UB Undergraduate Catalog 2006-2007: African American Studies

African American Studies - B.A.
African American Studies - Minor
African American Studies/Education - Minor
Course Descriptions
More About: African American Studies
Undergraduate Faculty Listings

African American Studies

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Department of African American Studies

College of Arts and Sciences
732 Clemens Hall
North Campus
Buffalo, NY 14260-4680

Phone: 716.645.2082/2083
Fax: 716.645.5976
Web: www.africanamericanstudies.buffalo.edu/

Lillian S. Williams
Chair

About the Program

African American Studies provides students with an understanding of the diverse African American and African Diaspora experiences. It features examinations and analyses of the unique historical, political, and sociocultural experiences of African Americans in the context of U.S. history and society. It also relates the African American experience to African history and to cognate experiences of people of African descent living in Latin America and the Caribbean. The department�s curriculum covers a broad spectrum of topics in the arts, humanities, and social sciences that are pertinent to these historical and sociological experiences.

The department encourages students to complete either a joint or double major or a double degree.
Joint Major- Students complete 67 percent of the requirements of both departments.
Double Major- Students complete all requirements of both departments.
Double Degree- Students complete 30 credit hours above the bachelor-level requirements.

Degrees Offered

Undergraduate: B.A.

Graduate: M.A., Ph. D. American Studies

Advisement

Students who have advanced placement credit in African American Studies may substitute those courses for comparable AAS courses.

Transfer Policy

Students who wish to transfer to the University at Buffalo and pursue a major in African American studies must first be accepted by the university�s admissions office before applying to the department. Students are referred by Student Advising Services to this department so that all transfer credits can be evaluated and applied. The UB Department of African American Studies attempts to keep current with the curricular offerings of a number of feeder institutions. Because these offerings are subject to change, however, transfer students are advised to bring course descriptions and syllabi to the director of undergraduate studies.

African American Studies - B.A.

Acceptance Criteria

Minimum GPA of 2.0 overall.
Minimum GPA of 2.0 in the prerequisite courses.

Prerequisite Courses

AAS 100 Introduction to African American Studies (or equivalent) and two additional departmental courses at any level.
Minimum sophomore-year status.

Required Courses

AAS 100 Introduction to African American Studies
AAS 260 Major Issues in African American Studies or AAS 261 Survey of the African American Experience
AAS 270 Major Issues in Caribbean Studies
AAS 280 Survey of African Studies
AAS 358 African Diaspora: Social and Cultural Evolution
AAS 363 Methods and Directed Readings
AAS 463 Senior Seminar: Senior Research Project
Required electives: Five AAS courses (15 credit hours) at the 200-level and above with a minimum of 9 credit hours at the 300/400-level, no more than 4 credit hours Independent Study, and no more than 3 credit hours from outside AAS without permission

Summary
Total required credit hours for the major: 39

See Baccalaureate Degree Requirements for general education and remaining university requirements.

Recommended Sequence of Program Requirements

FIRST YEAR
Fall-AAS 100
Spring-AAS 260 or AAS 261

SECOND YEAR
Fall-AAS 270, one 200/300/400-level AAS elective
Spring-AAS 280, AAS 358

THIRD YEAR
Fall-AAS 363, one 200/300/400-level AAS elective
Spring-One 300/400-level AAS elective

FOURTH YEAR
Fall-One 300/400-level AAS elective
Spring-AAS 463, 0ne 300/400-level AAS elective

Emphasis Areas
Department of African American Studies courses fall into several clusters:
Art and culture
Gender
Globalization
Health and the environment
Law and public policy

Students are encouraged to pursue clusters, although they can also pursue general concentrations in the social sciences and humanities.

African American Studies - Minor

Acceptance Criteria

Minimum GPA of 2.0 overall.
Completion of one of the following: AAS 100, AAS 260, AAS 261, AAS 270, or AAS 280.

Required Courses

Two of the following courses:
AAS 100 Introduction to African American Studies
AAS 260 Major Issues in African American Studies
AAS 261 Survey of the African American Experience
AAS 270 Major Issues in Caribbean Studies
AAS 280 Survey of African Studies
Four 200/300/400-level AAS courses

Total required credit hours for the minor......18

African American Studies/Education - Minor

Acceptance Criteria

Minimum GPA of 3.0 overall. Before attempting this minor, students must have completed all requirements for an African American studies major and any other courses stipulated by the Teacher Education Institute. An application for the minor should be filed with the student�s advisor. Additionally, an application for admission to the teacher certification program must be filed with the Teacher Education Institute, 375 Baldy Hall, North Campus.

Course Descriptions

AAS 100 Introduction to African American Studies

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC

Uses approaches and methods designed to explore and understand the African American experience and the African Diaspora. The course aims to acquaint students with the nature of African American studies as a field of intellectual inquiry and as a degree program offered by the University at Buffalo.

AAS 118 Introduction to African American Music

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC

Provides students with the history and traditions of African and African American music. Introduces students to all the various modes and genres such as spiritual, gospel, ragtime, jazz, rhythm 'n blues, rock 'n roll, soul and hip hop.

AAS 119 Research: Essential Composition Skills

Credits: 1
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM

Offers instruction in the elements of composition, and helps students improve their writing skills. The course focuses on developing the students� understanding of the logic and style of argumentative, descriptive, expository, and narrative writing. It concentrates especially on the arrangement and form of documented and undocumented essays such as book reviews and term papers. It also gives attention to the selection, interpretation, and evaluation of source material and to the physical appearance of essays.

AAS 184 Classic Black Prose

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC

Introduces students to classic writings of blacks in the Western Hemisphere. Readings include autobiographical or semi autobiographical works that focus upon physical and mental servitude and colonialism, migration and liberation struggles in the United States and the Caribbean, specifically.

AAS 230 Topics in African American Studies

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM

Focuses upon a specific topic in the interdisciplinary field of African American Studies. Students prepare a bibliographical essay.

AAS 231 Topics in African American Studies

AAS 232 Topics in African American Studies

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC

A specific topic in the interdisciplinary field of African American Studies. Students prepare a bibliographical essay.

AAS 233 Topics in African American Studies

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM

A specific topic in the interdisciplinary field of African American Studies. Students prepare a bibliographical essay.

AAS 234 Topics in African American Studies

AAS 235 Topics in African American Studies

AAS 236 Topics in African American Studies

AAS 237 Topics in African American Studies

AAS 238 Topics in African American Studies

AAS 239 Topics in African American Studies

AAS 253 Blacks in Films 1

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC

Examines the various roles of blacks, both in films produced by black and by white filmmakers. The course offers a range of films, including the early silents of the 1920�s-1930�s, the black films of the sixties and seventies, and contemporary films. Guest lecturers (film stars, directors) discuss informally their roles in films.

AAS 254 Blacks in Films 2

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC

Beginning in the late 1940�s a change in films dealing with blacks became evident. The social consciousness of the post World War II generation had an effect on the values and conditions faced by blacks. The film industry began to reflect this awareness by producing films that addressed social issues. Deals with the reflective films of the last half of the 20th century.

AAS 260 Major Issues in African American Studies

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC

Overview of the major issues in the field of African American studies. Offered as a series of lectures and assigned readings, this course uses a variety of disciplines to survey the conditions and development of African Americans from the Atlantic slave trade to the present.

AAS 261 Survey of the African American Experience

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC

Surveys the history and culture of African Americans in the United States from the period of arrival in North America to the present. The course involves study of African American social, economic and political institutions and slavery�North and South; theories of the social and psychological impact of slavery, free blacks; emancipation and reconstruction to discrimination; changing art forms north and south; and development of folk and jazz styles in music, dance and theatre.

AAS 264 Black Child in America

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM

Focuses on the great variety of black children�s experiences in the United States, including their experiences both during slavery in the Southern country towns and in the emerging "ghettos" in the North. The course also discusses historical development of social service programs such as Aid to Dependent Children and other government policies. It also explores various issues that contribute to the welfare of African American children.

AAS 265 Spiritual and Gospel Music

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM

A study of spiritual and gospel which constitutes the musical ensemble that deals with ways African slaves in America coped with hardships of slavery by expressing their dreams and hopes to be free.� This was accomplished by using topics involving Biblical characters, folk songs from Africa, the slave American experience.� Explores ways in which this tradition of music has been integrated into general American folk traditions of song and dance, well beyond the slave plantations where they originated.

AAS 270 Major Issues in Caribbean Studies

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC

Provides a social, political and economic overview of the Caribbean. While the course focuses on the twentieth century, it also provides an historical framework for understanding the region. Discussions of that framework and of the geography and economy of the region lay the groundwork for the course. Class sessions are devoted in great degree to social and cultural issues, including ones relating to family, education, literature, religion, and popular pastimes. Our analyses uncover common experiences and identities across linguistic and other boundaries, but space is reserved for particular territories of special historical experience and interest�Haiti and Cuba notably.

AAS 280 Survey of African Studies

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC

Overview of African history and politics since the continent�s contact with Western Europe in the late fifteenth century. Covers the subject matter in three phases: precolonial times, colonialism, and the postcolonial era. We seek to (1) understand the scope and consequences of the Arab and European slave trade in Africa, (2) examine the dynamics of European imperialism in Africa, and (3) offer perspectives on current African problems.

AAS 293 Race & The Law

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM

Explores that part of U.S. law that has dealt with the human and civil rights of African Americans (and by implication other racial ethnic groups in U.S. society: Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, etc.) We do this by examining the relevant legislation and U.S. Supreme Court decisions. However, where appropriate, decisions of the Executive branch made under various 'Executive Orders' are also considered. Any understanding and appreciation of U.S. constitutional democracy requires us to acknowledge the powerful role of race in the evolution of this democracy. Consequently regardless of the time period--the lives of all in the U.S. (of whatever color and sex) have been touched by the interaction between law and race. In Part One of the course we concentrate on an area of legal studies called �Critical Race Theory,� where our concern is to explore the interaction of law and race from the perspective of issues such as culture, history, gender, identity, politics, class, the media, etc. In Part Two we examine the interaction between race and law from the perspective of the historical evolution of democracy in the U.S.

AAS 294 Education of African Americans

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM

Examines education from the perspective of equality of educational opportunity for African Americans and other racial minorities. Considers both the history of the struggle for equality of educational opportunity by African-Americans and the many dimensions of the struggle today - both inside and outside the classroom. Topics include: Brown v. Board of Education, the Civil Rights Movement, racial perspectives on intelligence, affirmative action, the socio-economic and socio-psychological basis of school achievement, teachers and racial identity, the multi-cultural curriculum, race and ethnicity in higher education, desegregation and re-segregation.

AAS 301 African American Literature: Prose

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC

A survey of African American literature from mid-eighteenth century to the present. Explores historical, cultural, and aesthetic influences. Writers include those from the the fugitive school, the Harlem Renaissance, the literary mainstreamers, the New Black Arts Movement and the modern Black womanist tradition.

AAS 302 Black Women Writers

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM

A study of modern literature by Black women writers, with emphasis on the major traditions, i.e., naturalist, civil rights, the new Black Arts movement, Black womanism, etc. and the writers' contribution to the shaping of modern literary culture. Explores the writers' expressions of political, social, artistic and aesthetic issues.

AAS 305 Song, Sex, and Soul

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC

Uses the lyrics and rhythms of African American music to examine some of the cultural history of the United States. The examination emphasizes how the lyrics and rhythmic patterns of this music affect our daily lives.

AAS 306 Structure of Urban Policy

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM

An introduction to poverty as a major social issue facing urban African-American communities. Uses an analysis of institutional discrimination to develop a comprehensive analysis of Black urban poverty as shaped by race, class, and gender. Topics covered might include surveying of how Black poverty has been analyzed in scholarship and public policy, assessing specific public policies such as Urban Renewal, school desegregation and busing, public housing, and Section 8 housing programs, for their effects on Black poverty, and exploring the special needs of specific poverty populations such as Black children.

AAS 315 Ancient African Civilizations

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC

Provides an intensive examination of humans and society in ancient Africa, stretching back to humankind�s evolution and including an analysis of early forms of African state formations. Ancient Africa is cut off from the period of European presence in Africa, marked by the beginnings of the Atlantic Slave Trade. The course features the following themes and topics: (1) Prehistoric ancient Africa; (2) the desiccation of the Sahara and its consequences; (3) Africa and Mediterranean civilizations; (4) Coptic Christianity and the early history of Christianity; (5) Islam and its brush with Christianity in ancient Africa; (6) Africa�s ancient state formations; (7) the impact of Arab invasion and occupation on ancient African state formations; (8) the Bantu migration hypothesis; and (9) the mystery of the Great Zimbabwes. All of these lead to an examination of the dynamics of civilizations in ancient Africa, including their failed forms, using Arnold Toynbee�s perspectives on the rise and fall of civilizations as a theoretical point of departure.

AAS 326 African-American Political Development

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC

Introduces students to black political development in the Western Hemisphere, particularly emphasizing the Caribbean area and the socio-political relationships between black West Indians and other black communities in the Western Hemisphere.

AAS 327 Current African History

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM

Considers major current events in Africa. However, in focusing on current events our approach involves examining the historical roots of these events.

AAS 333 Race, Ethnicity, and Education

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC

Explores how factors of race and ethnicity affect the relationship between schooling and society in the United States. Among the issues covered are school curriculum, equality of educational opportunity, socialization, power and ideology, school-government relations, and educational reform.

AAS 345 American Ethnicities

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM

Examines the phenomenon of ethnicity as a salient principle of social organization in America. The course seeks also to clarify what is unique about black ethnicity in America, analytically and historically, and to compare African American experiences with those of other ethnic groups.

AAS 355 Race, Class, and Society

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM

Considers how the social divisions of race, gender, ethnicity, and class in the United States today influence the functioning of society in terms of politics, economics, culture, and so on. The course also places special emphasis on current and historical African American experiences.

AAS 358 Africa Diaspora: Social and Cultural Evolution

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM

Treats broad aspects of the black diasporic experience in both the eastern and western hemispheres. Also examines the pre-slave and post-slave eras, reviewing and analyzing a range of social, cultural, economic, and political movements and issues.

AAS 361 Slavery and the Underground Railroad

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM

Deals with an aspect of American history (roughly 1830-1860) involving the quest for freedom by African slaves who ran away from bondage through an elaborate system of escape routes stretching from the U.S. South to the North and Canada. Labeled the �Underground Railroad,� these networks were managed by �conductors� who helped their �passengers� (the escaped slaves) move from �station� to �station� and to reach freedom in the North. The course probes the background history of slavery, the legislative backcloth of the Underground Railroad, its geography of routes, and the biography of its major �conductors.� The course also explores the local history of the Underground Railroad of Western New York, including planned visits to its �stations� in Buffalo, Rochester, and Ontario.

AAS 363 Junior Seminar: Directed Readings

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: permission of instructor
Corequisites: None
Type: TUT

Introduces students to the interdisciplinary field of African American Studies, its relationship to other disciplines, and to social science research methodology. Students read the classic literature in the field and prepare annotated bibliographies. Topics covered may include slavery, colonialism, urbanization and migration, gender and gender construction, and intellectual movements.

AAS 372 Selected African American Writers

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC

Focuses on an adherence to traditional themes in the African American canon and those writers whose outstanding efforts have continued the evolution of that canon. Discusses the themes of community and freedom and literacy, as well as the trope of black signifying.

AAS 377 Caribbean Literature

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM

Examines the literature of the Islands within the context of historical, social, political, and economic circumstances that manifest themselves across linguistic boundaries. This seminar is devoted to major prose works written in English or in translation. Includes introductory lectures that examine broader issues relating to Caribbean literature. The class experience is enriched by videos and guest lecturers. The creative prose works are selected with an eye to thematic and conceptual variety.

AAS 386 Male-Female Relationships

Credits: 3
Semester: Sp
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM

Explores the function of various societal traits that dominate a relationship and how religion, education, economic status, family beliefs, racial beliefs, and friends influence the way a couple interacts. There are many struggles in relationships that take on such forms as dominance or subservience, fear or hope, and jealously or acceptance.

AAS 392 The Black Church

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM

Explores the origin and development of the African American church and its role in the sociopolitical and economic organization of African Americans in a comprehensive historical and sociological overview of the African American religious experience. The course examines elements of the black church that have survived from Africa and includes considerations of the black presence in the Bible. It considers in some details the enlarged black church in the post-emancipation era, including its social roles in the economy, education, etc., and its transformation during the great migration of the World War I Era. The course also considers the contribution of black theology to modern black liberation and the Civil Rights movement.

AAS 393 Survey of Black Middle Class

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: LEC

Simultaneously examines two centuries of black middle class virtues and vices, while each student carries out a self-examination of his/her own middle-class status and/or aspirations. Achieves the second exercise with the aid of interest tests that serve as guides for each student�s five-year plan after graduation.

AAS 399 Community Internship

Credits: 1 - 5
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: TUT

Assigns to students a research project with a community-based organization, agency, or center. Much time is spent studying how the agency structures and disseminates its services. Provision for effective research enables the student to participate in the black community and observe the dynamics of community activities and the role of the black community in decision making in government and social agencies and in the development of cultural and economic activities.

AAS 414 Health Problems in the Black Community

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM

Addresses issues of health and disease in the African diaspora from the point of view of African people�s biology and culture. Includes African healing traditions in the Caribbean and North America, as well as black responses to modern medical revolutions. Examines selected public health issues in black communities, such as AIDS and homicide.

AAS 415 Black Face/White Forum

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM

Explores the cultural development of African Americans during the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth century. Requires students to be familiar with the secondary literature on African Americans� history and culture. Also analyzes some aspects of black�s social and political life in an urban setting.

AAS 416 Black/White View of America

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM

Examines how African Americans view themselves and how they view the opportunities available to them. We look at how the supposed differences in the viewpoints of blacks and whites divide American society into the haves and the have-nots, and how the similarities remain a secret hidden by our educational system and mass media.

AAS 417 Contemporary Black Film Culture

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM

Introduces the major images elements of sound, lights, space, and time-motion, and how they are used in film and television to influence perception. The course is designed to provide students with criteria to help them judge and experience media-articulated messages at different intellectual and emotional levels. Analyses and discusses specially selected television and film materials in terms of how media elements can be used to influence perception and emotions. Encourages students to do comparative analyses of different types of mass media communications to discover relevant cultural elements and the principles underlying their uses.

AAS 425 Liberation Struggles of the African Diaspora

Credits: 3
Semester: Sp
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM

Focuses on the movements of people of African descent in search of freedom from colonialism, racial oppression, slavery, and apartheid. Uses a comparative approach to trace evolving programs and conceptions of the freedom struggle across generations and regions. Topics include the Haitian Revolution, the African-America civil rights movement, the South African anti-apartheid movement, and the anti-colonial movements of Africa and the Caribbean.

AAS 460 Black Women in United States History

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM

Examines the history of black women in the United States from the slave era through the reform movements that occurred after World War II. Focuses on the range of demands placed on black women during the Gilded and Progressive eras�the founding of the National Association of Colored Women in 1896, their participation in the women�s suffrage movement, black struggles for liberation in the United States and in the African Diaspora, cultural movement, war, labor force participation, and health. Also explores black women�s interaction with male-dominated groups and feminists from other racial and ethnic groups. Students will analyze black women as leaders, their leadership styles and the impact that they have made on constituents.

AAS 461 Special Topics

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: SEM

This research and reading seminar each semester explores a specific topic in African American Studies. Topics may include urbanization, women�s history, archeology, slavery, civil rights, labor, etc.

AAS 497 Honors Seminar

Credits: 4
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: TUT

One-semester course; builds on AAS 363 and culminates in a research project in cooperation with a member of the department�s faculty. The Honors Seminar is tutored at a level more advanced than in the B.A. major program. Students complete AAS 464 with an awareness of the discipline�s history, its changing foci and relation to other disciplines, its great works and pivotal intellectual figures, and its important research tools and resources.

AAS 498 Senior Seminar:Research Project

Credits: 3
Semester:
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Type: TUT

One semester course; builds on AAS 363 and culminates in a research project in cooperation with a member of the department's faculty. Students complete AAS 463 with an awareness of the discipline's history, its changing foci and relation to other disciplines, it s great works and pivotal intellectual figures, and its important research tools and resources.

AAS 499 Independent Study

Credits: 1 - 4
Semester:
Prerequisites: permission of instructor
Corequisites: None
Type: TUT

The content of this course is variable and therefore it is repeatable for credit. The University Grade Repeat Policy does not apply.

Students conduct research or a project under the supervision of a member of the department's faculty.

Updated: Feb 27, 2007 12:50:23 PM