Africana Studies Courses

This course will offer a broad survey of African peoples and the African Diaspora in the world, beginning with their African origins. Special attention will be paid to the enslavement of Africans, colonization, and the resultant freedom struggles undertaken by Africans and the African Diaspora.

(Also CAT 113) Hand, heart and spirit have been an intrinsic part of the process of creativity, survival and enthusiasm in the African-American community. This studio course will draw inspiration from the rich artistic traditions in the African-American visual arts. We will engage in creative processes such as improvisation, quilting, and collage –concepts and techniques used by Betye Saar, Faith Ringgold, and Romare Bearden. We will study narrative in the works of Ringgold, Jacob Lawrence and others. With this foundation,students will create their own personal narratives.

(Also HIS 207) (Writing Intensive) This course begins with the history of Africans in continental Africa and their forced removal and enslavement in North America and continues through the Abolition movement, Emancipation, and Reconstruction. This course will examine the creolization of Africans in what became the United States, and the resultant religious, cultural, and political traditions. This is the first course in the African-American History sequence.

(Also APG 213) An anthropological study of the cultures and social structures, ethos, and configurations of sub-Sahara Africa. The cultures of Black Africa are examined in order to provide an understanding of Black Africa and its contributions to the Americas.

 (Also CAT 216) Emma Amos, Betty Saar, Sam Gilliam, Jacob Lawrence. Do you recognize the names of these artists? Study the achievements of artists of color. How have they integrated their cultural identity with their self-expression? Where and when have African, European, Latino and Caribbean influences affected their art? How have African-American artists established strong, creative communities? Visits to museums, galleries, and cultural centers in New Jersey and New York.

Selected poetry, drama, fiction, autobiography, and essays by African-American authors, with emphasis on literary excellence. Authors range from Phillis Wheatley to Frederich Douglas, Imamu Amiri Baraka, Alice Walker, and Ishmael Reed. Lecture, discussion.

(Also CAT 224) Musical traditions brought to our country from abroad. The development of American musical culture from colonial times to the present, including a survey of African/American music from its tribal and colonial origins to the present. The sociological impact of jazz upon Western music and culture.

(Also HIS 225) This course explores the African American struggle for freedom after Reconstruction. Of particular concern will be the economic, political, social and cultural struggles that African-Americans waged to secure freedom and justice in the face of racial segregation and injustice. This is the second course in the African-American survey

Varied works of western and/or non-western literature that illustrates how different races, ethnic groups, genders, and classes view themselves.

(Also REL 232) This course will introduce the student to the basic beliefs and practices of Islam. It will also survey major historical, cultural, theological, and social developments. Special attention will be given to the Arabian origins of Islam and to its subsequent growth into a dynamic global tradition. The role of Islam in the modern world and its impact on American society will also be considered.

Selected topics with Africana Studies focus.

Please contact your instructor for specific topic.

(Also LAC/SOC/WMS 241) This course examines race, ethnicity, racism, prejudice, discrimination, majority-minority relations, and other intergroup relations from a sociological perspective, paying close attention to the experiences of the major racial/ethnic groups in the United States, namely, American Indians, European Americans, African-Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans.

(Also ENG/PHL 248) Broad review of the literary period known as the Harlem Renaissance or the New Negro Movement. An examination of poetry, fiction, critical essays, art and music for social and aesthetic values projected in the artistic production of the day. Highlighting the transnational, trans-ethnic texture of African-American social consciousness.

(Also ENG/PHL 259) Contemporary African-American Thought explores the intellectual contributions of prominent African-American writers and philosophers from the late twentieth century to the present. Through literary analysis, discussion, and participation in a class conference, students investigate the cultural, political, aesthetic, and philosophic dilemmas of the African Americans in the contemporary age.

(Also CAT 266) An overview of the contributions African-Americans have made to American performance culture. Exploration of black performance traditions and the social contexts in which they were developed. A useful sampling of information for students interested in American Studies, African-American Studies, Theatre, Dance, Drama, History, Music, Popular Culture and related areas.

(Also ENG/LAC 268) Haitian literature explores the literary contributions of prominent writers, artists, and filmmakers from Haiti and the Haitian Diaspora. All course texts are translated to English. Using the literature as a lens, the course investigates Haitian history and Haitian cultural discourses. Haiti’s historic and cultural impact in the Caribbean region and throughout the Americas is also considered.

(Also REL 300) This course introduces students to a critical approach to the interpretation of the AfricanAmerican socio-religious experience in North America. It examines the historical journey of African Americans as well as their attempt to
create meaning and sense of dignity in the face of harsh and inhumane circumstances.

Selected topics with Africana Studies focus.

Please contact your instructor for specific topic.

(Also REL 360)
This course examines various expressions and forms of African spirituality, ethic, and culture. It challenges the long-standing myth that African religions are based on a monolithic cultural system. Religious traditions from West and Central
Africa are central to the objectives of this course.

(Also ENG 363) Distinguished writers of African, Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Latin and African-American heritage. Emphasis is upon the theory and practice of Diaspora, and how it has shaped the literary voices of writers of African descent.

(Also SOC 369)This course seeks to examine Black families in the United States by exploring the social and cultural factors that have shaped them. It begins with an overview of the historical and anthropological roots of Black families, and then focuses on an in-depth analysis of their contemporary formations.