African/African-American Studies

The program in African and African American Studies provides a cross-culturally and historically comparative framework to study the rich connections and exchanges among African people, their descendants, and the various "new worlds" in which they have made and are making their lives. A particular strength of Carleton's African and African American Studies program is the opportunity to explore these issues on the African continent as well as in numerous African diasporas--of varying historical depth--in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. African and African American Studies combines area studies and ethnic studies foci on the cultural, literary, political, social, and intellectual responses to slavery, colonialism, missionization, and racialization throughout Africa and its many diasporas.

Students can pursue their intellectual interests in Africa and its diasporas through on-campus courses and off-campus studies programs (including four programs offered through Carleton's departments of French and Francophone Studies, History, and Environmental Studies), and through a rich variety of courses in nearly all curricular exploration divisions. Through multidisciplinary training, students are encouraged to develop their analytic, research, and literary skills; they acquire the intellectual tools to critique and correct the distortions and silences about Africans and their descendants in both academic canons and public discourse.

The African and African American Studies major thus prepares students for lifetime engagement in scholarship as well as in fields such as law, public policy, education, public health, social work, and the arts. Toward this end, and in addition to coursework, students are encouraged to take advantage of the rich array of speakers, exhibits, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities related to Africans and their diasporas.

Students majoring in African and African American Studies create their own program of study by choosing courses in a structured and reflective manner from a variety of disciplinary departments. In developing their program, students should talk to the department about courses that have particularly high African, African Diaspora, and/or African American Studies content. They are particularly encouraged to choose these courses from among the list of relevant courses. Courses marked AFAMPERT can complement the major, but do not count toward the required nine courses plus comprehensive exercise without special permission of the Program Director. Because of the complexities of creating a meaningful program from a wide array of departmental offerings, students interested in majoring should draw up a program of study that has breadth and depth in consultation with the Director of African and African American Studies before declaring their major.

Students must complete at least one interdisciplinary course offered by the African/African American Studies program, three survey courses introducing the "state of the field" of African and/or African Diaspora studies within specific disciplines, and at least five 200- and 300-level distribution courses. Among these distribution courses, students choose at least one course each from among the humanities, social sciences and arts and literature; at least four of the distribution courses must be at the 200-level or above and at least one at the 300-level.

The African and African American capstone experience, the two-credit AFAM 398 course, consists of a portfolio and reflective essay drawing together the student's work in the major. The comprehensive exercise is a substantial (approximately 34-40 page) research paper grounded in two complementary disciplines, advised by two faculty members chosen from these two disciplines.

Requirements for a Major

I. Admission to the program will depend upon the acceptance, by the African/African American Studies Committee, of a written proposal outlining the student's program of study.

II. Interdisciplinary Course (6 credits). Each student must complete one interdisciplinary 6-credit course which, in part, specifically discusses African/African American Studies as an interdisciplinary field:

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III. Survey Courses (18 credits). Each student must take three of the following 6-credit courses:

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IV. Distribution Courses (30 credits). Each student should take 30 credits of distribution that are essential to African and African-American Studies. Among these distribution courses, students must choose at least one 6-credit course each from among the three disciplinary groups: humanities, social sciences and arts and literature; at least four of the distribution courses must be at the 200-level or above and at least one at the 300-level. The 300-level course should be completed in one of the two disciplines in which the student writes his/her comprehensive exercise; in this course the student must produce a substantial paper or project in African and/or African American Studies. In addition, majors are highly encouraged to take the AMST 345 junior methods course, WGST 200, or a methods course in one of the academic disciplines that contribute to African and African American Studies. HIST 182 cannot double count as a survey course.

Arts and Literature

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Humanities

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Social Sciences

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Additional Distribution Electives: Arts Practice

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V. Senior Seminar/Capstone Experience (2 credits)

The capstone experience consists of AFAM 398, a two-credit course in which the student creates a portfolio of their work in African and African American studies and writes a 5-10 page reflective essay tying these papers together. This course gives students an opportunity to seriously reflect about the courses they have taken and the work they have produced within the major, and to draw connections among them. By bringing together African and African American Studies majors and concentrators, this two-credit course facilitates common discussion of the main themes in African and African American Studies and how they are woven through the corpus of each student's underguaduate opus.

VI. Comprehensive Exercise (6 credits): AFAM 400

The comprehensive exercise is a substantial (approximately 34-40 page) research paper on a topic within African, African American, and/or African Diaspora studies, grounded in two complementary disciplines, advised by two faculty members chosen from these two disciplines. The student should have completed a 300-level course in one of these two disciplines. The comps process begins with a proposal in fall term of the senior year, and ends with a final written thesis and oral presentation early in spring term.

African/African American Studies Courses

AFAM 115 An Introduction to African American Culture, Practice, and Religion This course introduces students to a complex array of concerns facing African Americans from slavery to our contemporary moment. Engaging in close readings of texts from a variety of genres that capture the dynamics of African American experiences, several questions will guide our efforts as we attempt to make sense of African American praxis today. Examples are: What does agency look like in conditions of bondage and systematic disenfranchisement? What does the adjective, Black, mean when we talk about black culture or the Black Church? 6 credits; HI, IDS; Not offered 2015-16

AFAM 125 New African Migrations African societies have long been shaped by migration--including quests for new knowledge, land, and livelihoods as well as the coercive migrations of slavery and refugee flight. Recent transformations in global political-economies and local conditions have made migration a central feature of contemporary African life. This course introduces students to African and African diaspora studies through an examination of new African migrations. Starting with the formation of "domestic diasporas" through rural-urban migration within African countries, we will explore connections and ruptures created by south-south international migrations within the African continent, and transnational migrations to the United States and Europe. 6 credits; SI, WR2, IS; Spring; Pamela Feldman-Savelsberg

AFAM 130 African American Social Movements Social movements have played a critical role in African American communities, as both struggles for freedom and liberation as well as struggles for identity and recognition. This course examines several specific social movements, including the Civil Rights Movement, Black Power movement, and Black Feminism, among others, from multiple disciplinary perspectives. We will examine these movements comparatively through the disciplinary lenses of history, sociology, political science, and communication studies, and consider their trajectory through the contexts within which they emerge and develop. We will also evaluate these movements in terms of participants' social identities as well as movements' varying ideologies. 6 credits; IDS, SI; Not offered 2015-16

AFAM 182 Black Identity and Belonging In his essay "Of Our Spiritual Strivings," W.E.B. Du Bois famously asked "how does it feel to be a problem?" Referring to the socio-cultural contradictions that plagued black American life at the turn of the twentieth century, Du Bois' question has sparked debates on black identity and belonging in both international and domestic contexts. This course surveys the writings of people of African descent as they have historically grappled with the question of what it means to be black. We insert black intellectual voices into important sociological, anthropological, and philosophical debates on issues of race, gender, diaspora, and national belonging. Not offered 2015-16

AFAM 194 The Black Middle Class Since the 1960s, the black middle class has been an object of debate and interest, both among scholars and in society. In this course, we will examine the black middle class from an interdisciplinary perspective, specifically considering questions and problems posed in economics, sociology, history and literature. Among other topics, we will examine when and how the black middle class emerged, its distinctiveness from its white and working-class counterparts, and its implications and larger meaning in popular culture and public discourse about race, class, and American society. 6 credits; SI, IDS; Not offered 2015-16

AFAM 398 African and African American Studies Capstone What relationships can you draw among your varied coursework and papers in African and African American Studies? How does interdisciplinarity affect your thinking about the study of the African continent and its numerous diasporas? In this two-credit course students will create a portfolio of their work in African and African American studies and write a 5-10 page reflective essay tying these papers together. Guided by a faculty member, this course gives students an opportunity to reflect seriously about the courses they have taken and the work they have produced within the major or concentration, and to draw connections among them. Prerequisite: African/African American Studies Senior major or concentrator. 2 credits; S/CR/NC; NE; Winter; Pamela Feldman-Savelsberg

AFAM 400 Integrative Exercise 1-6 credit; S/NC; Winter; Pamela Feldman-Savelsberg

Other Courses Pertinent to African/African American Studies

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