Academic Year:
DEGREE: BACHELOR OF ARTS
MAJOR: BLACK AMERICAN STUDIES
University and College requirements.
REQUIRED COURSES (19 CREDITS)
ONE COURSE IN EACH OF THE FOLLOWING AREAS (12 CREDITS):
Comparative and Diasporic Studies (3 credits)
Arts and Humanities (3 credits)
Social and Behavioral Sciences (3 credits)
History (3 credits)
|
TOTAL CREDITS FOR THE MAJOR |
31 |
The Black American Studies major is conceived in two ways: one is the general major (outlined above), consisting of 19 required credit hours and 12 credits that fit into four breadth areas: Comparative and Diasporic Studies; Arts and Humanities; Social and Behavioral Sciences; and History.
The second consists of the same required courses for the general major, plus 3 courses (9 credits) in a concentration, plus one elective. The Concentrations allow Black American Studies majors to focus in areas where there is already demonstrated interest and ample courses, and where the additional focus may serve the student’s interest in pursuing advanced degrees in journalism, writing and literature, law and public policy.
The Concentration in Black Art, Literature, and Cultural Studies (BALCS) examines artistic representations and creations of people of African descent to discover how identities shape and are shaped by cultural events, preconceptions, norms, and standards, and how in turn these expressive forms affect ongoing developments of cultural life individually, socially, and globally. As such, this concentration allows students to gain a firm footing in the practice of literary and cultural criticism as they become familiar with humanistic inquiry in the discipline of Black Studies. BALCS is designed to enable students to use a variety of sources and interdisciplinary methods to gain an awareness of multiple cultures, subcultures, and values both within and outside the artistic community of the Diaspora. This concentration thus emphasizes skills in the formal analysis of artistic artifacts, historical inquiry, and cultural contextualization as it pertains to literature, art, music, film, language, and religion in order to connect the reading of culture and texts to their daily lives.
Students who enroll in the Black Art, Literature, and Cultural Studies Concentration must take three (3) courses from among those listed below.
The Law, Public Policy and Social Justice concentration focuses students’ coursework around issues of law, inequality, social justice, and public policy as it relates to the global experiences of people of African descent. Our social justice courses draw upon sociology’s long standing interest in normative patterns as well as questions associated with the fields of anthropology, history, political science, social psychology, economics and law. We draw on these fields for theoretical understanding of matters such as legal studies, political activism, and community service. Law and public policy courses focus on the causes and consequences of the unequal distribution of power, wealth, and status in the U.S. and world economy, and collective attempts to change social arrangements. For students interested in focusing primarily on social inequality, this concentration offers courses that include dimensions of stratification (race, class, gender); power structure research and social network analysis; the ideologies that justify and criticize inequalities; and the propagation of social movements.
Students who enroll in the Law, Public Policy and Social Justice Concentration must take three (3) courses from among those listed below.
The Black Gender Studies concentration focuses on the life experiences of people of African descent in order to understand the complexities of the world, cultures, regions, and academic disciplines through the lens of gender. This concentration will examine issues related to sexuality, the body, race, class, business, health, artistic movements, law, media, sociology, psychology, as well as other academic disciplines in order to study the meaning of “male” and “female” as it relates to social roles and sexual identities.
Students who enroll in the Black Gender Studies Concentration must take three (3) courses from among those listed below.
ELECTIVES FOR ALL CONCENTRATIONS (3 Credits)
Any one of the following courses will meet this requirement
ARTH 203
ARTH 206
BAMS 203/ARTH 204
BAMS 204/SOCI 204
BAMS 205
BAMS 206
BAMS 207/MUSC 207
BAMS 215/SOCI 215
BAMS 220/HIST 220
BAMS 304/HIST 325
BAMS 306/HIST 326
BAMS 307/PHIL 307
BAMS 308
BAMS 309/POSC 309
BAMS 313/ENGL 344
BAMS 322/POSC 322
BAMS 327/PHIL 327
BAMS 330
BAMS 331/HIST 331
BAMS 332/HIST 332
BAMS 333/ANTH 333
BAMS 334/HIST 334
BAMS 345/ENGL 345
BAMS 347/ENGL 347
BAMS 350
BAMS 351/ANTH 351
BAMS 352
BAMS 355/CRJU 355
BAMS 356/ENGL 356
BAMS 361/SOCI 361
BAMS 363/HIST 333
BAMS 364
BAMS 369
BAMS 373
BAMS 381
BAMS 382/ENGL 382
BAMS 395/HIST 395
BAMS 415/SOCI 415
BAMS 416/PSYC 416
BAMS 418/SOCI 418
BAMS 420/SOCI 420
BAMS 431/HIST 431
BAMS 439/POSC 439
BAMS 440 (open to juniors/seniors only)
BAMS 455/SOCI 455
BAMS 476
BAMS 649/UAPP 649
BAMS 650
BAMS 660
CRJU 413
CRJU 444
Although every effort has been made to assure the accuracy of the information in the Catalog,
students and others who use the Catalog should note that the policies, rules, regulations,
requirements for graduation, course offerings, and other materials reproduced in the Catalog change
from time-to-time and that these changes may alter the information contained in this Catalog.
see Legal Statement
