This course will offer a broad survey of African peoples and the African Diaspora in the world, beginning with their African origins. Special attention will be paid to the enslavement of Africans, colonization, and the resultant freedom struggles undertaken by Africans and the African Diaspora. Satisfies SEEDS Ethical Inquiry student learning outcome in alignment with Diversity and Intercultural Competency value. Mutually Exclusive with HIS 105.
Prerequisite(s): WRT 105 with a final grade of C- or better. This course begins with the history of Africans, in continental Africa and their forced removal, and enslavement in North America and continues, through the Abolition movement, Emancipation, and Reconstruction. This course will examine the creolization of Africans in what became the United States, and the resultant religious, cultural, and political traditions. This is the first course in the African American History, sequence. Satisfies SEEDS Analyzing Cultures and Societies student learning outcome in alignment with Educated Citizenry value. Mutually Exclusive with HIS 207.
(Also ENG/WMS 222) Selected poetry, drama, fiction, autobiography, and essays by African-American authors, with emphasis on literary excellence. Authors range from Phillis Wheatley to Frederich Douglas, Imamu Amiri Baraka, Alice Walker, and Ishmael Reed. Lecture, discussion. Satisfies SEEDS Analyzing Cultures and Societies student learning outcome in alignment with Social Justice and Equity value.
Prerequisite(s): WRT 105 or WRT 109 with a grade of C- or better. This course examines African American history from the end of Reconstruction to the presidency of Barack Obama, focusing on the African American experience in a global context. Key themes include the backlash from white supremacists, Jim Crow laws, the New Left, internationalism, the Black Panthers, the Civil Rights Movement, desegregation, and the role of African Americans in the military and its connection to the struggle for equality. This course satisfies the Writing Intensive requirement. Satisfies SEEDS Analyzing Cultures and Societies student learning outcome in alignment with Educated Citizenry value. Mutually Exclusive with HIS 225.
Prerequisite(s): WRT 108 or WRT 109 with a grade of C- or better. Varied works of literature that illustrate how different races, ethnic groups, genders, and classes view themselves and each will be studied. Included are works of Philip Roth, Mary Gordon, Ishmael Reed and Alice Walker. Satisfies SEEDS Literary and Artistic Analysis student learning outcome in alignment with Social Justice and Equity value. Mutually Exclusive with ENG 226.
Prerequisite(s): Any Effective Writing I (EF1) course. This course surveys specific highlights in the rhetorical tradition (which, broadly speaking, focuses on the relationships between language and meaning) and what they can teach us about how we communicate persuasively. We will look carefully at a few specific points in the tradition's history (Nyaya systems, classical Greek, Enlightenment rhetorics of science, Ethiopian natural laws, and others) to explore their influences on (or exclusion from) language use in current social and political contexts. Satisfies SEEDS Political and Civic Life student learning outcome in alignment with Engagement, Agency, and Leadership value. Mutually Exclusive with WRT 229.
REL/AFS 232: Introduction to Islam introduces the foundational beliefs and practices of Islam within their historical, cultural, theological, political, and social contexts. It examines Islam’s origins in Arabia and its development into a globally diverse religious tradition. Cross-listed with Africana Studies, the course also explores Islamic traditions within African and Afro-diasporic contexts, highlighting their historical and intellectual contributions. Using an interdisciplinary approach, students analyze diverse interpretations of Islam across time and place, with attention to contemporary societies, including the United States. Topics include media representations of Islam, the impact of major global events on public perceptions, and intersections with race, gender, sexuality, political ethics, and ecology. The course emphasizes critical analysis of how religion shapes and is shaped by cultural exchange, power, and global systems. The course fulfills the SEEDS Analyzing Cultures and Societies learning outcome aligned with the Diversity and Intercultural Competence value.
Prerequisite(s): WRT 105, WRIT 105, or any Effective Writing I (EF1) SEEDS course. This special topics course examines the historical and contemporary intersections of race, gender, ethnicity, and class within Black, Africana, and African American experiences. Through interdisciplinary lenses—ranging from history, sociology, and cultural studies to science, technology, and political economy—students explore how systems of power, knowledge production, and socioeconomic structures shape Black life across global contexts. Topics include the impact of scientific discourse on racial formation, the dynamics of inequality and resistance, and the evolving cultural, political, and intellectual contributions of African and African-descended communities. Emphasis is placed on critical inquiry, comparative analysis, and engagement with both foundational texts and emerging scholarship. Satisfies SEEDS Analyzing Cultures and Societies student learning outcome in alignment with Social Justice and Equity value.
Prerequisite(s): CSJ 101, SOC 100, or PSY 100. This course concerns racial and ethnic inequalities from a sociological perspective. It focuses on the fundamental concepts of race, ethnicity, prejudice, and discrimination as they have played an important role in the maintenance of those inequalities. As such, the course examines how racial and ethnic inequalities have prevented social justice to be fully achieved, especially in the US. Satisfies SEEDS Political and Civil Life student learning outcome in alignment with Social Justice and Equity value. Mutually Exclusive with CSJ 241 and SOC 241.
Corequisite(s): AFS 248. Prerequisite(s): WRT 108 or WRT 109 with a final grade of C- or better. Broad review of the literary period known as the Harlem Renaissance or the New Negro Movement. An examination of poetry, fiction, critical essays, art, and music for social and aesthetic values projected in the artistic production of the day. Highlighting the transnational, transethnic texture of African-American social consciousness. Mutually Exclusive with ENG 248.
This course examines various expressions and forms of African spirituality, ethic, and culture. It challenges the long-standing myth that African religions are based on a monolithic cultural system. Religious traditions from West and Central Africa are central to the objectives of this course. Equivalent course REL/AFS 360 effective through Summer 2026. Mutually Exclusive with REL 260.
Prerequisite(s): WRT 108 or WRT 109 with a minimum grade of C- or higher and a 200-level literature course with a final grade of C or better, or the consent of the Instructor. Distinguished writers of African, Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Latin and African-American heritage. Emphasis is upon the theory and practice of diaspora and how it has shaped the literary voices of writers of African descent. Mutually Exclusive with ENG 363.
Prerequisite(s): any Effective Writing I (EF1) course. From its inception, Black screenwriters, directors, and actors have been integral to—though often undervalued within—the U.S. film industry. This course makes films written, directed by, and starring people of African descent the centerpiece of our study. We will trace the development of African American cinema from the early twentieth century with the iconic director Oscar Micheaux through the era of Blaxploitation and the post-Civil Rights wave of Black filmmakers, including Spike Lee and Cheryl Dunye. The second half of the semester will be focused on the current renaissance in Black film and will include contemporary directors such as Barry Jenkins, Ava DuVernay, Ryan Coogler, and Jordan Peele. Along the way, we will consider the tropes and themes that bind this tradition of Black film as well as the distinct counter-stories that these filmmakers present to American moviegoers about race, gender, sexuality, and class (as well as their intersections). As a high-impact writing-intensive and diversity/global learning course, students should be prepared to engage actively in class discussions, compose reflective journal entries, deliver presentations, and demonstrate their knowledge and analytical skills on the final exam. This course satisfies the SEEDS: Literary and Artistic Analysis and the Diversity and Intercultural Competency value.