Major,
Minor
African and African American Studies
Programs
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African and African American Studies,
Courses
AAAS 114: Introduction to AAAS
Credits 3Entry-level course designed to introduce students to the field of African American Studies. Through a multi-disciplinary approach, identifies and examines major issues, topics, and questions addressed in scholarly literature.
AAAS 115: Introduction to Anthropology: Culture & Diversity
Credits 4Introduces and critically examines selected approaches to understanding human diversity. Drawing on ethnographic studies, develops perspectives on how people cohere as groups, construct meaning, assert and resist influence and power, and orient themselves to a shifting terrain of images and relationships both global and local. Weekly film session required.
AAAS 118: Inequalities, Power & Society
Credits 4Introduces students to the sociological perspective and focuses on the connections between major social institutions and social inequality.
AAAS 180: Islam
Credits 4Topics include the early community and the life of Muhammad, portions of the Qur'an, the historical development of Islamic civilization, Sufism and issues in the contemporary Islamic world (such as the role of women, the nature of jihad and Islam's relationship to other religions).
AAAS 204: African American Literature
Credits 4An introduction to the study of literature focusing on the works of Americans of Black African ancestry, with possible attention to works of African Caribbean and African Hispanic Americans. Special attention to major developments in form and themes, major writers and the evolution of an African American literary tradition. Introduction to issues of Black literary theory and criticism.
AAAS 211: Religion & Spirit in African American Literature
Credits 3This course looks at religious and spiritual elements in African American literature. How do literary texts embrace or push back against religious beliefs and communities? And, how have black American writers used religion and spirituality to think through race and inequality in the United States?
AAAS 230: History of African American Religious Experiences
Credits 4Survey of central historical events, people, and faith perspectives that have shaped African American (or “Black”) religious experiences in the United States. This course will pay particular attention to 1) the prominent roles that African American women and men of faith have played in the communal survival and wellbeing of Black folk and 2) the role of Black faith as a catalyst for the social, political and cultural transformation of American society. General historical terrain covered in the course includes the Middle Passage and “New World” Slavery; The Great Awakening and later revivals; Emancipation; Reconstruction; migration and urbanization; Jim/Jane Crow; Civil Rights; and Black Nationalism/Black Power. In addition to surveying the religious experiences of African Americans within major Protestant denominations, some attention will be paid to African American Catholicism, Pentecostalism, “sects” and “cults,” Judaism, Caribbean religion(s) in the U.S., Islam, and Black humanism.
AAAS 231: African History to 1880
Credits 3Introduces students to Africa's long and varied past. Surveys the development of the continent from the Nile Valley civilization to the loss of independence in the 1880s. Topics include Africa as the site of the earliest human development, ancient Egypt's relationship to the rest of Africa, the influence of Islam, African states and empires, the Atlantic slave trade, the impact of European traders and missionaries, and the scramble for Africa in the 1880s.
AAAS 232: African History since 1880
Credits 3Surveys the African loss of sovereignty and the establishment of European colonial dominance in Africa. Focuses on economic, political and social distortions resulting from foreign domination. Considers the impact of African reactions to these developments. Special attention to the struggle for independence and the re-emergence of independent African states.
AAAS 240: Topics in African and African American Studies
Credits 3Studies in African and African American experiences through the analysis of selected topics. Emphasizes the development of information, interpretation and bibliography along with reading, writing and research skills.
AAAS 299: Religion & Culture of Hip Hop
Credits 4Bringing to bear written texts, music, film and other media sources, this course explores the definition and moral significance of Hip Hop as a religious and cultural phenomenon within popular culture. Specific issues explored in this course include the syncretism of religious symbols and sensibilities in Hip Hop; the racial, ethnic, sex-gendered, and class dynamics of Hip Hop; as well as the language and aesthetics of Hip Hop.
AAAS 307: Housing, Affordability, Wages and Crime
Credits 4This course will ponder the relation of crime to housing affordability and wage stagnation. Karl Marx described how in nineteenth century England large scale farming huddled laborers into miserable dwellings where dear rents and minimal wages fostered crime. Dubbed “improvements”, these evictions also furnished lavish new places of business and residence for the wealthy. This course will consider actual and historical examples of “improvements” and crime, and their "intersectional" outcomes.
AAAS 309: Prophetic Black Women
Credits 3This course is a study of Black religious women in the U.S., and how they wrote about their religious beliefs and experiences. Students will encounter leaders who changed or led established movements such as Zilpha Elaw and Jarena Lee, women who had religious visions such as Shaker Rebecca Cox Jackson, and literary writers who interrogated religious groups and practices such as Nella Larsen. Students will be asked to consider how religious belief and practice might shape the way people conceptualize what it means to be a Black woman in the U.S.
AAAS 330: Mass Incarceration & Moral Vision
Credits 4A critical examination of the social functions and theories of contemporary criminal justice in the United States. Special attention to the collateral social consequences of the "prison industrial complex," paramilitary policing and the death penalty. Fosters moral interpretations that contribute to popular movements for positive change. Prerequisites: An Earlham Seminar and an Interpretive Practices course.
AAAS 332: Pan Africanism
Credits 4In the context of the philosophical paradigm of Afrocentricity, this course traces and interrogates the trans-National solidarity activism of Africans and their descendants in the diaspora (North America, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and Asia) towards their political, economic, social and psychological freedom and/or unity from the 19th century to present. Some of its major themes include: Black Nationalism, Black Power, Ethiopianism, Negritude, Rastafarianism and Black Consciousness. The primary instructional methodology is the interpretation and critical analysis of Pan-African literature and films.
AAAS 340: Advanced Topics in African and African American Studies
Credits 4Studies in African and African American experiences through the analysis of selected topics. Emphasizes the development of information, interpretation and bibliography along with reading, writing and research skills.
AAAS 349: Du Bois and Sociology
Credits 4W.E.B. du Bois pioneered a liberatory sociology of emancipation grounded in rigorous empirical investigation of social problems. In this course, we will examine the Du Boisian roots of American sociology, studying some of his most influential texts for insights into how sociology can address important current public conversations about dismantling racist and exploitative structures of oppression.
AAAS 352: Politics of Africa
Credits 3Investigates the unique situation of African countries in terms of economics and international relations, with a focus on development (economic and human development) and conflict and cooperation both on the continent and between the region and the rest of the world. Taking a thematic approach, the course offers an overview of the central debates on these crucial questions and invites students to focus on how all these issues play out in one country of their choice. (Politics Subfield Designation: IR) (A.R.T.S Designation: S)
AAAS 357: Reading in African American Women History
Credits 4Explores select topics in the history of African American women from the era of antebellum slavery to the present, using such primary sources as slave narratives, autobiographies, documents and historical monographs. Topics include gender relations in the slave community, the gendered nature of slave resistance and rebellion, the politics of economic emancipation, women's activism and the role of women in the Civil Rights and Black Power movements.
AAAS 359: African Democracy & Dictatorship
Credits 3Explores the evolution of African dictatorship and asks whether democracy in sub-Saharan Africa is substantially different than democracy elsewhere in the world. Considers whether African countries' experimentation with different forms of governance — from civilian to military rule, from one-party states to multiparty democracies — has resulted in better governance.
AAAS 363: Afrofuturism in Black Literature
Credits 4This course investigates the spirit of emergent traditions within speculative African and African American literature ranging from science fiction to fantasy and other predominantly surrealist expressions. Occasionally, discussions will also foray into relevant connections in art, music and film as we interrogate the ever evolving trajectory of events and historical motivations behind the afro-speculative drive. Since this course seeks to extend ongoing discussions on black realities and cultures both in America and transnational settings, critical essays examining global constructs of black identity will serve as significant foundational content to class discussions and assignments.
AAAS 366: African American Political Thought
Credits 4Introducing various dimensions of African American political thought, this course surveys texts in African American intellectual history to examine how they redefine important political concepts such as identity, power, institution, state, citizenship, freedom and community.
AAAS 368: African American History to Emancipation
Credits 4A survey of African Americans from the era of the Atlantic slave trade to the passage of the 13th Amendment. Topics include the paradox of the co-existence of slavery and freedom, the nature of the slave community, the issue of slave resistance and the role of free African Americans in the abolition movement. Relies on first-hand accounts and secondary materials.
AAAS 369: African American History since Emancipation
Credits 4Surveys the history of African Americans from the era of Emancipation through the migrations that transformed blacks into a national, urban minority to the political, cultural and economic challenges in the era of conservatism. Topics include the struggle to define race and citizenship after the Civil War, the impact of migrations on black society and national politics, the consequences of the rise of a black industrial working class, campaigns for civil and human rights, and the emergence of the black power movement.
AAAS 378: History of South Africa
Credits 4Surveys the history of southern African society from the earliest times to the post apartheid era. Topics include the nature of early indigenous African societies, the entrenchment of European domination, the subjugation of African chiefdoms, the role of international capital in transforming the economy, African resistance to segregation and apartheid, and dismantling apartheid.
AAAS 379: The Civil War and Reconstruction: 1845-1877
Credits 4Focuses on 19th century issues leading to the Civil War and the multilayered legacy of the war, with particular attention to race and reunification. Examines the war's transformation of politics and the economy and the efforts of various groups to resist, control or reform a society in the throes of rapid change. Prerequisite: An Earlham Seminar, an Interpretive Practices course or consent of the instructor.
AAAS 482: Special Topics
Credits 4Selected topics determined by the instructor for upper-level study.
AAAS 484: Faculty/Student Collaborative Research
Credits 1 3Collaborative research funded by Faculty/Student Research Fund.
AAAS 488: Senior Capstone Experience
Credits 2Senior AAAS majors write a research thesis of high quality during the fall semester, then sit for an oral exam based on the completed research thesis during the spring semester. The thesis will focus on a selected topic in African, African American, Caribbean, or other Africa Diaspora life, history and/or culture. The thesis should reflect mastery of the selected subject of inquiry as well as critical thinking, writing and argumentation skills.
ENG 204: African American Literature
Credits 4An introduction to the study of literature focusing on the works of African Americans in the United States. Special attention to major developments in form and themes, major writers and the evolution of an African American literary tradition. Introduction to issues of black literary theory and criticism. Each course will focus on a particular literary period such as: Harlem Renaissance, the Black Arts Movement and the Literature of Bondage and Freedom. Appropriate for first year students. Prerequisite of an Earlham Seminar or consent of the instructor. An additional one hour will be added. Also listed as AAAS 204.
HIST 376: History of West Africa
Surveys the history of the Sudanic and forest regions of West Africa from c.1000 BCE to independence. Primarily emphasizes internal dynamics and external factors that shaped West Africa's development. Considers the cultural and social diversity of the region, the nature of the Sudanic and forest states, the importance of long-distance trade and Islam, the effects of the Atlantic slave trade, the impact of colonialism on African life, and the struggle for independence.