Introduction
Africana Studies offers students the opportunity to confront and critically analyze distinctive Black intellectual and social-cultural traditions, and political-economic and historical structures. Situated in Miami, Florida, we are uniquely positioned in and between the US South and the Global South. Therefore, our translocal perspective finds blackness and Black people everywhere in the world. As the university’s center for Africana Studies, the Program reaches beyond undergraduate study-- inviting a wide variety of local and international graduate students, artists, scholars, and community advocates into our intellectual community.
Africana Studies’ interdisciplinary structure offers students an opportunity to satisfy the increasingly rigorous expectations of graduate and professional school admissions committees and prospective employers, offering a broad liberal arts perspective that complements specialized knowledge of a field. Our curriculum and programmatic efforts uniquely help to prepare students to understand and effectively work toward social justice. We encourage all students, regardless of major, to enroll in Africana classes. Africana Studies can be taken either as a primary major, as one of two majors, or a minor.
Educational Objectives
- To help students research, acquire, and disseminate information about the historical and social experiences of Africans and people of African descent on all sides of the Atlantic basin, but with special emphasis on the United States.
- To facilitate students’ understanding of the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, globalized society of our time.
- To help students think critically about the global black experience.
- To prepare students for graduate work and professional careers.
Departmental Honors
Carter G. Woodson Award - Best all-round student who combines intellectual excellence and community service.
Advanced Writing Requirement
To satisfy the College of Arts & Sciences writing requirement in the discipline, students majoring in Africana Studies should take at least one English course or one History course related to Africana Studies and is listed as an advanced writing course, and any Africana Studies course with the Writing Credit designation.
Curriculum Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Major Requirements | ||
| All Africana Studies majors are required to take the following core courses: | ||
| AAS 150 | Introduction to Africana Studies | 3 |
| AAS 490 | Senior Seminar in Africana Studies | 3 |
| HIS 201 | History of Africa I (to 1800) | 3 |
| One literature course is required. Select from the following: | 3 | |
| African-American Literature | ||
| Modern African Literature and Film | ||
| Caribbean Literature | ||
| Select two courses in African Diaspora Studies: | 6 | |
| Black Miami Studies | ||
| Caribbean Cultures | ||
| Cuban Art, Art History, and the Creation of the Modern Cuban Subject | ||
| Reimagining Modernity: Haitian Art and Art History | ||
| Geography and Development in South America | ||
| The African Diaspora in South Florida | ||
| African-American History to 1877 | ||
| African-American History, 1877-PRESENT | ||
| Modern Caribbean History | ||
| History of Cuba | ||
| Hip-Hop History, Culture, and Globalization | ||
| Electives | 12 | |
| Choose the remaining four courses from the list below or the Africana Studies degree audit: 1 | ||
| Special Topics | ||
| Special Topics | ||
| Service Learning | ||
| Advanced Topics in Africana Studies | ||
| Ethnographies of Black Life | ||
| Issues in Health Disparities | ||
| African Studies Taught in French. | ||
| Global Human Rights | ||
| Latin American Political Economy | ||
| Geography and Development in Africa | ||
| Gender, Race, and Class | ||
| History of Africa, II (since 1800) | ||
| The Evolution of Jazz | ||
| African-American Song Traditions | ||
| Introduction to Cuban Music | ||
| Caribbean Religion | ||
| Islam and the United States: The Politics of Race, Media, and Terrorism | ||
| Race and Ethnic Relations | ||
| The Black Ghetto in Urban Society | ||
| The Black Athlete in White America | ||
| General Education Requirements | ||
| Written Communication Skills: | ||
| WRS 105 | First-Year Writing I | 3 |
| WRS 106 | First-Year Writing II | 3 |
| or ENG 106 | Writing About Literature and Culture | |
| Quantitative Skills: | ||
| MTH 108 | Precalculus Mathematics II | 3 |
| Areas of Knowledge: | ||
| Arts and Humanities Cognate (9 credits fulfilled through the major) | ||
| People and Society Cognate | 9 | |
| STEM Cognate | 9 | |
| Additional Requirements | ||
| UMX 100 | The University of Miami Experience | 0 |
| Language Requirement | 3-9 | |
| Minor Requirement | 15 | |
| Electives | 45 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 120 | |
- 1
Twelve of the 30 credit hours must be completed at the 300 level or above. This list is likely to change over time and other courses may be considered by the Director of the program.
- *
A grade of C- or better with an overall GPA of 2.0 is required in each course taken for the major.
Sample Plan of Study
| Freshman Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credit Hours | |
| WRS 105 | First-Year Writing I | 3 |
| MTH 108 | Precalculus Mathematics II | 3 |
| Language (first course) | 3 | |
| People & Society or Arts and Humanities cognate (first course) | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| WRS 106 | First-Year Writing II | 3 |
| Language (second course) | 3 | |
| STEM cognate (first course) | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Sophomore Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| AAS 150 | Introduction to Africana Studies | 3 |
| HIS 201 | History of Africa I (to 1800) | 3 |
| People & Society or Arts and Humaities cognate (second course) | 3 | |
| Minor (first course) | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| ENG 260 | African-American Literature | 3 |
| Minor (second course) | 3 | |
| STEM cognate (second course) | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Junior Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| African Diaspora Studies requirement (first course) | 3 | |
| Minor (third course) | 3 | |
| STEM cognate (third course) | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| African Diaspora Studies requirement (second course) | 3 | |
| Minor (fourth course) | 3 | |
| Natural Science course (if needed) | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Senior Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| People & Society or Arts and Humanities cognate (third course) | 3 | |
| Minor (fifth course) | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| AAS 490 | Senior Seminar in Africana Studies | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 120 | |
.
Student Learning Outcomes
- Students will be able to identify critical events and historical periods and analyze their implications for the social, political, economic, environmental, or cultural life of Africans or diasporic communities.
- Students will be able to analyze literature, visual culture, music, social, and political institutions critically.
- Students will be able to use analytical approaches that are interdisciplinary or discipline specific.
- Students will be able to conduct primary or secondary research using appropriate methods for the humanities, social sciences, or the arts.
- Students will be able to demonstrate clear writing and formulate persuasive arguments in the form of research papers, essays, or oral presentations.
