AASP - African American Studies

AASP400 Directed Readings in African American Studies (3 Credits)

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.

Prerequisite: AASP202 or AASP100.

AASP401 Research Directions in African-American Studies (3 Credits)

Utilizing a pro seminar format, this course offers an overview of recent research on the experiences of African Americans and the African diaspora. The course will cover selective topics from research portfolios of department faculty related to the status of African Americans and the diaspora across a number of topics. Students will read recent original research studies and discuss with the authors both the theoretical underpinnings of the research, the methods and evaluate the interpretations. This course fulfills the capstone requirement for African American studies majors and certificate students by providing an opportunity to consolidate and integrate a range of ideas encountered in the curriculum.

Restriction: Must have earned a minimum of 90 credits; and must be major in African-American Studies.

AASP402 Classic Readings in African American Studies (3 Credits)

Classic readings of the social, economic and political status of blacks and other minorities in the United States and the Americas.

Prerequisite: AASP202 or AASP100.

AASP411 Black Resistance Movements (3 Credits)

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.

Prerequisite: AASP100.

AASP413 Gentrification: Have You Met the New Neighbors?: Issues of Belonging and Displacement in Urban Areas (3 Credits)

Explores and considers current scholarship on the history, modes and implications of the process of gentrification in various areas within the United States. The course will engage with history, culture, and policy factors related to the redevelopment of urban areas. Course texts will be interdisciplinary in their methodology and genre, and will include themes of race, gender, and class. These texts, combined with student engagement, class discussion, and directed assignments will help to develop a theoretical framework for the understanding of gentrification as systematic, profound and in most if not all cases, irreversibly detrimental.

AASP441 Science, Technology, and the Black Community (3 Credits)

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.

Prerequisite: HIST255, AASP202, or AASP100; or permission of BSOS-African American Studies department.

AASP443 Blacks and the Law (3 Credits)

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.

Prerequisite: HIST255, AASP202, or AASP100; or permission of BSOS-African American Studies department.

AASP468 Special Topics in Africa and the Americas (3 Credits)

Cultural, historical and artistic dimensions of the African experience in Africa and the Americas.

Repeatable to: 6 credits if content differs.

AASP478 Humanities Topics in African American Studies (3 Credits)

Advanced studies in the humanities, often requiring prerequisites, focusing on the literary, artistic and philosophical contributions of Africans and African Americans.

Repeatable to: 6 credits if content differs.

AASP479 Special Research in African-American Studies (1-9 Credits)

Supervised research activity within the African American Studies Department. This course is for both majors and non-majors who seek to work for a faculty member on their research project(s) and/or work in their research lab as a Research Assistant (RA). The purpose of this course is to expose undergraduate students to theories and methods used to understand the lives and experiences of Black people across the diaspora via hands-on/applied research experience. A faculty member must agree to supervise your research activity before students can enroll for course credit.

Recommended: AASP210.

Restriction: Permission of BSOS- African American Studies department; and sophomore standing or higher.

Repeatable to: 9 credits.

AASP493 Feminist and Nationalist Thought in Black Communities (3 Credits)

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.

Prerequisite: AASP101 or AASP100.

Credit Only Granted for: AASP493 or AASP499W.

Formerly: AASP499W.

AASP498 Special Topics in Black Culture (3 Credits)

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.

Prerequisite: AASP202 or AASP100.

Repeatable to: 6 credits if content differs.

AASP499 Advanced Topics in Public Policy and the Black Community (3 Credits)

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.

Prerequisite: AASP301; or permission of BSOS-African American Studies department.

Repeatable to: 6 credits if content differs.

AASP602 Interdisciplinary Research Methods in Afro-American Studies (3 Credits)

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.

Restriction: Permission of BSOS-African American Studies department; or permission of EDUC-Education Policy and Leadership department.

AASP611 Classic Texts and Contemporary Issues (3 Credits)

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.

Restriction: Permission of BSOS-African American Studies department.

AASP621 Public Policy and Black Communities (3 Credits)

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.

Restriction: Permission of BSOS-African American Studies department.