African and African American Studies 11. Introduction to African Studies
Catalog Number: 9428
Charlotte M. Walker
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 10–11:30. EXAM GROUP: 12, 13
This course introduces students to the general outlines of African geography and history, as well as key controversies in the study of African health, social life, arts, and politics. Our aim is to give students a fundamental vocabulary and interdisciplinary methodology for the study of Africa. Throughout, we assume that Africa is not a unique isolate but a continent bubbling with internal diversity, historical change, and cultural connections beyond its shores.
Note: Required of concentrators in African Studies track.
[African and African American Studies 12. What is Black Religion?: An Introduction]
Catalog Number: 7352
Marla F. Frederick
Half course (fall term). Tu., 2–4.
This course offers an introduction to broad themes in the study of African American religion in the US. Using an interdisciplinary approach, we explore the cultural expressions, social/political workings and historic development of what is commonly referred to as "black religion". Given the pre-existing and growing diversity of religious expression in the US, we ultimately ask what (if anything) allows us to hold "black religion" as a distinct category of social meaning?
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
African and African American Studies 16. Sociology of the Black Community - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 73035
Lawrence D. Bobo
Half course (fall term). W., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7
This course examines issues of race, class, gender, and identity in the Afro-American community. Topics of special emphasis include the contemporary situation of the black family, class stratification and the conditions and prospects of the modern black middle class, black feminist thought, black educational performance, and the dynamics of race. Our objective is to arrive at a deeper sociological analysis and appreciation of the changing life experiences awaiting African Americans.
African and African American Studies 20. Introduction to African Languages and Cultures
Catalog Number: 2048
John M. Mugane
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., at 12. EXAM GROUP: 14
An introduction to African languages and cultures. Explores language use by sub-Saharan Africans to understand, organize, and transmit indigenous knowledge to successive generations. Language serves as a road map to understanding how social, political, and economic institutions and processes develop: from kinship structures, the evolution of political offices, trade relations, to the transfer of environmental knowledge.
Note: This course, when taken for a letter grade, meets the Core area requirement for Foreign Cultures.
Gikuyu B. Intermediate Gikuyu
Catalog Number: 0010
John M. Mugane and assistant
Full course (indivisible). Hours to be arranged.
Continuation of Gikuyu A. Gikuyu is a Bantu language spoken by Kenya’s most populous ethnic group. The Gikuyu are among Africa’s most recognized peoples because of the Mau Mau freedom fighters who were mainly Gikuyu.
Note: Not open to auditors.
Prerequisite: Gikuyu A or the equivalent of one year’s study in Gikuyu.
Gikuyu 101ar. Reading in Gikuyu
Catalog Number: 0017
John M. Mugane and assistant
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Note: Not open to auditors.
Prerequisite: Gikuyu B or equivalent.
Gikuyu 101br. Reading in Gikuyu II
Catalog Number: 0018
John M. Mugane and assistant
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Note: Not open to auditors.
Prerequisite: Gikuyu 101ar or equivalent.
Swahili B. Intermediate Swahili
Catalog Number: 3442
John M. Mugane and assistant
Full course (indivisible). M. through W., 5-7 p.m.
Continuation of Swahili A. A study of the lingua franca of East Africa at the elementary level. Contact hours supplemented by language lab sessions. Emphasis on written expression, reading comprehension, and oral fluency.
Note: Not open to auditors.
Prerequisite: Swahili A or the equivalent of one year’s study of Swahili.
Swahili 101ar. Reading in Swahili
Catalog Number: 8503
John M. Mugane and assistant
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Prerequisite: Swahili B or equivalent.
Swahili 101br (formerly African and African American Studies 121b). Reading in Swahili II
Catalog Number: 7746
John M. Mugane and assistant
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Prerequisite: Swahili 101ar or equivalent.
Twi B. Intermediate Twi
Catalog Number: 0025
John M. Mugane and assistant
Full course (indivisible). Hours to be arranged.
Continuation of Twi A. Twi is one of the regional languages of the Akan speaking peoples of Ghana constituting the largest ethnic group in Ghana. Twi, is fast becoming the lingua franca of the country. The Akan people are well known for their art and culture, especially the traditional colorful Kente cloth.
Note: Not open to auditors.
Prerequisite: Twi A or the equivalent of one year’s study of Twi.
Twi 101ar. Reading in Twi
Catalog Number: 0026
John M. Mugane and assistant
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Note: Not open to auditors.
Prerequisite: Twi B or equivalent.
Twi 101br. Reading in Twi II
Catalog Number: 0028
John M. Mugane
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Note: Not open to auditors.
Prerequisite: Twi 101ar or equivalent.
Yoruba B. Intermediate Yoruba
Catalog Number: 0031
John M. Mugane
Full course (indivisible). Hours to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: Spring: 18
Continuation of Yoruba A. Yoruba is spoken in the West African countries of Nigeria, Benin Republic, and parts of Togo and Sierra Leone, therefore constituting one of the largest single languages in sub-Saharan Africa. Yoruba is also spoken in Cuba and Brazil. Students will acquire the Yoruba language at the basic or elementary level.
Note: Not open to auditors.
Prerequisite: Yoruba A or the equivalent of one year’s study of Yoruba.
Yoruba 101ar. Reading in Yoruba
Catalog Number: 0033
John M. Mugane and assistant
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 9
Note: Not open to auditors.
Prerequisite: Yoruba B or equivalent.
Yoruba 101br. Reading in Yoruba II
Catalog Number: 0035
John M. Mugane and assistant
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., at 5. EXAM GROUP: 18
Note: Not open to auditors.
Prerequisite: Yoruba 101a or equivalent.
African and African American Studies 97. Sophomore Tutorial: African and African Diasporic Religions
Catalog Number: 3022
Jacob Olupona
Half course (spring term). Th., 4–6. EXAM GROUP: 18
This course focuses on the history and phenomenology of traditional religions of the African peoples in myth, ritual, arts, and symbols selected from Sub-Saharan Africa. Using historical, ethnographic, and textual sources, the seminar will also illuminate the lived religious experiences of African immigrant and diaspora communities in South America, the Caribbean, and the US. We will examine African religious retentions on the forms of interaction between religious practice and other aspects of social identity.
*African and African American Studies 98. Junior Tutorial - African American Studies
Catalog Number: 6272
Glenda R. Carpio and members of the Department
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Students wishing to enroll must petition the Director of Undergraduate Studies for approval, stating the proposed project, and must have the permission of the proposed instructor. Ordinarily, students are required to have taken some coursework as background for their project.
Prerequisite: Completion of African and African American Studies 10, or a substitute course approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
*African and African American Studies 98a. Junior Tutorial - African Studies
Catalog Number: 3070
Glenda R. Carpio and members of the Department
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Students wishing to enroll must petition the Director of Undergraduate Studies for approval, stating the proposed project, and must have the permission of the proposed instructor. Ordinarily, students are required to have taken some coursework as background for their project.
Prerequisite: Completion of African and African American Studies 11 or a substitute course approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
*African and African American Studies 99. Senior Thesis Workshop
Catalog Number: 8654
Glenda R. Carpio and members of the Department
Full course. Hours to be arranged.
Thesis supervision under the direction of a member of the Department.
Note: Enrollment limited to honors candidates.
African and African American Studies 114. Black Utopias - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 11484
Francis Abiola Irele
Half course (fall term). M., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
The theme of African renewal was first elaborated in the black diaspora where it had an inspirational value for movements of emancipation among black people in America. It later functioned as a formative influence on African nationalism and has today assumed a new significance with the concept of "African Renaissance". Our examination of black utopias will focus on the force fields of ideas and internal tensions that have marked their development since the 18th century.
[African and African American Studies 116. Autobiography and Literary Imagination]
Catalog Number: 8935
Jamaica Kincaid
Half course (fall term). M., 1–3.
Looks at how subject people imagine themselves. Reading Walcott, Rhys, Soyinka and Fanon, among others.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
[African and African American Studies 117. The Harlem Renaissance]
Catalog Number: 1442
Glenda R. Carpio
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
The class examines the flowering of African American literature and art led primarily by African Americans based in Harlem after World War I. Most of the participants in this African American literary movement were descendants from a generation whose parents or grandparents had witnessed the injustices of slavery and the gains and losses that would come with Reconstruction after the Civil War. The class examines how African American authors documented this crucial moment in African American history. Writers include but are not limited to Claude McKay, Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Rudolph Fisher, James Weldon Johnson, Jean Toomer and George Schuyler.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
African and African American Studies 118. African American History from the Slave Trade to 1900
Catalog Number: 7429
Jason Sokol
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 10–11:30.
An introduction to African American history and the role black men and women have played in the cultural, economic, and political life of the US. Topics will include the rise of slavery; the American Revolution and the problem of slavery; African American social, economic, and cultural life in the antebellum North and South; the struggle for freedom during the Civil War and Reconstruction; and African Americans in the age of segregation and disenfranchisement.
[African and African American Studies 119. Chinua Achebe and the Postcolonial African Novel]
Catalog Number: 0192
Instructor to be determined
Half course (spring term). Tu., 4–6.
A critical introduction to the novels and essays of Chinua Achebe and assessment of his heritage.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
African and African American Studies 121. Please, Wake Up! - Race, Gender, Class and Ethnicity in the Early Films of Spike Lee
Catalog Number: 6238
Biodun Jeyifo
Half course (fall term). Th., 1-3:30. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16, 17
This course will explore how the intersection of race, gender, class and ethnicity in the early cinema of Spike Lee works to give his social vision and artistic temper the qualities now commonly associated with his cinematic style. Race seems to be the central pivot of social identity in Lee’s films, but in this course we will explore his remarkable attentiveness to other indices of identity and subjectivity. We will pay special attention to the tension between Lee’s passionate oppositional politics and his intensely personal, experimental and playful approach to film and its expressive idioms, techniques and styles. Films to be studied include "She’s Gotta Have It," "School Daze," "Do the Right Thing," "Mo Better Blues" and "Jungle Fever".
Note: This course, when taken for a letter grade, meets the Core area requirement for Literature and Arts B.
[African and African American Studies 128. Black Nationalism]
Catalog Number: 3426
Tommie Shelby
Half course (fall term). M., 1-3.
Critically examines the family of African American social philosophies generally classified under the broad rubric “black nationalism.” Topics to be explored include the meaning of black collective self-determination; the relationship between black identity and black solidarity; and the significance of Africa for black nationalist ideals. Authors to be discussed include Martin Delany, Alexander Crummell, Edward Blyden, W.E.B. Du Bois, Marcus Garvey, Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael, Huey Newton, and some contemporary representatives of the tradition.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
[African and African American Studies 129. African American Philosophy]
Catalog Number: 8227
Tommie Shelby
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
An examination of several vexing questions that arise when one reflects philosophically on the black experience in America. Topics include the perplexities of black identity, the moral and political significance of communal solidarity, racial justice and reparations, aesthetic judgment and cultural authenticity, the ethics of interracial intimacy, and the very idea of a distinctive African American philosophical tradition.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
[African and African American Studies 130. W. E. B. Du Bois: Social and Political Writings]
Catalog Number: 3561
Tommie Shelby
Half course (spring term). W., 2–4.
An introduction to the writings of Du Bois, with a focus on his social theory and political philosophy. In addition to various journal articles and editorials from The Crisis, texts to be examined include The Philadelphia Negro, The Souls of Black Folk, Darkwater, Black Reconstruction in America, and Dusk of Dawn.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
African and African American Studies 131. African-American Literature to the 1920s
Catalog Number: 2589
Glenda R. Carpio
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., 10–11:30. EXAM GROUP: 12, 13
Close readings of major writers in the context of cultural history. I) Literature and folk culture in the slavery period: Phillis Wheatley, Olaudah Equiano, Omar Ibn Said, Victor Séjour, Lydia Maria Child, Fredrick Douglass, Harriet Beecher Stowe, William Wells Brown, Frank Webb, Martin Robison Delany, and Harriet Jacobs. II) “Post-bellum, pre-Harlem”: Charles W. Chesnutt, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Pauline Hopkins, Du Bois, Booker T. Washington, and James Weldon Johnson. We examine diverse genres—from slave narratives, novels and poems to plays, speeches and song lyrics.
African and African American Studies 133. Richard Wright and Zora Neale Hurston - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 47899
Werner Sollors and Glenda R. Carpio
Half course (spring term). Tu., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
Investigates the development of Wright’s sociological and Hurston’s anthropological imagination, with special emphasis on gender, politics, and literary form. Readings include most published and some unpublished writings (fiction and non-fiction), against the background of selected criticism.
[African and African American Studies 134z. Black and White in Drama, Film and Performance]
Catalog Number: 2026
Werner Sollors
Half course (spring term). M., W., 2–3:30.
Focus is on the development of "serious" dramas and problem films in their relationship to the traditions of tragedy and melodrama. Readings from Aeschylus to Adrienne Kennedy accompanied by visits of performances and film screenings. Fresh research in Harvard Theatre Collection encouraged.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
African and African American Studies 137. Literature and Its Cultural ’Others’ - America, Africa and the Caribbean, 1950s-80s
Catalog Number: 3258
Biodun Jeyifo
Half course (fall term). W., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7
In the historic contexts of the civil rights struggles in the United States and the decolonizing liberation struggles in Africa and the Caribbean, this course explores how utopian or emancipatory aspirations in diverse media like literature, popular music, oratory, non-scripted street or community theatre, and popular visual media like poster art, murals and graffiti impact people of different social classes and backgrounds.
[African and African American Studies 143. Representing Blackness: Media, Technology and Power]
Catalog Number: 0444
Marcyliena Morgan
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This course explores the concept of race and ethnicity through the analysis of media systems and institutions, communication frames and symbolic representations and social constructions.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
[African and African American Studies 144. Urban Speech Communities]
Catalog Number: 8559
Marcyliena Morgan
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
This course introduces students to basic concepts of speech communities and qualitative methods in the social sciences including ethnographic fieldwork and the analysis of face-to-face communication. It focuses on the details of everyday activities across communities of African descent and other communities and interactive environments. It is meant to provide a bridge between communications, the social sciences, linguistics and socio-cultural anthropology through the introduction of concepts and analytical techniques that privilege observation, participation, video recording and transcription of spontaneous interaction (as opposed to experimental tasks or introspection). Topics include language socialization, education, literacy, music and the visual arts, the power of language, miscommunication, and universal and culture-specific properties of human communication.
Note: Expected to be given in 2011–12.
African and African American Studies 147. Racial Identity, Politics, and Public Policy
Catalog Number: 2929
Lawrence D. Bobo
Half course (spring term). W., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7
This course examines how race and perceived racial difference affect political discourse, mobilization, representation, and political outcomes. We will examine the fate of policies such as affirmative action and welfare reform and the prospects for multiracial coalition politics. We will also consider the role of elected representatives, the media, and the traditional racial divide in affecting political outcomes of importance to African Americans and to other communities of color.
[African and African American Studies 148. Travel Narratives]
Catalog Number: 5857
Jamaica Kincaid
Half course (spring term). M., 1–3.
An introduction to accounts of conquests though action (traveling) and literature (writing). We will read Bernal Diaz (regarding the conquest of Mexico), William Wells Brown (traveling to Europe as a free man), Edmund Hillary (climbing Mount Everest), Mrs. Mary Seacole (a free black woman from Jamaica who voluntarily served as a nurse in the Crimea during the Crimean war) among others.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
[African and African American Studies 153. Hiphop America: Power, Politics and the Word]
Catalog Number: 4272
Marcyliena Morgan
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
This course examines the development of hip hop in the US as a cultural, political and artistic resource. In particular, we will examine hiphop literacy, language and learning, art, performance and dress. Topics include: culture, community, crime and injustice, economics, education, family, history, identity, language, politics, sports, race and racism, sex and sexism. Emphasis will be placed on hiphop in a variety of contexts including schools, religious organizations and political movements.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
[African and African American Studies 154. Language and Discourse: Race, Class and Gender]
Catalog Number: 2690
Marcyliena Morgan
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
The purpose of this course is to study, analyze and critique theories concerning the discursive construction of identity(s) and forms of representations of cultures. It will explore the relationship between power and powerful speech through reviews and critiques of theories of language, culture and identity as they relate to ethnicity, race, and social class. Focus will be on language ideology and analysis of discourse styles used in the construction of regional, national and global communities.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
[African and African American Studies 155. Love and Sexuality in African American Culture] - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 21513
Marcyliena Morgan
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
This seminar is a comprehensive study of the representation of gender, love, and sexuality in African American and African Diasporan culture. It introduces students to the field of gender and sexuality and some of the principal questions of feminist theory, as viewed from linguistics, anthropology, media studies and literature. The course has a strong international and multicultural focus, drawing on descriptions of women and men’s speech, interaction and representation across the globe. Materials examined include film, novels, music and the examination of numerous cultural practices. The lectures and in-class activities explore the principal concepts and issues that define the field of gender, culture and communication. In particular, we will examine how everyday interactions, media, film, popular culture and journalism, incorporate gender and sexuality and at times perpetuate stereotypes of men, women and sexuality in general.
Note: Expected to be given in 2011–12.
African and African American Studies 156. Power and Aesthetics in Africa and the Diaspora - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 91384
Mark Auslander
Half course (spring term). M., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7
This course explores the dynamic relationship between systems of power, culture, and aesthetic form within Africa and through the African Diaspora. We consider how powerful experiences of beauty, awe, desire, fear and revulsion have been mobilized to constitute, critique and transform, social and political hierarchies. How is social power reproduced, negotiated and contested through sensory, tactile and aesthetic forms? Our examinations range over a wide range of expressive media and performance genres, including masking and masquerades, clothing and adornment, food, rituals of kingship, spirit possession and mediumship, sacrificial practice, colonial evangelism, dance, popular music, public art, photography, radio and film. We pay particular attention to the contested constitution of power and resistance in circuits of the global cultural economy, in and out of Africa.
African and African American Studies 157. Readings in the History of Law in Africa - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 53973
Charlotte M. Walker
Half course (fall term). W., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
This seminar explores the history of law in Africa. Its investigations are divided into three eras - the pre-colonial, colonial, and postcolonial periods. African legal traditions, customs, judicial process, and the correction of crime and transgression is covered. Next, the introduction of French and British codified laws and governance systems is explored. Last, postcolonial "illegalities" and the role of the rule of law in contemporary Africa will be discussed. The introduction of western Law resulted in profound changes in African societies which shaped the post-colonial realities of their nation-states in the independence era. Law as a tool and as an idea will be analyzed in the context of Africa in different centuries.
African and African American Studies 158. Making Media Across Cultures - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 84187 Enrollment: Limited to 20. Preference will be given to undergraduates (junior concentrators most preferred).
Diane Hendrix
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., 10–11:30. EXAM GROUP: 12, 13
The class explores new intellectual and practical foundations for making effective media in today’s digital world. Comparing short social engagement pieces, we will refine analytical skills and develop a critical eye for impact with various audiences. Students will produce digital video and web projects in teams, as well as a class project on media methods, to be published online. Collaboratively, students learn to make media that bridge cultural perspectives.
African and African American Studies 159. Health, Culture and Medicine in Africa - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 99958
Adia Benton
Half course (fall term). M., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7
The seminar focuses on the social context of disease, illness experience and healing practices throughout Africa. In particular, we will examine local experiences and practices, and how broader social, economic and political forces influence and are shaped by them. Topics will include traditional forms of healing and biomedicine, illness and witchcraft, medical research, HIV/AIDS, colonial medicine and post-colonial public health practice. We will discuss a range of countries in West, Central and East and Southern Africa.
Prerequisite: This is an advanced undergraduate course. To enroll in this course, students are expected to have taken at least one introductory anthropology or other social science course. A background or interest in public health and medicine is advantageous. Previous coursework on African history will also be useful.
African and African American Studies 160. Christianity, Identity, and Civil Society in Africa - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 88142
Jacob Olupona
Half course (fall term). Tu., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
This course is a historical survey of the centuries-old Christian traditions in Africa. It begins with an outline of the trajectory of Christianity’s origins and presence in Africa from its beginning in ancient Mediterranean lands through the early period of European missionaries to the contemporary period. The course provides the ethnography of the old mission churches, indigenous independent African churches, and contemporary evangelical and Pentecostal Charismatic movements. The course explores the role of Christianity in relation to historical, cultural, social, and material realities of the African continent. It examines a broad range of topical issues related to conversion, missionization, and the development and growth of Christian agencies in Africa in relation to the construction of social, theological, and religious identities, as well as Christianity’s response to cultural pluralism, nationhood, citizenship, and civil society.
Note: Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 2337.
African and African American Studies 161. Religion, Diaspora, and Migration: Seminar - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 51727
Jacob Olupona
Half course (spring term). Tu., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
This seminar explores critical and interdisciplinary approaches to the place of religion and the emergence of the new immigrant and diaspora communities in the modern world and the discourses emerging from the practice of diaspora and migration scholarship. Using historical, ethnographic, and textual sources, the course will illuminate the lived religious experiences of immigrant and diaspora communities in the United States and elsewhere. It introduces critical perspectives on forms of interaction between religion and other aspects of social identity - ethnicity, gender, nationality, race, age, and sexuality, as well as transnational and global influences on social and cultural identity. The course also examines the complex networks of economic, cultural, and technological innovations that the "new" diaspora and immigrant communities have developed to make sense of their spiritual and cultural lives in new situations.
Note: Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3702.
[African and African American Studies 162. Indigenous Religious Traditions and Modernity: Seminar] - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 66834
Jacob Olupona
Half course (fall term). Tu., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
This seminar explores historical, theoretical, methodological, and conceptual issues central to the study of indigenous religions of the world. It examines the critique of indigeneity and explores emerging topics about the role that religion plays in indigenous peoples’ lives, communities, and societies. Special topics will explore issues related to land, environment, conversion, health, the state, gender, aggression, violence, justice, and human rights. The seminar examines the interface of indigenous religions and modernity, colonial and postcolonial conditions, local and global forces that shape the practices of indigenous traditions in various regions of the world.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3703.
African and African American Studies 163. Beats, Rhymes, and Life: Hip-Hop Studies - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 39862
Michael P. Jeffries
Half course (fall term). Tu., 1–3;. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16
This course is an introduction to hip-hop as a social movement and art form. Class begins with a history of hip-hop’s four elements: DJing, MCing, break dancing, and graffiti art. We then turn to the study of music and performance more broadly, as well as hip-hop-related topics in popular culture, such as racial authenticity, sex and gender politics, word play and explicit language, and the rise of global hip-hop.
Note: This course, when taken for a letter grade, meets the Core area requirement for Literature and Arts B.
[African and African American Studies 170. The African Past: Art and History 1000-1850] - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 25009
Suzanne P. Blier
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
[African and African American Studies 171. African Art at the Peabody Museum] - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 91638
Suzanne P. Blier
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Note: Expected to be given in 2011–12.
[African and African American Studies 174. The African City]
Catalog Number: 6977
Suzanne P. Blier
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This seminar investigates critical issues in Africa’s rich urban centers. Architecture, city planning, spatial framing, popular culture, and new art markets will be examined.
Note: Expected to be given in 2011–12.
[African and African American Studies 182. R & B, Soul, and Funk]
Catalog Number: 7973
Ingrid Monson
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Focuses on the history of African American popular music from R & B to Funk, with particular attention to the interplay among music and African American cultural and political consciousness. A variety of critical approaches to the study of popular music are also introduced.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. This course, when taken for a letter grade, meets the Core area requirement for Literature and Arts B.
African and African American Studies 185. Perspectives on the African Novel
Catalog Number: 6764
Francis Abiola Irele
Half course (fall term). M., 4–6. EXAM GROUP: 9
We examine a representative selection of African novels with a view to grasping the development of the genre from the double heritage of the oral tradition and the literate conventions of the West. The African novel will be studied in relation to the dominant themes-colonialism, social and cultural change, the post-colonial dilemma-and the textual strategies adopted by the novelists in their rendering of the African experience in modern times.
Note: This course, when taken for a letter grade, meets the Core requirement for Literature and Arts A.
African and African American Studies 187. African Religions
Catalog Number: 0094
Jacob Olupona
Half course (fall term). Th., 4–6. EXAM GROUP: 18
This course is a basic introduction to the history and phenomenology of traditional religions of the African peoples. Using diverse methodological and theoretical approaches, the course will explore various forms of experiences and practices that provide a deep understanding and appreciation of the sacred meaning of African existence: myth, ritual arts, and symbols selected from West, East, Central, and Southern Africa.
Note: Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3690.
[African and African American Studies 188. Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa]
Catalog Number: 3590
Jacob Olupona
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This course is a comparative and historical survey of Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa. It will explore facets of Islam in African history, culture, and society, paying particular attention to Islamic institutions and organizations and the imprints of Islam on verbal and visual arts, religion and cultural identity. We will also focus on topics such as Islam and politics, Muslim-Christian relations, social change, women and gender, and the process of modernization. It will consider the emergence and growth of Islam in the age of identity politics, global Islamism, and religious revivalism.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3698.
[African and African American Studies 192x. Religion and Society in Nigeria]
Catalog Number: 8241
Jacob Olupona
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
The seminar examines the historical development of religion in Nigeria and explores its intersection with ethnic identity, culture, and society in pre-colonial, colonial, and contemporary periods. The course provides an understanding of various cultural tradition, historical events and social forces that have shaped Nigeria’s religious express. Many topical issues will be explored such as indigenous religious culture, Christian and Muslim identities, civil religion, and civil society and democratization, as well as religion and politics in present-day Nigeria.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
African and African American Studies 193. Religion and Social Change in Black America
Catalog Number: 8058
Marla F. Frederick
Half course (fall term). M., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 8, 9
Religion, as experienced in churches and mosques alike, has inspired new meanings of black subjectivity, history, and politics. From protest oriented struggles for civil rights to the personal responsibility calls of the Million Man March, religion has informed how Blacks engage the challenges of everyday life in America. Through ethnography, auto/biography and documentary film, this class examines the influence that the social reality of blackness and the religious expression of faith have had on the day to day existence of people of African descent in the US.
Note: Offered jointly with the Divinity School.
[African and African American Studies 193x. Rags to Riches: Religion and the Quest for the (African) American Dream]
Catalog Number: 2040
Marla F. Frederick
Half course (spring term). Tu., 2–4.
This course examines the place of wealth and poverty in the African American religious imagination. From Marx and Weber’s discussions of religion and capitalism, to Benjamin E. Mays and E. Franklin Frazier’s articulations of the otherwordly impulse of Black Protestantism, to contemporary anthropological discussions of prosperity gospels-this course explores the complex relationship between Christianity and American capitalism among African Americans. Topics include individualism, Protestantism, race, neoliberalism, class and citizenship.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Offered jointly with the Divinity School as 3699.
[African and African American Studies 196. Field Research Methods in the Medical Social Sciences: Writing, Policy and Deliverables] - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 40116 Enrollment: Limited to 18.
Duana Fullwiley
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This course will focus on socially engaged research in local African communities. Students will work with community groups to come up with projects that address health problems and their social determinants.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
Prerequisite: AAAS 199
African and African American Studies 197. Poverty, Race, and Health
Catalog Number: 5172
David Williams
Half course (spring term). M., 4–6. EXAM GROUP: 9
This course critically examines the health status of the poor, and of African Americans and other socially disadvantaged racial and ethnic groups in the US. Attention will be focused on the patterned ways in which the health of these groups is embedded in the social, cultural, political, and economic contexts and arrangements of US society. Topics covered include the meaning and measurement of race, the ways in which racism affects health, the historic uses of minorities in medical research, how acculturation and migration affects health, and an examination of the specific health problems that disproportionately affect nondominant racial groups.
[African and African American Studies 199. Delimiting Health Disparities in the African Diaspora: A Laboratory for Social Engagement]
Catalog Number: 9887 Enrollment: Limited to 18.
Duana Fullwiley
Half course (fall term). Tu., 1-3, Th., at 2.
This course maps health problems that differentially affect people of African descent. Students are introduced to theoretical approaches in the history of medicine, medical anthropology, and public health. The second half of the course will be spent conducting fieldwork in Boston-area African communities.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Students planning to take this class must attend the first lecture to apply.
African and African American Studies 218. Topics in African American History
Catalog Number: 9951
Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham
Half course (spring term). W., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
Explores Afro-American History from the slave trade to 1900. Central themes include black people’s lives and labor in slavery and freedom, black culture, and African American influences on national political discourse, including the changing dynamics of class, gender, and race.
[African and African American Studies 231. Topics in African American Literature and Arts]
Catalog Number: 4210
Instructor to be determined
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
African and African American Studies 241. Topics in African American Social Science
Catalog Number: 3668
James Sidanius
Half course (fall term). Tu., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
This course provides an in-depth and comprehensive exposure to the theoretical and methodological issues within the social psychology of racism and prejudice research. Approaches will include sociology, political science, and anthropology.
*African and African American Studies 302. Graduate Seminar
Catalog Number: 7559
James Sidanius and members of the Department
Half course (spring term). Tu., 12–2.
Students are introduced to major themes, debates and texts in the broad interdisciplinary field of African and African American Studies. African and African American Studies 302, in the spring term, focuses on the social sciences.
Note: Required for all graduates in African and African American Studies in their first year. Ordinarily, only graduate students affiliated with the program will be permitted to attend.
*African and African American Studies 310. Individual Reading Tutorial
Catalog Number: 1374
Emmanuel K. Akyeampong 3421 (on leave 2009-10), Ali S. Asani 7739 (on leave fall term), Robert H. Bates 1251, Homi K. Bhabha 4100, Suzanne P. Blier 3472 (on leave 2009-10), Lawrence D. Bobo 2919, Vincent Brown 4638, Glenda R. Carpio 4408, Kimberly McClain DaCosta 4182, Marla F. Frederick 4728 (on leave spring term), Duana Fullwiley 5767 (on leave 2009-10), Henry Louis Gates, Jr. 2899, Claudine Gay 5485, Evelynn M. Hammonds 4545, Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham 3517, Jennifer L. Hochschild 3785 (on leave fall term), Francis Abiola Irele 4354, Biodun Jeyifo 1001 (on leave spring term), Walter Johnson 5616, Michael R. Kremer 2112 (on leave fall term), Michèle Lamont 4634, Ingrid Monson 1591 (on leave 2009-10), Marcyliena Morgan 2212, John M. Mugane 4776 (on leave spring term), Jacob Olupona 5608, Orlando Patterson 1091 (on leave spring term), Tommie Shelby 3863 (on leave 2009-10), Kay Kaufman Shelemay 3483, James Sidanius 5371, Werner Sollors 7424, Doris Sommer 2744 (on leave 2009-10), John Stauffer 1006, Mark R. Warren (Education School) 2010, David Williams 5778, and William Julius Wilson 2401
Allows students to work with an individual member of the faculty in a weekly tutorial.
Note: Students may not register for this course until their adviser and the faculty member with whom they plan to work have approved a program of study.
*African and African American Studies 390. Individual Research
Catalog Number: 4046
Emmanuel K. Akyeampong 3421 (on leave 2009-10), Ali S. Asani 7739 (on leave fall term), Robert H. Bates 1251, Homi K. Bhabha 4100, Suzanne P. Blier 3472 (on leave 2009-10), Lawrence D. Bobo 2919, Vincent Brown 4638, Glenda R. Carpio 4408, Kimberly McClain DaCosta 4182, Marla F. Frederick 4728 (on leave spring term), Duana Fullwiley 5767 (on leave 2009-10), Henry Louis Gates, Jr. 2899, Claudine Gay 5485, Evelynn M. Hammonds 4545, Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham 3517, Jennifer L. Hochschild 3785 (on leave fall term), Francis Abiola Irele 4354, Biodun Jeyifo 1001 (on leave spring term), Walter Johnson 5616, Michael R. Kremer 2112 (on leave fall term), Michèle Lamont 4634, Ingrid Monson 1591 (on leave 2009-10), Marcyliena Morgan 2212, John M. Mugane 4776 (on leave spring term), Jacob Olupona 5608, Orlando Patterson 1091 (on leave spring term), Tommie Shelby 3863 (on leave 2009-10), Kay Kaufman Shelemay 3483, Werner Sollors 7424, Doris Sommer 2744 (on leave 2009-10), John Stauffer 1006, Mark R. Warren (Education School) 2010, David Williams 5778, and William Julius Wilson 2401
Requires students to identify and carry out a research project under the guidance of a member of the faculty. Graduate students may use this course to begin work on the research paper required for admission to candidacy.
*African and African American Studies 391. Directed Writing
Catalog Number: 4587
Emmanuel K. Akyeampong 3421 (on leave 2009-10), Ali S. Asani 7739 (on leave fall term), Robert H. Bates 1251, Homi K. Bhabha 4100, Suzanne P. Blier 3472 (on leave 2009-10), Lawrence D. Bobo 2919, Vincent Brown 4638, Glenda R. Carpio 4408, Kimberly McClain DaCosta 4182, Marla F. Frederick 4728 (on leave spring term), Duana Fullwiley 5767 (on leave 2009-10), Henry Louis Gates, Jr. 2899, Claudine Gay 5485, Evelynn M. Hammonds 4545, Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham 3517, Jennifer L. Hochschild 3785 (on leave fall term), Francis Abiola Irele 4354, Biodun Jeyifo 1001 (on leave spring term), Walter Johnson 5616, Michael R. Kremer 2112 (on leave fall term), Michèle Lamont 4634, Ingrid Monson 1591 (on leave 2009-10), Marcyliena Morgan 2212, John M. Mugane 4776 (on leave spring term), Jacob Olupona 5608, Orlando Patterson 1091 (on leave spring term), Tommie Shelby 3863 (on leave 2009-10), Kay Kaufman Shelemay 3483, James Sidanius 5371, Werner Sollors 7424, Doris Sommer 2744 (on leave 2009-10), John Stauffer 1006, Mark R. Warren (Education School) 2010, David Williams 5778, and William Julius Wilson 2401
Requires students to identify a major essay and carry it out under the guidance of a member of the faculty. Graduate students may use this course to begin to work on the research paper that is a requirement of admission to candidacy.
*African and African American Studies 398. Reading and Research
Catalog Number: 0427
Emmanuel K. Akyeampong 3421 (on leave 2009-10), Ali S. Asani 7739 (on leave fall term), Robert H. Bates 1251, Homi K. Bhabha 4100, Suzanne P. Blier 3472 (on leave 2009-10), Lawrence D. Bobo 2919, Vincent Brown 4638, Glenda R. Carpio 4408, Kimberly McClain DaCosta 4182, Marla F. Frederick 4728 (on leave spring term), Duana Fullwiley 5767 (on leave 2009-10), Henry Louis Gates, Jr. 2899, Claudine Gay 5485, Evelynn M. Hammonds 4545, Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham 3517, Jennifer L. Hochschild 3785 (on leave fall term), Francis Abiola Irele 4354, Biodun Jeyifo 1001 (on leave spring term), Walter Johnson 5616, Michael R. Kremer 2112 (on leave fall term), Michèle Lamont 4634, Ingrid Monson 1591 (on leave 2009-10), Marcyliena Morgan 2212, John M. Mugane 4776 (on leave spring term), Jacob Olupona 5608, Orlando Patterson 1091 (on leave spring term), Tommie Shelby 3863 (on leave 2009-10), Kay Kaufman Shelemay 3483, James Sidanius 5371, Werner Sollors 7424, Doris Sommer 2744 (on leave 2009-10), John Stauffer 1006, Mark R. Warren (Education School) 2010, David Williams 5778, and William Julius Wilson 2401
Note: Permission of the instructor and the Director of Graduate Studies is required for enrollment.
*African and African American Studies 399. Direction of Doctoral Dissertations
Catalog Number: 8411
Emmanuel K. Akyeampong 3421 (on leave 2009-10), Robert H. Bates 1251, Homi K. Bhabha 4100, Suzanne P. Blier 3472 (on leave 2009-10), Lawrence D. Bobo 2919, Glenda R. Carpio 4408, Kimberly McClain DaCosta 4182, Marla F. Frederick 4728 (on leave spring term), Duana Fullwiley 5767 (on leave 2009-10), Henry Louis Gates, Jr. 2899, Claudine Gay 5485, Evelynn M. Hammonds 4545, Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham 3517, Jennifer L. Hochschild 3785 (on leave fall term), Francis Abiola Irele 4354, Biodun Jeyifo 1001 (on leave spring term), Walter Johnson 5616, Michael R. Kremer 2112 (on leave fall term), Michèle Lamont 4634, Ingrid Monson 1591 (on leave 2009-10), Marcyliena Morgan 2212, John M. Mugane 4776 (on leave spring term), Jacob Olupona 5608, Orlando Patterson 1091 (on leave spring term), Tommie Shelby 3863 (on leave 2009-10), Kay Kaufman Shelemay 3483, James Sidanius 5371, Werner Sollors 7424, Doris Sommer 2744 (on leave 2009-10), David Williams 5778, and William Julius Wilson 2401