Minor in African Studies
College of Liberal & Creative Arts
Dean: Dr. Andrew Harris
African Studies Program
Humanities Building, Room 461
Phone: (415) 338-2495
Director: Aguibou Yansané
Program Scope
The African Studies Minor is a multidisciplinary program in African history, politics, economics, and cultures, designed to provide students with a broad understanding of the issues facing African communities, societies, and nation-states in the past as well as the present. Courses from multiple departments and programs are incorporated into the African Studies Minor, offering different disciplinary bases for the examination and analysis of African contributions to world civilizations. It enables students to integrate and apply knowledge in the evolution of African societies from being the cradle of humanity to providing labor for the use of other civilizations and through colonial and post-colonial linkages, technological expansion, and economic liberalization. Students will examine African accomplishments, mores, traditions, cultures, and civilizations to finish the minor with a greater degree of understanding of, and tolerance for, cultural differences and ethnic pluralism as well as the problems inherent in the process of social change in Africa and the African Diaspora.
Students who select this minor are presented with different disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives. Common to all these perspectives is the critical examination of social change, modernization, development, and globalization. It is hoped that students will be provided the tools to enable them to build their own frames of reference, syntheses of concepts, data, and theories, to enrich their social attitudes and cultural values concerning Africa, and to appreciate its richness and its unity in diversity.
Career Outlook
Students will be encouraged to take advantage of the African Studies Minor to apply their knowledge, understanding, and interest in things African to their career goals including teaching, journalism, business, and international endeavors in the public sector, non-governmental agencies, and multilateral institutions.
Professor
ANTWI AKOM (2004), Professor of Africana Studies; B.A. (1991), University of California, Berkeley; M.A. (1993), Stanford University; M.A. (1999), Ph.D. (2004), University of Pennsylvania.
SOPHIE CLAVIER (2003), Professor of International Relations, Dean of Graduate Studies; B.A. (JD), (1984), M.A. (SJD), (1986), France; M.A. (1993), San Francisco State University; Ph.D. (2003), La Sorbonne, France.
TREVOR R. GETZ (2002), Professor of History; B.A. (1995), University of California, Berkeley; M.A. (1997), University of Cape Town, South Africa; Ph.D. (2000), School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
JOHNETTA G. RICHARDS (1988), Professor of Africana Studies; B.A. (1972), Virginia State College; M.A. (1974), Ph.D. (1987), University of Cincinnati.
African Studies Minor – 24 units minimum
Students interested in this minor should see one of the African Studies faculty to choose the courses most appropriate to them. (Note: No more than 6 units may be taken on a CR/NC basis; no more than 9 units may be transferred from other campuses.) All students completing the minor are required to demonstrate intermediate-level competency in a relevant language other than English. For specific information on how to meet the requirement, students should consult with the coordinator of the minor program.
The African Studies Minor consists of a core curriculum of three courses that contain material and perspectives which reach across the normal disciplinary divisions of the University, plus 15 units of upper-division courses taken from the following list, on advisement.
All coursework used to satisfy the requirements of the minor must be completed with a minimum grade point average of 2.0.
Core Requirements (9-10 units)
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Select one from each of the following areas: | 9-10 | |
| Classical Africa | ||
| AFRS 305 | Ancient Egypt | 3 |
| CLAR 500 | Art and Archaeology of Ancient Egypt | 3 |
| Africa: Tradition and Transition | ||
| AFRS 302 | Black Diaspora | 3 |
| HIST 367 | History of Africa | 3 |
| Modern Africa | ||
| AFRS 301 | Africa in Global Perspective | 3 |
| HIST 368 | Modern Africa | 3 |
| HUM 360 | Styles of African Cultural Expression | 3 |
| I R/PLSI 321 | Development and Foreign Policy: Africa | 4 |
Electives (15 units)
Units selected on advisement with at least one course from each group and no duplication of courses that were taken as part of the core curriculum
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Behavioral and Social Sciences | ||
| ECON 620 | Economic Development | 3 |
| HIST 367 | History of Africa | 3 |
| HIST 368 | Modern Africa | 3 |
| I R/PLSI 321 | Development and Foreign Policy: Africa | 4 |
| I R/GEOG 428 | International Political Economy of Food and Hunger | 4 |
| I R 520 | Globalization and Development | 4 |
| I R 540 | Rich and Poor Nations: Legacies of Slavery and Colonialism | 4 |
| Ethnic Studies | ||
| AFRS 300 | From Africa to Olmec America: Ancient African Prehistory and History | 3 |
| AFRS 301 | Africa in Global Perspective | 3 |
| AFRS 302 | Black Diaspora | 3 |
| AFRS 305 | Ancient Egypt | 3 |
| AFRS 411 | African and African American Literature | 3 |
| Humanities and Arts | ||
| CLAR 500 | Art and Archaeology of Ancient Egypt | 3 |
| CLAR 502 | Ancient Egyptian Language and Literature | 3 |
Language Requirement
All students completing the African Studies Minor are required to demonstrate intermediate-level competency in a language (other than English), relevant to the area. This requirement may be met by completing the university entrance requirement of two years of high school language study, one year of successful college-level language study, or by demonstration of equivalent competency.