Africana Studies Minor

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This minor explores both the global and domestic importance of Africa from the perspective of the evolving experience of the U.S. as a multicultural society. The minor includes a common core course which all students will take. Students will then choose courses from one of the two tracks: the international track focusing on Africa as a region or the domestic track focusing on the experience of African-Americans in the U.S. All students will take at least one course from the other track. All students also complete an integrative capstone experience under the guidance of a faculty mentor in order to synthesize understanding of the interdisciplinary coursework and experiential elements of the minor.

Requirements:

AFR 200D - Introduction to Africana Studies, 3 credit hours

Choose courses from one of the two tracks (International/Domestic):

International Track:

Students take:

two International Track Basic Courses listed below, 5-6 credit hours
one French or Arabic language course (depending on placement), 3-4 credit hours
one International Track Upper Division Course, 3 credit hours
one Domestic Track Basic Course, 3 credit hours

International Track Basic Courses:

AFR 263I - Seminar, 1-4 credit hours
ART 235I - Topics in Non-Western Art, 3 credit hours (when offered as African Art)
HIS 227I - History of Africa, 3 credit hours
INT 200I - Introduction to International Studies, 3 credit hours (when student adopts an African country)
POL 215I - United Nations, 2 credit hours
POL 216IX - International Organizations: Case Studies, 1-3 credit hours

International Track Upper Division Courses:

Domestic Track:

Students take:

two Domestic Track Basic Courses listed below, 6 credit hours
two Domestic Track Upper Division Courses, 6-8 credit hours
one International Track Basic Course, 3 credit hours

Domestic Track Basic Courses:

Domestic Track Upper Division Courses:

Integrative Element: (1-3 credits)

This portion of the minor entails the incorporation of coursework into an integrative/culmination experience that allows the student to incorporate elements of the minor requirements into an integrative experience and utilize that experience to synthesize understanding of the courses chosen. The experience will be listed with the appropriate course number and credits determined by the mentoring professor to match the option choice. Students can complete this experience in a variety of ways including

- Service Learning Project                                          - Internship/Experiential Learning
- Independent Study/Research                                 - Faculty-Student Collaborative Project
- Study Abroad individually or as a group               - Urban Semester program

Students will discuss the most appropriate alternative with the academic advisor and/or professors in the course s/he has chosen as part of the minor and choose one as the mentor who will supervise the awarding of credit appropriate. Students will also prepare a written reflection making connections between the in and out of classroom experiences associated with the major. This reflection will include an explanation of the choice of experience, the relationship of the experience to minor learning objections, the academic relevance of the experience and the impact on the student’s development.