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The African American Studies Department is a multidisciplinary program of study that seeks, through the humanities and social sciences, to explore key aspects of the Black experience in a systematic and structurally integrated fashion. Its broad educational purposes are to engender among all students an intellectual appreciation of Black life in Africa and the Americas (especially in the United States); to enrich the Oberlin College curriculum, and increase the relevance of an Oberlin education to a culturally diverse world. Thus, the Department strives to provide the student body, in general, with substantive knowledge of the Black experience and values that maximize possibilities for racial harmony. The department is aided in its efforts by the Afrikan Heritage House, which serves as the College's Black communal and cultural center. Curriculum. The African American Studies curriculum offers extensive study of the Black experience in a diasporic setting, including but not limited to, Africa, North America, and the Caribbean. These offerings are arranged in three categories: introductory, intermediate, and advanced. All introductory courses are open without prerequisite, except as indicated in the course description. African American Studies 101 and other beginning courses may serve as prerequisites to all intermediate and advanced courses. Major. The requirements for the major in African American Studies are consistent with our view of the field as a multidisciplinary and area studies program. Major prerequisites are designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the Black experience as well as a firm grounding in a single field of study. Both breadth and depth in the field are to be obtained by majors. The major consists of a minimum of 30 hours. In consultation with their major advisor, students are expected to develop a balanced program of study and to supplement their work with courses in fields related to their special needs and interests: 1. As the introduction to the discipline, African American Studies 101 is required of all majors and must be taken in the freshman or sophomore year. 2. All majors are required to take at least one course in each of the three following subject areas: African, African American, and Caribbean Studies. 3. All majors are required to take courses within the department that total not less than nine hours in the humanities and nine hours in the social science divisions of the major, as multidisciplinary training. Students must also ensure that these courses are drawn from at least four of the five core fields (i.e., education, history, literature, politics, and fine arts), with a minimum of three credit hours in each chosen field. 4. An additional nine hours, including the Senior Seminar, are to be taken in a single field of specialization in one of the following areas: education, history, literature, politics, and the fine arts (i.e. art, music, theater and dance). Students are required to show a balance between introductory and advanced courses in their specialization. 5. All majors are required to take the Senior Seminar in their junior or senior year. 6. Up to six hours of credit may be gained from cross-listed or cross-referenced courses (such as MHST 290, 291, POLT 224, RELG 284, and SOCI 277), or from approved cognate courses. Minor. A minor in the field consists of a minimum of 15 hours in African American Studies. In addition to the introductory survey course, student minors are expected to take at least one course from four of the five fields of: education, politics, history, literature or fine arts. All minors are required to take at least one three hour credit course in each of the three following subject areas: African, African American, and Caribbean Studies. Honors. The Honors Program offers an opportunity for majors of proven ability and independence to extend their competence in the field of African American Studies. Participation in the Honors Program shall be by invitation only. Students have the option of writing a research paper, completing a special arts project, or demonstrating advanced pedagogical skills. All Honors work is supervised by a faculty advisor who assists the student in defining the nature of his/her Honors project. Africa Program. Study opportunities are offered in the English-speaking countries of Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and Tanzania where students are placed at universities or accommodated in international programs like those offered by the School for International Training (SIT). Similar opportunities exist for students proficient in French at the Universities of Dakar, and Sheikh Anta Diop, in Senegal. Students on financial aid should consult the Director of Financial Aid before planning to participate in the program. Off-Campus Programs for Credit. Field work in programs approved by Oberlin College in Africa and the Caribbean is encouraged. In the United States there is a long-standing Fisk program in Tennessee which allows for the exchange of students between our two institutions. By approval of the department students may count a maximum of six hours of such work toward the major. Prior permission from the department must be obtained to receive credit. Transfer of Credit. Students transferring credits in African American Studies from courses taken at other institutions may apply a maximum of nine credit hours toward the major with the approval of the department. Individual cases for students who transfer into the College after their sophomore year will be reviewed by the department. Winter Term. The African American Studies faculty will sponsor individual projects, on- or off-campus, in African and African American art, dance, education, history, literature, politics, and theater. Private Reading. Students may schedule a private reading course during their junior or senior years. No more than one reading course may be taken in any one semester, nor more than two during the undergraduate program. Normally the private readings may not duplicate a regularly scheduled course. African American Studies Department Online (afamstud). For more information on courses, instructors or Afrikan Heritage House (the cultural center), please visit our home page at: www.oberlin.edu/afamstud/. Cross-Referenced Courses. The following cross-referenced courses count toward the African American Studies major and minor. MHST 290, 291 Introduction to African American Music, Mr. Logan POLT 224 Topics in Contemporary African Affairs, Ms. Sandberg RELG 284 The History of the African American Religious Experience, Mr. Miller SOCI 277 Race and Ethnic Relations, Mr. White
070. Talking Book 3 hours 3HU, CD Next offered 2005-2006. 072. Blues Aesthetic: Continuity and Transformation 3 hours 3HU, CD Second Semester. The emphasis of this course is upon the thesis that the Black or ˜Blues Aesthetic‚ is a cultural perspective that emerges from within the experiences of Black people, facing the socio-political and economic conditions of modern and contemporary America. Our focus will be upon the traditions of African American music, literature, theater/film, and specifically the visual arts. Identical to ARTS 072. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 12. Mr. Coleman 074. Something From Something 3 hours 3HU, CD Second Semester. This course is a ˜hands on‚ exploration of vernacular visual traditions existing within African American culture. We will examine design choices/material processes used to define and describe the specificity of lived experience(s) within African American culture. Our focus is upon elders within Black communities and the stories that they tell through their work. These artists will serve as references for assigned projects designed to reflect the experiences of the individuals enrolled. Consent of instructor required. Identical to ARTS 056. Enrollment Limit: 12. Mr. Coleman 101. Introduction to the Black Experience 3 hours 3SS, CD First and Second Semester. An interdisciplinary exploration of key aspects of Black history, culture, and life in Africa and the Americas. The course attempts to provide students with a fundamental intellectual understanding of the universal Black experience as it has been described and interpreted by humanists and social scientists. Included in the course will be such topics as: the African American Studies movement, the African heritage of Afro-Americans, Pan-African relations, racism and sexism, the family, the role of religion in Black life, class structure and class relations, the political economy of African American life, and Black political power. Declared majors are given priority for this course. Enrollment Limit: 45. Mr. Millette, Ms. Brooks FYSP 110. Black Women and Liberation 3 hours 3SS, CD, WRi First Semester. For description, please see -First-Year Seminar Program" in this catalog. Enrollment Limit: 15. FYSP 115. Literature of Atlantic Slavery 3 hours 3SS, CD, WRi Next offered 2005-2006. 118. Ritual and Performance I: The World According to the Yoruba and their Descendants in the New World 3 hours 3SS, CD, WR Next offered 2005-2006. 120. The Caribbean and the Wider World 3 hours 3SS, CD, WR Second Semester. For description, please see -Colloquia for First- and Second-Year Students" in this catalog. Mr. Millette FYSP 129. Coming of Age in African Literature 3 hours 1.5SS, 1.5HU, CD, WRi Next offered 2005-2006. 131. Traditional African Cosmology 3 hours 3SS, CD, WR Next offered 2005-2006. 141. The Heritage of Black American Literature 3 hours 3HU, CD Next offered 2005-2006. 171, 172. Introduction to African American Music 3 hours 3HU, CD First and Second Semester. Identical to JAZZ 290, 291 and MHST 290, 291. For description, please see -Jazz Studies" in this catalog. Enrollment Limit: 50. Mr. Logan 181. Education in the Black Community 3 hours 3SS, CD, WR First Semester. The philosophy of a Ghetto Scholar is the sole focus of this course. This highly creative and very original philosophy centers on a Ghetto Scholar‚s use of education to pursue the concept of GGG (the greatest good, for the greatest number, for the greatest period). Students are required to think imaginatively, analytically, and independently as they examine critical issues facing Black and other oppressed peoples. Education is essential to the attainment of a world that is liberated, peaceful, and humane. Enrollment Limit: 20. Mr. Peek 190. West African Dance Forms in the Diaspora I 3 hours 3HU, CD First Semester. This course will survey dance movement forms and technique from West Africa, to the New World through dance performance. A survey of dance performance using academic discourse as well as a movement vocabulary will be used. The influence of West African movements on the New World will include forms from Brazil, Cuba, and Haiti. This class will be taught from a traditional West African perspective and Pan-African world view. Identical to DANC 190. Enrollment Limit: 25. Ms. Sharpley 191. West African Dance Forms in the Diaspora II 2 hours 2HU, CD Second Semester. This course will expand the dance movements, forms, and techniques from AAST 190 class. Extensive dance performance within a particular area (Brazil, Cuba and Haiti) will be examined. The dances will be explored in their total experience in context with costumes and music. Prerequisites: AAST/DANC 190 or previous dance experience. Identical to DANC 191. Enrollment Limit: 30. Ms. Sharpley 192. West African Dance Forms in the Diaspora III 2 hours 2HU Next offered 2005-2006. 196. African American Dance History 3 hours 3HU, CD Second Semester. This course will trace African American dance and dancers from minstrelsy to the 1960s. The course will highlight the importance of the African form and how this form has impacted types of dances done by African Americans. The course will also explore ways in which African Americans both connect and separate sacred and secular dance forms and the codes that distinguish the two. Identical to DANC 196. Enrollment Limit: 30. Ms. Sharpley
Majors are given priority for enrollment in all intermediate and advanced courses. 202. African American History Since 1865 3 hours 3SS, CD First Semester. An analysis of African American history from the Reconstruction Era to the Rise of Black Power. Coverage includes: the Age of Booker T. Washington, Urbanization, Pan-Africanism, Depression and War, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Resurgence of Black Nationalism. Enrollment Limit: 50. Ms. Brooks 203. African History from Earliest Times to the 19th Century 3 hours 3SS, CD, WR Next offered 2005-2006. 204. African History 3 hours 3SS, CD, WR Next offered 2005-2006. 207. Seminar: HIV/AIDS and Development in Africa 2 hours 2SS First Semester. This course is designed to sensitize and provide a frame of reference through which individual students can better understand HIV/AIDS. The main focus in this course is to examine the challenges HIV/AIDS present in Africa in terms of the economic, social and demographic underpinnings of development. The course will also review and assess the strategies African countries have taken in the campaign against HIV/AIDS. Though focused on Africa as a region, the course will provide students with the building blocks necessary to design an HIV/AIDS prevention campaign. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 15. Mr. Ochwa-Echel 208. Slavery and Freedom in the Western Hemisphere 3 hours 3SS, CD, WR First Semester. This course examines the emergence of the African diaspora in the Western Hemisphere from the 15th century onwards. It focuses on the African historical background; the European contacts with West Africa, the Americas and the Caribbean; the rise of the Atlantic socio-economic and cultural complex; the development of New World economies and societies; the origins and organization of the slave trade and slavery; slave resistance, emancipation and the establishment of freedom. Enrollment Limit: 35. Mr. Millette 209. Society and Politics in the Modern Caribbean, 1838-1970 3 hours 3SS, CD, WR Second Semester. This course discusses the modern Caribbean from the emancipation of the slaves in the British West Indies to the independence and post-independence periods. It explores the post-emancipation social, economic and political problems; the introduction of East Indian indentureship; the later emancipations in the French and Spanish islands; political and economic modernization; the growth of the nationalist movements; independence and neo-colonialism. Enrollment Limit: 40. Mr. Millette 211. Seminar in Diplomacy: Model Organization of African Unity (OAU) 2 hours 2SS, CD Next offered 2005-2006. 213. Education and National Development in Africa 3 hours 3SS, CD Second Semester. This course examines the link between education and national development in Africa. Emphasis is given to understanding the relationship between education and development; international aid, education and role of donor agencies; gender, development and education; globalization and education; colonialism and education: legacies and links; lifelong learning and adult literacy programs and education for all. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 15. Mr. Ochwa-Echel 215. African American Women's History 3 hours 3SS, CD, WR First Semester. A general survey of the history of Black women from colonial times to the present. The course will examine the uniqueness of the Black female experience through the lens of the intersection of race, class and sex in American society. The course studies the lives of Black women from slavery through reconstruction, northern migration, the Harlem Renaissance, the civil rights movement, and on to the development of a contemporary Black feminism. The course includes literature and political commentary from Black women writers and activists. Identical to GAWS 280. Enrollment Limit: 20. Ms. Brooks 219. The Freedom Movement: Civil Rights and Black Power 3 hours 3SS, CD, WR Next offered 2005-2006. 231. African American Politics 3 hours 3SS, CD, WR Next offered 2005-2006. 235. Government and Politics of Africa 3 hours 3SS, CD, WR Next offered 2005-2006. 244. Modern African Literature 3 hours 3HU, CD, WR First Semester. An examination of 20th and 21st century African literature in English with a focus on the political and economic realities of modern day Africa. Keeping in mind that being a writer in Africa is a political act, often punishable by imprisonment and even death, we will appreciate African literature as a platform for political and social critique, as well as the multiplicity of African lives and cultures. Some authors discussed: Chinua Achebe, Ama Ata Aidoo, and Ben Okri. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 15. Ms. Gadsby 245. The Harlem Renaissance 3 hours 3HU, CD, WR First Semester. The Harlem Renaissance refers to the period of African American Arts and Letters from roughly 1919 to 1940. Our examination will include poetry, fiction and non-fiction, and will revolve around the ways in which writers, activists, and artists collaboratively extended African American aesthetic traditions, as we address the major themes, criticisms, and problems discussed by Black writers of the period. Works by Jean Toomer, Nella Larsen, Langston Hughes, and Claude McKay will be examined, among others. Note: Ten places held for consent. Enrollment Limit: 35. Ms. Gadsby 248. Black Women Writers 3 hours 3SS, CD, WR Next offered 2005-2006. 261. "Framing Blackness": African Americans and Film In The United States, 1915 to the Present 4 hours 4HU, CD, WRi First Semester. Through an interrogation of Hollywood's construction of Black images and the development of African American independent cinema, this class will examine the multifaceted relationship of African American people to the powerful medium of film. Drawing its title from Ed Guerrero's book of the same name, "Framing Blackness" will draw on historical and critical readings as well as film viewing. The course will also track the rise of independent Black voice in film and the development of a distinctively Afrocentric aesthetic. Discussions and paper will be used for evaluation. Enrollment Limit: 35. Ms. Jackson Smith 264. African American Drama 3 hours 3HU, CD Second Semester. Identical to THEA 264. For description, please see "Theater and Dance" in this catalog. Enrollment Limit: 20. Ms. Jackson Smith 268. Black Arts Workshop 3 hours 3HU, CD Next offered 2005-2006. 281. Practicum in Tutoring 1-3 hours 1-3SS, CD First and Second Semester. Tutors offer academic help to children in schools, homes, etc. Focus is on academically weak children generally, and on Black children specifically. By critiquing the instructor's tutorial demonstrations, tutors develop an appreciation and understanding of the Master Tutor Concept. TB test required. Obtain and return questionnaires before tutoring. Notes: Repeatable up to eight hours. CR/NE or P/NP grading. Enrollment Limit: 50. Mr. Peek
Majors are given priority for enrollment in all intermediate and advanced courses. 321. Seminar: Black Feminist Thought: An Historical Perspective 4 hours 4SS, CD, WR Second Semester. This seminar course will explore and analyze the evolution of intellectual discourse among African American women from slavery to the present. Particular attention will be given to the interplay of ideas about race and gender and the social and economic position of Black women at various time periods. Sources will include autobiographies, novels, historical documents, sociological studies, and modern feminist social critiques. Preferred prerequisite: AAST 215. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 15. Identical to GAWS 321. Ms. Brooks 336. Pan-Africanism Political Perspective 3 hours 3SS, CD, WR Second Semester. After having gained a broad overview of the evolution of political consciousness on the continent of Africa, students will be expected to examine in critical detail the more substantive problems posed by Pan-Africanism. What does Pan-Africanism mean to the different African peoples of the world? Who have been the significant contributors to its growth—Nkrumah, Garvey, Nyerere, Fanon, Karenga? What is the OAU in relation to the concept? What are the consequences of the military takeovers on the continent? What is the future of Pan-Africanism? Consent of instructor required. Identical to POLT 318. Enrollment Limit: 15. Mr. Saaka 343. Langston Hughes and the Black Aesthetic 3 hours 3HU, CD, WR Next offered 2005-2006. 346. Contemporary African American Literature: 1960-Present 3 hours 3HU, CD, WR Second Semester. This course examines African American Literature from 1937 to the present. Beginning with the literature of social realism (Ann Petry and Richard Wright) we will cover almost one hundred years of African American Literature, including some of the major critical discourses (Modernism, Protest, and the Black Arts Movement) that have guided its development over the past century. Other authors discussed include Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Gayl Jones, and Toni Cade Bambara. Consent of instructor required. Identical to ENGL 352. Enrollment Limit: 35. Ms. Gadsby 347. Culture, History, and Identity: Caribbean Literature and the Politics of Survival 3 hours 3HU, CD Second Semester. This course serves as introduction to Caribbean Literature. Students will examine a wide range of texts that exemplify the beginning and evolution of a literary tradition that is located on a continuum of African Diasporic Literatures. Our discussion will engage the historical, political, and cultural contexts out of which Caribbean Literature has emerged, particularly struggles against colonialism, neocolonialism, sexism, and global capitalism. Some authors discussed are Michelle Cliff, Edward Kamau Brathwaite, and Nalo Hopkinson. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 20. Ms. Gadsby 385. Black Pedagogy 3 hours 3SS, CD, WR Second Semester. Black children possess the inherent ability to score 1400 plus on the SATs and obtain As in school. This course examines the philosophy and practices of Honors Teachers. Students explore analytically and pragmatically a pedagogy designed to help ghetto children attain excellence in reading, writing, and arithmetic in spite of racism, poverty, etc. Enrollment Limit: 20. Mr. Peek 390. Essence Dance Class 1-2 hours 1-2HU, CD Second Semester. This course is designed to promote and develop creativity in dance performance through the Black experience. A variety of dance forms will be used such as: modern, Afro-forms, and Black urban vernacular dances. Students are expected to purchase costumes. Prerequisites: AAST 101, AAST 190, or AAST/DANC 191. Note: This class may be repeated for a maximum of four accumulated hours. CR/NE or P/NP grading. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 15. Ms. Sharpley 391. Dance Diaspora 3 hours 3HU, CD First Semester. Faculty directed performance project. Auditions are held during each semester before enrollment. Note: This class may be taken for four accumulated hours. African American Studies majors will have first priority. Identical to DANC 391. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 15. Ms. Sharpley 450. Senior Seminar 4 hours 4SS, CD, WR Second Semester. This course will cover aspects of philosophy, history, methodology and research methods in the discipline. This is a required course for all African American Studies majors during the senior year. Note: Juniors who are majors will be accepted only with consent of instructor or department chair. Consent of instructor required. Mr. Saaka 500. Junior Honors Project 3 hours 3SS, CD, WR Specialized readings pertaining to a well-defined Honors project. Students must be supervised by a member of the department to identify research sources. Note: Honors Program is by departmental invitation. Consent of chair required. 501, 502. Senior Honors 6 hours 6SS, CD, WR The preparation of Honors theses under the supervision of faculty supervisors. Note: Honors Program is by departmental invitation. Consent of chair required. 995. Private Reading 1-3 hours 1-3SS, CD Any student who is interested in undertaking a Private Reading course with a member of the department. |
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