Africana Studies, Certificate

(Code 380-631) 

Advisor:  S. Ducksworth-Lawton (History).

The Certificate in Africana Studies is designed for all students interested in deepening their knowledge of African, African diasporic and especially African-American lives.  Through this program of study students will critically examine the major historical events that have created and shaped the African diaspora. They will also analyze the experiences and cultural products of people of African descent, as well as contemporary issues faced by African-Americans.

A minimum of 12 credits, of which at least six credits must be at the 300-level or above, and no more than two courses from the same prefix.
Required course:
HIST 210African American History 1865 to Present3
The remaining nine credits should be chosen from courses that focus centrally on Black experiences (Core Options), though it is allowable to take one course from the Related Electives (courses that include Black experiences but are not centrally focused on those experiences):9
Core Options (minimum of six credits):
Evolution of Jazz
Women in African Literature
Topics in American Ethnic Literature (when African American literature/culture is the course focus)
Seminar in American Ethnic Literature (when African American literature/culture is the course focus)
African American Civil Rights Movement, 1914-Present
Civil Rights and American Memory
Modern Africa
African American Religion
Afro-American Politics
Black Psychology
African-American Feminism in the Humanities
Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Introductory Travel Seminar (when offered as Women and the Civil Rights Movement)
Related Electives (maximum of three credits):
Race and Ethnicity in the U.S.
Experiences of Minoritized Groups in U.S. Economy
Survey of American Ethnic Literature (when African American literature/culture is the course focus)
Global Roots of Music in the United States
Group and Minority Politics
Women of Color Feminisms
Special topics, internships, and umbrella courses with a focus on Africana studies may be applied to the certificate with approval of the certificate advisor.

NOTE:  Courses applied to the certificate cannot be applied to the major. 

Program Learning Outcomes

 Students completing this program will be expected to meet the following learning outcomes:

  • Demonstrate social, cultural, and political knowledge of major events, experiences, and cultural products of people of African descent.
  • Critically examine the major historical events that have created and shaped the African diaspora, particularly blacks in the United States.
  • Analyze contemporary issues faced by people of African descent in the United States.