Graduate Courses for Afro-American Studies (AASP)

Schedule of Classes: Fall | Winter | Spring | Summer
(Only current and next semester available)

AASP 400 Directed Readings in African American Studies (3 credits)
Prerequisite: AASP100 or AASP202.
The readings will be directed by the faculty of African American Studies. Topics to be covered will be chosen to meet the needs and interests of individual students.

AASP 402 Classic Readings in African American Studies (3 credits)
Prerequisite: AASP100 or AASP202.
Classic readings of the social, economic and political status of blacks and other minorities in the United States and the Americas.

AASP 411 Black Resistance Movements (3 credits)
Prerequisite: AASP100.
A comparative study of the black resistance movements in Africa and America; analysis of their interrelationships as well as their impact on contemporary pan-Africanism.

AASP 441 Science, Technology, and the Black Community (3 credits)
Prerequisite: AASP100 or AASP202 or HIST255 or permission of department.
Scientific knowledge and skills in solving technological and social problems, particularly those faced by the black community. Examines the evolution and development of African and African American contributions to science. Surveys the impact of technological changes on minority communities.

AASP 443 Blacks and the Law (3 credits)
Prerequisite: AASP100 or AASP202 or HIST255 or permission of department.
The relationship between black Americans and the law, particularly criminal law, criminal institutions and the criminal justice system. Examines historical changes in the legal status of blacks and changes in the causes of racial disparities in criminal involvement and punishments.

AASP 468 Special Topics in Africa and the Americas (3 credits)
Repeatable to 6 credits if content differs.
Cultural, historical and artistic dimensions of the African experience in Africa and the Americas.

AASP 478 Humanities Topics in African American Studies (3 credits)
Repeatable to 6 credits if content differs.
Advanced studies in the humanities, often requiring prerequisites, focusing on the literary, artistic and philosophical contributions of Africans and African Americans.

AASP 483 Gender, Sexuality and the Black Family (3 credits)
Prerequisite: AASP100. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: AASP483 or AASP498F. Formerly AASP498F.
Examining the historical, economic, social, and scholarly construction of African American family structures. The problematization of "Black matriarchy," hetero- and homosexuality, bi-racialism, and other efforts to "normalize" African Americans to conform to Eurocentric and religious concepts of family will be critically analyzed.

AASP 493 Feminist and Nationalist Thought in Black Communities (3 credits)
Prerequisite: AASP100 or AASP101. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: AASP493 or AASP499W. Formerly AASP499W.
The historical and theoretical foundations of feminist and nationalist thought in Black Communities will be examined. Further, we will discover why feminist and nationalist thought has been routinely ignored or misrepresented as disparate, if not oppositional, themes in Black intellectual and political life.

AASP 498 Special Topics in Black Culture (3 credits)
Prerequisite: AASP100 or AASP202. Repeatable to 6 credits if content differs.
Advanced study of the cultural and historical antecedents of contemporary African and African American society. Emphasis on the social, political, economic and behavioral factors affecting blacks and their communities. Topics vary.

AASP 499 Advanced Topics in Public Policy and the Black Community (3 credits)
Prerequisite: AASP301 or permission of department. Repeatable to 6 credits if content differs.
Examination of specific areas of policy development and evaluation in black and other communities. Application of advanced tools of policy analysis, especially quantitative, statistical and micro-economic analysis.

AASP 602 Interdisciplinary Research Methods in Afro-American Studies (3 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of AASP or EDPL department.
The purpose of this course is to familiarize graduate students with both the interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches that academics employ when producing scholarship in the field of Afro-American Studies. This will examine the contours of the field with an emphasis on work in both the social sciences and the arts and humanities.

AASP 611 Classic Texts and Contemporary Issues (3 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of department.
Through a review and analysis of classic texts of Black intellectuals, artists, writers, and activists, students will examine the compelling themes in African American life and scholarship.

AASP 621 Public Policy and Black Communities (3 credits)
Prerequisite: permission of department.
This course explores the role of race in social policy formation and emphasizes the importance of both political institutions and economic relations as determinants of the policy making process and context.

 

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