Undergraduate Program in African American Studies

College of Social Sciences and Public Policy

Director: Dr. Katrinell M. Davis

African American Studies is an interdisciplinary program that offers one major track and a minor. Located in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, the program utilizes faculty from several departments within and beyond the College. African American Studies offers students the opportunity to understand American society and the international arena from the unique vantage point of the African Diaspora, most especially Americans of African descent.

Digital Literacy Requirement

Students must complete at least one course designated as meeting the Digital Literacy Requirement with a grade of “C–” or higher. Courses fulfilling the Digital Literacy Requirement must accomplish at least three of the following outcomes:

Evaluate and interpret the accuracy, credibility, and relevance of digital information
Evaluate and interpret digital data and their implications
Discuss the ways in which society and/or culture interact with digital technology
Discuss digital technology trends and their professional implications
Demonstrate the ability to use digital technology effectively
Demonstrate the knowledge to use digital technology safely and ethically

Each academic major has determined the courses that fulfill the Digital Literacy requirement for that major. Students should contact their major department(s) to determine which courses will fulfill their Digital Literacy requirement.

Undergraduate majors in African American Studies satisfy this requirement by earning a grade of “C–” or higher in any course at FSU which meets the CoreFSU Curriculum computer competency designation, though it is strongly recommended that students take either CGS 2060 or CGS 2100 to satisfy this requirement.

Requirements for a Minor in African American Studies

A total of 15 credit hours are required for the minor, which consists of nine credit hours of compulsory courses, three credit hours of core courses, and three credit hours of approved supplementary courses. A 2.0 GPA average in African American Studies course requirements is required, and students will not receive credit toward the minor requirements for courses in which grades less than “C–” have been received. The nine hours of African American Studies core courses must include:

Three hours of AFA 2000 Introduction to the African American Experience
Three hours of AFA 3101 Theories of African American Studies
Three hours of AFA 3330 Black Families in America or AFA 4240 African Diaspora

Requirements for a Major in African American Studies

African American Studies Major: Students are required to select a minimum of 36 credit hours for the major, which consists of 12 credit hours of African American Studies compulsory courses, 12 credit hours of African American Studies core courses, and 12 credit hours of approved supplementary courses. Students may not overlap more than six hours of coursework used to satisfy General Education requirements with courses used to fulfill major requirements. Students pursuing a Double Major or a Dual Degree may overlap up to nine hours with another major. A 2.0 GPA average in African American Studies course requirements is required, and students will not receive credit toward the major requirements for courses in which grades less than “C–” have been received. A minimum of 18 credit hours in African American Studies major courses must be taken at Florida State University. With the director's approval, courses offered at Florida A&M University that are not offered at FSU may be used to fulfill the requirements for the African American Studies major.

Required Coursework

Compulsory courses—12 credits
AFA 2000 Introduction to African American Studies (3)

AFA 3101 Theories of African American Studies (3)

AFA 4851 Research Methods and Scholarly Writing in Africana Studies1 (3)

AFA 4940 African American Studies Internship (3)

one Senior Seminar2 (3)

Notes:

The methods course requirement may be substituted with methods courses offered by other departments. Contact the program director with questions concerning course equivalency.

Senior seminars are 4000 level and higher AFA or approval supplemental courses. The senior seminar requirement may be substituted with a successfully completed Honors in the Major (HITM) project.

Core courses—12 credits
AFA 3330 Black Families in America (3)

AFA 3604 Politics of Black Poverty: Issues of Race, Class, and Space (3)

AFA 3373 Psychology of Hip Hop (3)

AFA 3353 Race Class and Gender (3)

AFA 4007 Black Political Thought & Social Movement (3)

AFA 4240 African Diaspora (3)

AFA 4358 Culture, Land, and Ecology: A Seminar in Black Environmental History and Politics (3)
Approved Supplementary Courses—Select 4 (12 credits)

Choose two approved supplementary courses (3000 level or higher); six credits.

Choose two approved supplementary courses, any level; six credits.

Approved Supplementary Courses Taught by Faculty Affiliates

AFH 4302 North African History: A Survey (3)

AMH 4402 Political History of the South 1607-1965

and

AMH 4172 The Civil War Era (3)

AML 4604 The African American Tradition (3)

AML 2600 Introduction to African American Literature (3)

AML 3311 Major Figures in American Literature (3)

ENC 4020 Rhetorical Theory and Practice: The Rhetorics of Race (3)

ISS 4159 Perspectives on Race, Ethnicity, and Inequality (3)

PAD 5935 Social Justice and Equity in Public Administration (3)

Additional Approved Supplementary Courses

AMH 3930 Racial Violence

AMH 4172 The Civil War Era

ISS 4304 Contemporary Social Problems and Integrative Solutions

IDS 2413 Fight the Power: Protesting with Song in America: 20th Century vs 21st Century

IDS 3415 Guns, Drugs, and Slaves: The History of Trafficking in the Modern World

GEO 4340 Living in a Hazardous Environment

GEO 4357 Environmental Conflict and Economic Development

GEO 4404 Black Geographies

GEO 4421 Cultural Geography

GEO 4471 Political Geography

PAD 4301 Disasters in Urban Poor Communities

PAD 4844 Public Health and Emergency Management

PAD 4606 Legal and Administrative Issues in America

POS 3122 State Politics

POS 3691 Law and Society

POS 4070 Race, Ethnicity, and Politics

POS 4284 Courts, Law, and Politics

POS 4606 The Supreme Court in American Politics

POS 4624 The Supreme Court, Civil Liberties, and Civil Rights

CCJ 3673 Social Reality of Black Males

CCJ 3678 Policing Diversity: Race, Gender, Religion, and Crime

CCJ 4662 Minorities, Crime, and Social Policy

ARH 2630C Survey in African-American Art and Aesthetics

AML 2600 Introduction to African-American Literature

AML 4604 The African-American Literature Tradition

LIT 4329 African American Folklore

DAN 3185 African American Perspectives on Dance

MUH 4801 History of Jazz (1890–1950)

MUH 4802 History of Jazz (1950–Present)

THE 4233 History of African-American Drama

THE 4433 Gender, Race and Performance

THE 4438 African Theatre Performance

AMH 1091 African American Experience in the United States

AMH 2096 Black Women in America

AMH 2097 Nationality, Race, and Ethnicity in America

AMH 4571 Black America to 1877

AMH 4572 Black America Since 1877

AMH 4684 Women and Children in the Civil Rights Movement

HIS 4930r Special Topics in History (Black History through Film)

LAH 4470 History of the Caribbean

LAH 4723 Race and Class in Colonial Latin America

PHM 2121 Philosophy of Race, Class and Gender

REL 3128 Special Topics in American Religion (African American Religious Experience)

REL 3152 Religion, Race, and Ethnicity

REL 3370 Religion in Africa

SOP 3782 Psychology of the African American

SOW 4602 Social Work in Health Settings

SYG 2010 Social Problems

SYD 4700 Race and Minority Group Relations

SYO 4402 Medical Sociology

SYO 3530 Social Classes and Inequality

SYO 4300 Sociology of Politics

SYP 3000 Social Psychology of Groups

SYP 3540 Sociology of Law

SYP 3350 Collective Action and Social Movements

SYP 4570 Deviance and Social Control

IHS 2121 Delivering Patient Care Seminar

IHS 3931 Problems and Issues in Healthcare Seminar

IHS 4501 Inquiry in Healthcare Research Seminar

INR 4075 International Human Rights

ECP 4530 Economics of Health

PHC 4157 Health Policy and Society

FAD 3220 Individual and Family Life Span Development

QMB 4700 Operations Research for Managerial Decisions

URP 4022 Collective Decision Making

Definition of Prefix

AFA—African American Studies

Undergraduate Courses

AFA 1003. Diversity and Justice (3). This course integrates African authors, pre- and post-Apartheid, to demonstrate the problems of living in a diverse world. It fosters awareness and acceptance of people different from students through the study of African-American culture, and stimulates an appreciation and respect for people of all cultures.

AFA 2000. Introduction to the African-American Experience (3). This course is an interdisciplinary examination of African-American culture and socio-economic status. This course also explores elements of the African Diaspora.

AFA 3101. Theories of African American Studies (3). This course engages theories of race discrimination and oppression as it relates to African Americans. Students systematically and objectively examine the sources of American oppression and explore how it shapes the life chances of African Americans from prior to the Reconstruction Era to the twenty-first century. The course explores the timing and manner of their entry into U.S. society, conflicts with other groups, encounters with prejudice and discrimination, as well as the extent to which they have secured access to cultural, economic, political, and social assimilation into U.S. society.

AFA 3330. Black Families in America (3). This course explores the social, economic, and cultural forces that have shaped the development of African-American families. In examining historical and contemporary transitions in the structure and functioning of African-American families, special emphasis is given to the bifurcation in the distribution of wealth and power in American society, as well as the role of racial stratification. The course also seeks to empirically examine contemporary policy and political debates on crucial issues confronting African-American families.

AFA 3353. Race, Class, and Gender Inequities in the United States (3). This course examines the ways in which race, class, gender and sexuality influence, structure, and shape our public and private lives. Throughout the course, students consider the relationship of these social categories and explore their roots in the historical legacies of power, privilege, and oppression.

AFA 3373. Psychology of Hip Hop (3). This course uses hip hop music and culture as conceptual lenses for analyzing and interpreting the life experiences of people of African descent throughout the African diaspora. Drawing mainly on psychology as well as other social sciences, this course is intended to provide students with an understanding of the psycho-historical and psycho-social development of African Americans relatively.

AFA 3604. Politics of Black Poverty: Issues of Race, Class, and Space (3). This course examines the African American poverty in the U.S. with the goal of understanding how historical conditions and events shaped current circumstances. Students learn about the strengths and weaknesses of antipoverty interventions in addition to some of the unintended consequences of these policies.

AFA 3930r. Special Topics (1–3). This course varies with instructor and semester. May be repeated to a maximum of nine semester hours.

AFA 4007. Black Political Thought & Social Movement (3). This course is a critical introduction to Africana political thought and social movements with an emphasis on the African-American experience. The course is a comprehensive exploration of Africana political history, ideology and political practice.

AFA 4240. African Diaspora (3). This course examines the experiences of Afro-descendant populations around the world in the wake of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The course focuses on the ways in which Afro-descendant peoples outside of Africa understand and negotiate the lives and the global effects of Blackness.

AFA 4358. Culture, Land, and Ecology: A Seminar in Black Environmental History and Politics (3). This course explores the ways that communities of African descent have understood and related to the earth. Specific emphasis is placed on how this understanding and relationship has changed over time due to the socio-historical forces of westernization, capitalism, slavery, colonialism, industrialization, and urbanization.

AFA 4853. Research Methods and Scholarly Writing in Africana Studies (3). This course introduces students to a general conceptual framework for ordering the social theories and methods to understand Africana life experiences. Students engage in an interdisciplinary examination of areas of critical inquiry pertaining to the diversity and complexity of Africana experiences using social science methods (e.g., interviewing, ethnography, and survey research).

AFA 4905r. African American Studies Directed Individual Study (1–3). Course topics vary by each student. May be repeated to a maximum of nine (9) credit hours; repeatable within the same term.

AFA 4940r. African American Studies Internship (3–6). This course builds on the African American Studies curriculum to provide a solid foundation for subsequent applied work in this interdisciplinary field. As students near the completion of formal course work, an internship in the field affords the opportunity to put what was learned to practical use in applied settings, and to develop professional skills and competencies. May be repeated to a maximum of six (6) credit hours.

2024-2025 UNDERGRADUATE BULLETIN