African and African-American Studies Major, BA

Mission Statement

African and African-American Studies is a multi-disciplinary discipline designed to help students acquire a comprehensive and critical knowledge of Africa and the African diaspora. As a multidisciplinary program, the program embraces all those disciplines in the humanities and social sciences that are relevant to an understanding of the historical, political, social and economic conditions of African and African-descended peoples. Courses from history, geography, philosophy, art, literature, music, religion, sociology, political science, psychology, and other disciplines are used to broaden and illuminate the students’ understanding of the principal and critical issues in the discipline. The emphasis of the program is on the study of the political economy of Africa and the entire African diaspora. The program gives students an essentially liberal arts education and prepares them for advanced study in graduate and professional schools and to seek careers in the fields of education, law, international relations, and politics.

Admission

A student seeking admission to the African and African- American Studies program must have completed the General Education Core curriculum with a GPA of 2.5 or higher.

Degree Requirements

A student who wishes to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in African and African-American Studies must complete 42 semester hours of course work in African and African-American Studies with a grade of C or better in each course.

Program Requirements

1. A mandatory 3-hour foundation course: AAS 2301 Introduction to African & African-American Studies.
2. A minimum of 21 hours in the area of concentration: Africa, North America, or South America. AAS majors must choose an area of concentration.
3. A minimum of 6 hours in each of the remaining two regions: Africa, North America, or South America.
4. A minimum of 9 hours of an African or African diaspora language. This requirement may be satisfied by a proficiency examination.
5. A minimum of 15 hours of elective courses.
6. A mandatory 3-hour capstone course: AAS 4324

Senior Seminar in African & African-American Studies

TOTAL HOURS: A minimum of 121 semester hours, with a grade of “C” or higher in each required course and a minimum of 42 hours of upper division course work.

A minor is required.

Travel abroad is encouraged, but not required