. Hopefully, we will learn from Martin and Malcolm and be motivated by their passion for justice. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction .

Attributes: ADVD, AMST, APPI, ASHS, ASRP, ASSC, ISAC, PJRC, PJST, PLUR, REST, RSTE, THEO, URST.

AFAM 3120. Black Religion and Black Politics. (4 Credits)

A study of the African American church and its influence on the lives of black and white Americans. A study of the interaction between African-American religion and politics from Frederick Douglass to Barak Obama. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction .

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AMST, APPI, ASRP, ASSC, PJRC, PJRJ, PJST, PLUR, REST, THEO.

AFAM 3130. Racial and Ethnic Conflict. (4 Credits)

This course examines the major sources of tension between ethnic and racial groups in the American city, as well as the political and cultural traditions of various ethnic groups. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AMCS, AMST, LALS, LASS, PLUR, URST.

AFAM 3132. Black Prison Experience. (4 Credits)

This course examines the historical and contemporary experience of African Americans in the prison system with a special emphasis on the role of religion as a transforming agent. Students will survey the writings of current and former prisoners and ask what role, if any, spirituality played in their experience of incarceration. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ADVD, AMST, APPI, ASHS, ASSC, PJRC, PJST, PLUR, REST, URST, WGSS.

AFAM 3133. Performance African Diaspora. (4 Credits)

This course explores how young people of the African diaspora in the United States use expressive culture as a space to creatively respond to social injustice and political marginalization. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attribute: ASSC.

AFAM 3134. From Rock-N-Roll to Hip-Hop. (4 Credits)

A study of urban youth culture through an examination of musical forms and their evolution from the post WWII era to the present. Begins with Rock and Roll and ends with Rap and Hip Hop. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AHC, AMST, ASAM, ASHS, CCUS, COMC, COMM, HIAH, HIST, HIUL, PLUR, URST, WGSS.

AFAM 3135. Contemporary Black Thinkers. (4 Credits)

An examination of the writings of contemporary African-American intellectuals, analyzing their views on race, class, gender, sexuality, politics, and religion. We will discus the relationship between black intellectuals and the black community, and we will examine how their personal experiences are reflected in their writings. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attribute: PLUR.

AFAM 3136. U.S. Civil Rights. (4 Credits)

This course examines the history of the dramatic African American social and political movements that took shape in the aftermath of World War II. Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ADVD, AMST, APPI, ASHS, ASSC, PJRC, PJST, PLUR, URST.

AFAM 3138. Nonviolent Protest. (4 Credits)

This course examines the genesis of non-violent direct action protest in modern history. Starting with the writings of David Henry Thoreau and Leo Tolstoy, the class will focus on Gandhi in South Africa and India. Influenced by these non-violent philosophies and individuals, the course examines the modern Civil Rights Movements in the United States, especially the practice of non-violent direct action of Bayard Rustin, Martine Luther King, members of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). Finally the course examines the life and times of Nelson Mandela and Steve Biko of South Africa, looking for the roots of their non-violent philosophies and practices. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AMST, APPI, ASHS.

AFAM 3139. Buffalo Soldiers: Race and War. (4 Credits)

Buffalo Soldiers examines the intersection of race and military service in the United States, from the American Revolution to the Cold War. The focus of the course is on the role African Americans played in the major military conflicts of this country's history. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ADVD, AMST, ASHS, ASSC, PLUR.

AFAM 3140. Contemporary Africa. (4 Credits)

An examination of the cultural characteristics of African societies and an analysis of African's significance in world politics. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AFSS, AFST, HIGH, HIST, HIUL, INST, ISAF.

AFAM 3141. Women and Social Change in Africa. (4 Credits)

This course examines the formal and informal participation of African women in politics, their interaction with the state, and their role in society. Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AFSS, AFST, ASSC, GLBL, INST, IPE, ISAF, PJGS, PJRC, PJST, WGSS.

AFAM 3142. Women, Power, and Leadership in Africa. (4 Credits)

The experiences of women in power and leadership roles have been largely ignored in the study of Africa. This course examines the experiences of women in power and leadership roles in different sectors of African societies. The course covers pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial periods to locate the impact of gender relations and other social and political markers on the roles of women in selected African societies. The goal of this course is to identify, understand, and analyze the structural, societal, and personal factors and circumstances that necessitated women’s rise to power and leadership roles. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ASSC, GLBL, INST, ISAF, MEST, WGSS.

AFAM 3146. African Immigrants in the United States. (3 Credits)

In this course, students explore the experiences of contemporary African immigrants in the United States. The course is designed to introduce students to contemporary literature, theories, and methodologies on the study of African immigration and the history of recent African immigrants by examining their earlier migratory processes both within the continent and across international borders. This course should be of interest to students who are interested in learning about international migrations, refugee and forced migration issues, globalization, and the formation of transnational identities.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AFSS, AFST, AMST, APPI, ASHS, GLBL, INST, ISAF, ISIN, PJRC, PJST.

AFAM 3148. History of South Africa. (4 Credits)

This course examines the history of South Africa from the Pre-European encounter to the Post-Apartheid era. Special emphasis will be given to nineteenth and twentieth century racial policies. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AFAH, AFSS, AFST, AHC, GLBL, HIGH, HIST, INST, IPE, ISAF, PJRC, PJST.

AFAM 3149. South Africa Study Tour. (1 Credit)

A three week study tour of South Africa, exploring the pre-Encourage Cape, the Mineral Revolution area, and the Apartheid High Veld.

AFAM 3150. Caribbean Peoples and Culture. (4 Credits)

An examination of the historical, cultural and contemporary characteristics of various ethnic groups in the Caribbean. Special attention will be devoted to Afro-West Indians. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AMCS, AMST, APPI, ASHS, ASSC, GLBL, HIGH, HIST, HIUL, INST, IPE, ISAF, ISIN, ISLA, LALS, LASS, URST.

AFAM 3152. Expressive Bodies: Race, Sexuality, and the Arts. (4 Credits)

Using research on race and sexuality the course examines how the socio-cultural lived experience and world view creates distinct expressive capacities especially in movement and dance. Writers studied include Appiah, Charles Johnson, Dunham, as well as Foucault, Butler, and the French feminists. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attribute: PLUR.

AFAM 3154. Black, White, and Catholic: Race, Religion, and Civil Rights. (4 Credits)

This course examines the modern Catholic Civil Rights Movement from the late 1890s through the 1970s as Black and White Catholics found their voice and their agency to bring about racial justice within and without the church. This engagement across racial lines gave rise to Catholic Interracialism, which served as a paradigm for future struggles in the quest for racial harmony. Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AHC, PJRJ, PJST, PLUR.

AFAM 3155. Children of Immigrants in America. (4 Credits)

This EP Seminar applies anthropological, sociological and literary texts to explore the experiences of the second generation immigrants in the United States. Diverse immigrant communities from the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America are covered. The course will draw primarily on contemporary ethnographic examples, but will include historical examples for the comparative perspective. Major debates in migration studies are discussed. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: LALS, LASS.

AFAM 3162. Value in Black and White Drama. (4 Credits)

A study and evaluation of dramas with like themes as treated by playwrights from differing ethnic backgrounds. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AMST, ASAM, ASHS, ASLT, PLUR.

AFAM 3188. Exploring Africa: Encounter, Expedition, and Representation. (4 Credits)

Tarzan, “Deep Dark Africa”, lion safaris, diamonds: these words conjure in the western mind the image of a continent not fully comprehended. This course focuses on the exploration, representation, and understanding as well as mis-understanding and mis-representation of the continent continent from the Fifteenth to Twentieth Centuries, focusing on Nineteenth-century Exploration, Exploitation and Representation of Sub-Saharan Africa. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AFSS, AFST, ASSC, GLBL.

AFAM 3190. Mapping Southern Africa. (4 Credits)

This course maps the development of Southern Africa from the late 15th century to the late 20th. While a cartographer's knowledge of the region is the starting point, this course will examine the political , socio-economic, and cultural geography of southern Africa, including Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Botswana, South Africa, Angola, and Mozambique. Emphasis is placed on the colonial and post-colonial evolution of this region in the context of cultural identity, independence movements, and Cold War politics. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AFST, AHC.

AFAM 3210. On the Move: Migration, Labor, and Trans-Nationalism in the African Diaspora. (4 Credits)

Migration has played an essential role in the history of the African Diaspora. The Trans-Atlantic Slave trade, the most famous movement of African descended peoples was involuntary, but many movements after this period were planned and deliberate. The end of slavery in the late 19th century saw mass movements of African descended people throughout the world. In the late 1850s, there was significant movement to the American port cities of New York and Boston. In the 20th century, we see the movement of 8 million blacks form the rural south to Industrial cities in the North. Pan African groups urged blacks to go “Back to Africa.” This class examines the theme of migration to the African Diaspora. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AMST, ASHS, GLBL, INST, ISAF.

AFAM 3510. In "America's Backyard": U.S.-Caribbean Social, Political, and Economic Relations 1850-1950. (4 Credits)

The long history of exchange between the Caribbean and the US has been fraught with complex and at times contradictory policies and events. The US has frequently pursued imperialist interest within the region and played a significant role in its economic and political development. The term “America’s Backyard” has often been utilized to discuss the US ‘s sphere of influence. However, this history has not been one of the unilateral American dominance. Caribbean nations used US resources in order ti steer their own agendas. This course will examine how these intertwined regions have negotiated with each other by analyzing themes such as race, gender, nationalism, and military intervention. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ADVD, AMST, APPI, ASHS, GLBL, LALS.

AFAM 3530. Race, Climate Change, and Environmental Justice in the African Diaspora. (4 Credits)

The close of the 2020 hurricane season saw an all-time high of 30 named storms in the Atlantic region, breaking all previous records and costing $40 billion worth of property damage and an innumerable loss of human life. As we continue to see the ever-growing effects of climate change, it is important to note that although many countries of Africa and the African diaspora are not the largest consumers or producers of greenhouse gases and carbon emissions, they are the most adversely effected by the ramifications of climate change. As the planet gets hotter, warming seas create a larger number of more powerful hurricanes and tropical storms in the Caribbean, devastating the Black populations of this region every year and making it harder to live and rebuild. Furthermore, on the African continent, according to the World Meteorological Organization, “increasing temperatures and sea levels, changing precipitation patterns and more extreme weather are threatening human health and safety, food and water security and socio-economic development in Africa.” In this course, students will examine the ways in which climate change has impacted Africa and the African diaspora, paying close attention to the scholarship surrounding ideas around climate change, race, and environmental justice. An examination of our current climate crisis is essential to an understanding of African and African diaspora studies. Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ENST, ESEJ, GLBL, PJEN, PJST, PLUR.

AFAM 3560. "We Can't Breathe...": The History of Black Protest. (4 Credits)

In 2020, the murder of George Floyd sparked global demonstrations that spread from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to countries around the world. Black people increasingly disillusioned by police killings of Black people took to the streets to combat issues of police brutality and anti-Black racism. These protests cemented their place in a larger canon of Black radical protest as the largest social justice mobilization in American history. This type of mobilization is part of a longer legacy of Black American and African diaspora history, which has often centered on the struggle for Black liberation. From the Haitian Revolution and the 1917 Silent Parade Against Lynching to more recent Black Lives Matter protests that have been occurring globally since 2013, Black people have revolted, raised their voices, sat in and sat down, and marched against racial injustice and resistance to systems of oppression. An examination of this historical legacy of resistance or the Black radical tradition is essential to an understanding of African diaspora studies. In this course, students will explore the ways in which the Black radical tradition has developed over centuries by analyzing themes such as black rage, violence, non-violent civil disobedience, gender, as well as LGBTQIA+ and intersectional identities. Our course will begin with the period of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and bring us up to present day Black Lives Matter movements. Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: EP3, PJRC, PJST, PLUR.

AFAM 3630. Harlem Century. (4 Credits)

Examines a century of Harlem place-making, politics and culture. Course in history and literature. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, AMST.

AFAM 3632. Harlem Renaissance. (4 Credits)

A study of the literature of the period known as the Harlem Renaissance. Writers include James Weldon Johnson, Jean Toomer, Nella Larsen, Jessie Fauset,Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ADVD, AMST, ASHS, ASLT, COLI, ENGL, PLUR, URST.

AFAM 3633. The Bronx: Immigration, Race, and Culture. (4 Credits)

An examination of how immigration and migration shaped Bronx neighborhoods from the Great Depression to the present. Subjects covered will include community building, racial conflict and the ways that the mixing of cultures in Bronx communities inspired cultural creativity and political activism. Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AHC, AMST, APPI, ASHS, LALS, LASS, PJRC, PJST, PLUR, URST.

AFAM 3634. Film and the African American. (4 Credits)

Examines the representation of African Americans and blackness in visual media, focusing on mainstream, documentary and independent films, and television. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AMST, ASHS, ASSC.

AFAM 3637. Black Feminism: Theory and Expression. (4 Credits)

This course examines the history of black feminist/womanist thought as a political practice, an aesthetic sensibility and a scholarly methodology. Combining black feminist theory with literary and cultural works by black women artists, the class will discuss conflicts with black feminists practice as well as the future of black feminism. Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AMST, ASLT, COLI, ENGL, PJGS, PJST, PLUR, WGSS.

AFAM 3663. Minorities in the Media. (4 Credits)

Introduces the study of U.S. minority group representation, participation and employment in media. Minority is defined according to ethnic, religious, national, gender or other social groupings, while media include print, broadcasting, film, music and other cultural manifestations. Students apply analyses from readings in media theory and prepare reports-videos, tapes, graph presentations, etc. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AMST, ASHS, COLI, LALS, LASS, URST.

AFAM 3667. Caribbean Literature. (4 Credits)

A broad survey of the literatures of the Caribbean region, including translations from Spanish and French. Primarily 20th-century works will be read against the background of colonial discourse theory. Writers read include Maran, Cesaire, Fanon, Carpentier, Chauvet, Mohr, V.S. Naipaul, Walcott, Brathwaite, Kincaid, and others. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AMST, ASLT, COLI, ENGL, ENRJ, GLBL, INST, ISAF, ISLA, LAHA, LALS, LASS, WGSS.

AFAM 3669. Racing the City. (4 Credits)

This class will consider the racialization of city spaces as well as the content and dynamics of historical and contemporary constructions of blackness. Primarily grounded in ethnography, the class also uses journalism and media portrayals and discourse rooted in popular culture. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

AFAM 3688. African Literature I. (4 Credits)

The first course in an introduction to precolonial and indigenous oral and literary forms of African peoples. The epics of the West African empire, the Islam-influenced writings of the Western and Northern lands and the development of the Swahili tradition in the East will be the main foci. All materials will be read in English translations. This course does not need to be taken prior to African Literature II. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AFAH, AFST, COLI, ENGL, GLBL.

AFAM 3689. African Literature II. (4 Credits)

The second course is an examination of the colonial and postcolonial literary production of European-influenced African writers writing in European languages: English, French and Portuguese. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AFAH, AFST, COLI, ENGL, GLBL.

AFAM 3692. Social Construction of Women. (4 Credits)

This advanced social science course examines the social construction of female identities across cultural contexts. The course will employ an anthropological approach to the study of how ideas regarding what it means to "be female" circulate and gain credence through narratives crafted by popular culture, policy and legislative definitions, science fiction, and modes of cultural consumption, for example, and are mediated by race, social status, age, national identity and cultural context. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ASSC, COLI, INST, ISAF, ISIN, WGSS.

AFAM 3693. Contemporary African Literatures. (4 Credits)

Contemporary works from around the continent including a selection of anglophone literatures of south, west and east Africa and translations into English from Portuguese, French, Arabic and Kiswahili. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AFAH, AFST, ALC, COLI, ENGL, GLBL, INST, ISAF, MEST, WGSS.

AFAM 3720. African American Philosophy. (4 Credits)

Using texts by Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, W.E.B. DuBois, Alain Locke, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, James H. Cone, Angela Davis, Cornel West, Patricia Hill Collins, Howard McGary, William E Lawson, Leonard Harris, Lucius Outlaw and others, this course will focus on pillars, prophets and prospects for African American philosophy, a 'philosophy born of struggle' created by profound critical and transformative voices from times of chattel slavery to the present that plays an influential role in American philosophy and American society today. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ADVD, AMST, ASRP, COLI, PHIL, PJSJ, PJST, PLUR, WGSS.

Prerequisites: PHIL 3000 or HPLC 1001 or HPRH 1002 or HPRH 1103.

AFAM 3729. The Black American Novel. (4 Credits)

The evolution of the black American novel from William Wells Brown to Ismael Reed. The novel will be placed in its proper literary, social and political context. The novel will be explored through various themes. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AMST, ASHS.

AFAM 3939. History of Global Popular Music: From Africa to the Americas and Back. (4 Credits)

Who brought the banjo to the United States? How did jazz get to Paris? Why is reggae so popular in Ghana? In this course, students will learn the history of African and African Diasporic popular music as it has crossed the Atlantic with enslaved Africans, African American soldiers, Caribbean migrants, and students from West Africa. Through primary sources, songs, films, and academic texts, students will examine issues of globalization, consumerism, migration, pan­ Africanism, race, and gender in the history of Africa and the Black Atlantic. The final project will involve original research in local and online archives, and will be accompanied by a post on the course blog. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AHC, AMST, ASHS, HIGH, INST, ISAF, ISIN.

AFAM 3955. Slavery Freedom/Atlantic World. (4 Credits)

The course will cover multiple regions of the Atlantic World—Latin America and the Caribbean, the U.S., Africa, and Europe—to understand slavery and freedom as intersecting global themes across space and time. Starting with indigenous and African slavery in the Spanish and Portuguese empires, we will understand how political and economic institutions, racial ideas, and even Enlightenment concepts about liberty informed a global history of human bondage. The course will look at a variety of materials, from slave narratives to court cases, databases, film, and literature to understand the experience of slavery and the fight for freedom through the perspectives of slaves as well as slave owners, slave traders, and abolitionists. We will also consider the development of African diasporic cultures in the Americas and the legacy of slavery in current debates about memory, reparations, and human trafficking. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AHC, AMST, ASHS, GLBL, HIGH, HIUL, INST, ISAF, ISEU, ISIN, ISLA, LALS, LAUH.

AFAM 3999. Tutorial. (3 Credits)

Independent research and readings with supervision from a faculty member.

AFAM 4000. Affirmative Action and the American Dream. (4 Credits)

An examination of the political and legal history of Affirmative Action and an exploration of the moral and economic consequences of the policy as practiced in universities, businesses and government agencies. Fulfills senior values requirement. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ADVD, AMST, APPI, ASHS, EP4, HIAH, HIST, HIUL, LALS, LASS, PJRC, PJST, URST, VAL, WGSS.

AFAM 4105. Queer Caribbean and Its Diasporas. (4 Credits)

This interdisciplinary course (ICC) examines the representation of queer gender, sexual identities, and cultural practices in the Caribbean and its diasporas. It brings together the fields of anthropology, comparative literary studies, and film studies to study the Caribbean as a multicultural, multiracial, multilingual, and transnational space. Through lectures, readings, film screenings, class discussions, and external activities we will compare processes of racialization, gendering, nation building, class stratification, and migration in the formation of queer identities and practices in the Caribbean and its diasporas. Themes will include: gender and sexuality in citizenship formation, impact of colonialism on Caribbean queer identities and practices, queerness and its relationship to nation-building and modernization, queerness in revolutionary processes and revolutionary forms of queerness, Afro-Caribbean spiritual practices and queerness, queerness and urban culture, political and cultural and responses to state and interpersonal violence, the sociopolitical context of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the region, sexual tourism and globalization, and the impact of migration on queer identities and practices. An upper-level interdisciplinary capstone course (ICC) in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and MLAL, this course is also cross-listed with: Anthropology and Sociology, African and African American Studies, COLI, LALS, and English. Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AFAM, AMST, ANTH, ASHS, COLI, ENGL, ENRJ, ICC, LAHA, LALS, PJGS, PJST, SOCI, SPAN, WGSS.

AFAM 4147. Food and Globalization. (4 Credits)

This course will examine scholarship on food and globalization from a range of disciplinary perspectives, including anthropological, sociological, historical, and literary. It will also examine the interdisciplinary fields of food studies and globalization studies to discuss the development of global exchange networks and their impact on consumer cultures and notions of identity in the united states and beyond. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ENST, ESEL, ICC, INST, ISIN.

AFAM 4148. Race, Religion, and Politics: Catholic and Civil Rights. (4 Credits)

This Interdisciplinary Capstone Course examines Catholic Civil Rights through the prisms of race, religion and politics from the New World Encounter of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries through the Civil Rights struggles of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Century. Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AMST, ICC, THEO, THHC.

AFAM 4192. Race and Religion in the Transatlantic World. (4 Credits)

This course examines the construction and deconstruction of race policies in the Trans-Atlantic World form the Sixteenth Centuries. Focusing on the socioeconomic, political, theological, and philosophical precepts and practices, students will grapple with the moral and ethical dilemmas presented by race-based policies and beliefs. Using the United States and South Africa as case studies, this course is divided into four historic periods: Colonization and Enslavement (1492-1860's), Separation and Segregation (1890-1940's), and Apartheid, desegregation, and integration (1940-1990's). Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AFAH, AFST, EP4, INST, ISAF, ISIN, MEST, THEO, THHC, VAL.

AFAM 4600. African Americans and the Law. (4 Credits)

American law has shaped the course of African American history. This class will examine themes such as segregation, civil rights, lynching and capital punishment, racial profiling and race-related sentencing, and state control of black families and reproduction. In order to understand the impact of the law, students will read and analyze cases, Constitutional Amendments and state statutes, as well as primary and secondary historical sources. This course will provide students with an understanding of how U.S. laws and state control were used to oppress African Americans, and how African Americans and other civil rights advocates used the law as a tool to gain citizenship recognition, equal treatment under the law, and equal access to society. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: AMST, APPI, ASHS, PLUR.

AFAM 4650. Social Welfare and Society. (4 Credits)

An examination of American values and attitudes about poverty, entitlement and dependency and the role of the state, individuals and society in social welfare. Presents an exploration of how experiences such as homelessness, welfare and unemployment are conceptualized in American society and how this thinking affects our values over time. Fulfills senior values requirement. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ADVD, AMST, APPI, ASHS, EP4, HIAH, HIST, LALS, LASS, URST, VAL, WGSS.

AFAM 4800. Internship. (4 Credits)

Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

AFAM 4802. Community Research Methods: Oral History. (4 Credits)

This Service-learning course will impart proficiency in the research methods used by anthropologists and oral historians studying marginalized urban communities. Through volunteer work in Bronx community organizations, students will learn how to design a research agenda, how to maintain a field notebook, how to conduct an oral history interview, and how to effectively transcribe oral interviews. A primary course, objective will be to enable students to help community members uncover and record the rich cultural, political, economic and religious histories of Bronx residents. Each student will volunteer in a community-based organization in order to 1) help serve the needs of the community; and 2) master the skills of participant observation. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attribute: PLUR.

AFAM 4890. Research Seminar. (4 Credits)

Intensive course on research techniques appropriate to African and African American studies. Required of all African and African American studies majors. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ADVD, AMST, ASHS.

AFAM 4896. Feeling the Funk. (4 Credits)

A comparison of the African-derived musical traditions of Cuba, Jamaica, and the United States from the 1930s, focusing on social origins of musical traditions such as con, reggae, rhythm and blues, and soul music, as well as the reasons for their global popularity. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: ACUP, ADVD, AMST, ASHS, URST.

AFAM 4999. Tutorial. (4 Credits)

Independent research and readings with supervision from a faculty member.

AFAM 8999. Caribbean People and Cultures. (0 to 4 Credits)

Courses in Other Areas

The following courses offered have the AFAM attribute and count toward the African and African-American Studies major and minor:

Course Title Credits
AFAM 4105Queer Caribbean and Its Diasporas4
ANTH 3650Africa in the World4
ARHI 2526Art and the Black Atlantic4
COMC 3247Race and Gender in Media4
DANC 2430West African Dance2
ECON 4025Bronx Urban Economic Development4
ENGL 3012Novel, She Wrote4
ENGL 3636Introduction to African American Literature4
ENGL 3645The Middle Passage4
ENGL 3646Black Disability Studies4
ENGL 3650Stayin' Alive: Performing Blackness and Whiteness in 1970s US Film and Literature4
ENGL 3658Migrations/Movements/Masks4
ENGL 3691Black Atlantic Literature: Modernisms4
ENGL 3695Black Protest, Black Resistance, Black Freedom, Black Rage4
ENGL 4008Seminar: Black Letters4
ENGL 4227Black Literature and Film4
ENGL 4228Black Protest from Slavery to #BlackLivesMatter4
ENGL 4606Seminar: James Baldwin4
FITV 3554African American Cinema4
FITV 3648Television, Race, and Civil Rights4
FITV 4554Black Experimental and Art Cinema4
FREN 3471Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa4
FREN 3492Climate Change and Sustainable Development in the Francophone World4
HIST 1600Understanding Historical Change: Africa3
HIST 3073African Intellectual History4
HIST 3139Buffalo Soldiers: Race and War4
HIST 3192The United States, Africa, and the Cold War4
HIST 3695Major Debates in African Studies4
HIST 3759African American Women's Activism, 1815–19154
HIST 3946African Economies and Humanitarianism4
HIST 3948Gandhi: A Global Intellectual History4
HIST 3955Slavery Freedom/Atlantic World4
HIST 3963Afro-Latin America4
HIST 4111Modern African Stories4
HIST 4310Africa, Race, and the Global Cold War4
HIST 4312Antisemitism and Racism4
HIST 4922“Freedom Now”: Black Political Thought4
HIST 5952Research Seminar: African American Urban History4
LALS 3955Slavery Freedom/Atlantic World4
LALS 3963Afro-Latin America4
LALS 4105Queer Caribbean and Its Diasporas4
MEST 2000Introduction to the Modern Middle East4
MEST 3620Islam in America4
MEST 4001Seminar: Middle East4
MLAL 3492Climate Change and Sustainable Development in the Francophone World4
PHIL 3720African American Philosophy4
POSC 3310Racial and Ethnic Politics4
POSC 3418Islamic Political Thought4
POSC 3520Mideast and the World4
POSC 3522United Nations4
PSYC 4350The Psychology of Race, Place, and Power4
SOCI 3405Gender, Race, and Class4
THEO 3376Spirituals, the Blues, and African-American Christianity3
VART 3060Visual Justice: Enacting Change Through Image-Based Storytelling4
WGSS 3141Women in Africa4
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