African American Studies (AAS) courses
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AAS 100 Introduction to African American Studies
General Education Course (Focus on Humanities).The course provides a multidisciplinary introduction of the many dimensions of the African American experience, including the African heritage and diaspora, slavery and freedom, African American artistic and literary expression, and the problem of racism in American society.
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AAS 312 Anthropology of Gender
Prerequisite: ANT 100 or ANT 303 or permission of instructor.Theories, concepts, and case studies relating to the cultural and social construction of gender from an anthropological perspective. Students will examine gender in relation to sexuality, fertility, child-bearing, self-identification, family, power, status, voice, hegemony/resistance, colonialism, and globalization in cultures and societies around the world. Identical with ANT 312. Cannot receive credit for both AAS 312 and ANT 312.
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AAS 323 Women in Africa
Recommended Prerequisite: HST 103 or HST 104. This course will introduce students to women's participation in Africa's history and contemporary issues. The readings cover a broad geographical range of North, West, Central and Southern Africa. The course will include five topics: Women and the Family; Women, Politics, and Economics; Religious Women; Women in Colonial Rebellion; and Women and National Revolutions. Identical with HST 323. Cannot receive credit for both AAS 323 and HST 323.
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AAS 330 Peoples and Cultures
Anthropological study of a cultural region of the world (such as the Caribbean, Latin America, or Southeastern Indians), including environment, subsistence, technology, economy, social and political organization, and religion. Identical with ANT 330. Cannot receive credit for both AAS 330 and ANT 330. Variable content course. May be repeated when topic changes.
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AAS 331 African American History I
Recommended Prerequisite: HST 121 or AAS 100. Survey of the experiences of Americans of African descent to 1865. Emphasis on African heritage; African-American contributions and institutions; slavery and quasi-freedom. Identical with HST 331. Cannot receive credit for both AAS 331 and HST 331.
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AAS 332 African American History II
Recommended Prerequisite: HST 122 or AAS 100. Continuation of AAS 331, 1865-present. Emphasis on the struggles for racial justice; protest organizations, philosophies and tactics. Identical with HST 332. Cannot receive credit for both AAS 332 and HST 332.
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AAS 333 Peoples and Cultures of Africa
An exploration of African societies (especially sub-Saharan), including family structure, gender relations, social and political organization, beliefs, economics, art, oral literature, music, dance, and other aspects of culture. Identical with ANT 332. Cannot receive credit for both AAS 333 and ANT 332.
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AAS 334 Conflict and Peace Building in Africa
Recommended Prerequisite: HST 103 or HST 104 or HST 121 or AAS 100. This course examines the historical roots, dimensions, and causes of conflict in Africa. Thematically organized to capture developments across the different regions in the continent, the course offers critical insights into the preponderance of conflict in Africa since the Cold War. In addition, the course explores the various ways through which Africans, its partners, and international organizations have fostered peace and conflict resolution in Africa over the years. Identical with HST 334. Cannot receive credit for both AAS 334 and HST 334.
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AAS 335 African Civilization
Recommended Prerequisite: HST 103 or HST 104. Historical developments in Africa from antiquity to the present. Emphasis on south Saharan Africa for the period before European contact. Topics in modern nationalism and independence. Africa in the context of world history. Identical with HST 335. Cannot receive credit for both AAS 335 and HST 335.
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AAS 336 Race and Ethnicity
This course explores the social construction of race and ethnicity. Issues of differential power between racial and ethnic groups and the economic, political, and social structures which are utilized to maintain these power differences are identified. Social movements and social policies designed to address social inequality, prejudice and discrimination are also examined. Identical with SOC 336. Cannot receive credit for both AAS 336 and SOC 336.
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AAS 338 Sources and Methods in African History
This course deals with knowledge generation, production, and dissemination about Africa and its peoples. It traces the origin, progress, and current state of scholarship on Africa and about Africans. It is about writing and understanding Africa and its history. It examines the kind of history that has been written about events in Africa. In other words, it is concerned with the study of and nature of history in Africa. Given this basic disposition, the course is a reflection on history in Africa as a discipline and the problems involved in the writing of African history globally. Identical with HST 338. Cannot receive credit for both AAS 338 and HST 338.
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AAS 339 Africa and the Wider World
Recommended Prerequisite: HST 103 or HST 104 or HST 121 or AAS 100. This course traces the history of Africa from the slave trade to independence. The course is thematically organized to capture developments across the different regions in the continent; and offers critical insights into the place of Africa in world history, especially in relations to and with global developments. As a survey course, the course offers insights into the different regions, paying particular attention to cultural, economic and political changes. Identical with HST 339. Cannot receive credit for both AAS 339 and HST 339.
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AAS 345 Enslavement in the Atlantic World
Recommended Prerequisite: HST 103 or HST 104; and HST 121 or AAS 100. This course examines various social, political, and economic developments of enslaved societies in the Americas (North, Central and South), the West Indies, and Africa from roughly the 1200s to the late-1800s with a primary focus upon the lives and roles played by people of the African Diaspora and their encounters with Europeans and Indigenous Americans. Identical with HST 345. Cannot receive credit for both AAS 345 and HST 345.
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AAS 346 African American Religious Experience
Recommended Prerequisite: REL 131. Explores the establishment and maintenance of African American religious institutions, particularly the Black Churches and their future development. Identical with REL 345. Cannot receive credit for both AAS 346 and REL 345.
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AAS 355 African American Literature
Prerequisite: ENG 110.Survey of representative works of fiction, poetry, drama, and creative nonfiction in the context of social and cultural movements. Identical with ENG 355. Cannot receive credit for both AAS 355 and ENG 355.
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AAS 363 Introduction to African Literature
Prerequisite: ENG 110.Survey of representative works of fiction, poetry, drama, folklore, personal narratives, and essays from various countries on the African continent written in or translated into English. Identical with ENG 363. Cannot receive credit for both AAS 363 and ENG 363.
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AAS 397 Topics in African American Studies
Prerequisite: permission.Topics of general interest in the area of African American Studies. Examples: African Independence, Negritude, Harlem Renaissance, 1960s Civil Rights Movement, the Black Panther Party, Nation of Islam in the U.S., Afrocentricism, and African/African American Destiny. Variable content course. May be repeated to a maximum of six hours, provided that the topic is different.
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AAS 455 African American Drama
Prerequisite: ENG 110.Study of African American drama from the antebellum period to the present, with emphasis on the intersections of dramatic art and such social and cultural movements as abolitionism, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Black Arts Movement. Identical with ENG 455. Cannot receive credit for both AAS 455 and ENG 455.
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AAS 490 Field Experience in Anthropology
Prerequisite: permission of instructor.Supervised group study and/or research in an off campus setting. A fee may be charged to cover travel expenses. Identical with ANT 490. Cannot receive credit for both AAS 490 and ANT 490. Variable content course. May be repeated when topic changes.
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AAS 497 Directed Reading
Prerequisite: permission.Analysis of various topics in African American Studies not covered in regular courses. Variable content course. May be repeated to a maximum of six hours, provided that the topic is different.
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AAS 531 African American Leaders and Movements
Prerequisite: 50 hours.Study of African American leaders and movements in the United States, with emphasis on the period since World War II. Identical with HST 531. Cannot receive credit for both AAS 531 and HST 531.
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AAS 532 History of Ancient Egypt
Recommended prerequisite: HST 103. History of ancient Egypt from its unification in approximately 3200 BCE through 500 CE. Foundation of this course is the political history of ancient Egypt, but special attention is paid to particular social history topics, such as the origins of monotheism during the Amarna Period, interactions with the outside world (especially with the ancient Near East, Nubia, and Classical Greece and Rome) and varied topics relating to daily life (e.g. early medicine and science, education, personal piety). A particular emphasis is placed on primary sources in translation and archaeological evidence. Identical with HST 532. Cannot receive credit for both AAS 532 and HST 532. May be taught concurrently with HST 632. Cannot receive credit for both HST 532 and HST 632.
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AAS 550 Modern African Politics
Prerequisite: PLS 101.Recommended Prerequisite: 50 hours. A comparative study of the political and economic systems of contemporary Africa with emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa. Ideologies and strategies pursued by selected African governments are covered, including an assessment of contemporary economic, political, and strategic ties within the region and internationally. The class will emphasize such areas as Mauritania, Senegal, Kenya, Somalia, Nigeria, and South Africa. Identical with PLS 550. Cannot receive credit for both AAS 550 and PLS 550.