AFAS 150B1 – Contemporary Afro Brazil

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 1 Individuals & Societies

Honors Contract

This course introduces students to the origins and emergence of Afro-Brazilians, peoples of African descent in Brazil, from an interdisciplinary perspective. Principle topics of discussion will be drawn from areas of history, philosophy, political economy, literature, the arts, religion, culture, and society.

AFAS 160A1 – The Africana Experience

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 1 Traditions and Cultures

This course will introduce students to fundamental issues and concepts in the Africana experience in the United States, Africa, and the Caribbean, from an interdisciplinary perspective. Principle topics of discussion will be drawn from areas of history, philosophy, political-economy, literature and the arts, religion-culture and society.

AFAS 160D1 – Introduction to African American Literature

Tier 1 Traditions and Cultures

Introduction to African American literature will explore the linguistic and cultural roots and traditions of literary writing by African Americans in three centuries of American history focusing on select readings in poetry, drama, and fictional prose. The overall goal of the course is to introduce students to the history of the different genres, contexts, and content of literary production by African American writers from the 1700s to the late 20th century.

AFAS 200 – Introduction to Africana Studies

Tier 2 Humanities

Course provides a comprehensive understanding of the African American experience as grounded in the humanities and social sciences. A broad investigation of Africana history and culture and its subsequent evolution in the United States.

AFAS 209 – African American History (1440-1877)

Cross Listed

This course evaluates the early experiences of peoples of African descent in North America. The culture of African captives, their daily lives under different slave regimes, slave resistance, free blacks, and emancipation are the main subjects addressed in this class.

AFAS 210 – African American History (1865-Present)

Cross Listed

This course evaluates the experience of peoples of African descent in the United States after the Civil War. Reconstruction, "Jim Crow" segregation, "New Negro" Movement, Cold War, Civil Rights Movement, and the "Great Society" are the main subjects addressed in this class.

AFAS 218 – Introduction to Hip-Hop Dance

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Arts

Honors Contract

This beginning level hip- hop dance class combines straight lectures, lively discussions and problem solving with actual movement practice with the objective of equipping students the relevant cultural, historical and practical knowledge of hip-hop dance and cultures in general. This course takes off from the premise that hip-hop dance is a vital component of wider hip-hop cultures which contain both global and sub-national constituents. As such, it adopts a historical approach to explore the beginnings, influences and parallels of hip-hop dance in continental African, Caribbean, Latin American and local US cultures. The course proceeds to examine the different hip-hop dance and movement styles, techniques, vocabulary and cultures emanating from particular geographic regions especially the East Coast, West Coast, Midwest and the Deep South in the USA as well as hip-hop dance's current state of global popularity, cross-cultural appeal, production and consumption. The ultimate objective is to challenge and encourage students to create final dance projects where they apply knowledge acquired throughout the semester to demonstrate their understanding of the cultural, historical and practical knowledge of hip-hop dance and cultures in general. Most importantly, the course examines how hip-hop dance expressions and representations challenge and/or reinforce social constructs of race, gender, and class. As a combination lecture/studio class this course will focus on both theory and practice. Where possible the course will take advantage of Hip-Hop dancers and scholars residing in or visiting Arizona to deliver guest performances and workshop. Students are not required to have prior dance knowledge to enroll in this class and will participate at their ability levels. The class culminates in a research paper and an option to do a performance or a digital project.

AFAS 220 – Introduction to African American Studies

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Individuals & Societies

Introductory survey of the literature, history, culture and social issues affecting Black Americans.

AFAS 222 – African American Studies: A History of Ideas

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Humanities

Pass/Fail Option

This course is concerned with the history of oppression of African and other Indigenous peoples in the world and examines ideas by radical philosophers and scholars from the African Diaspora directed toward liberation from oppression.

AFAS 230 – Introduction to African Literature

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Humanities

Anglophone and Francophone literature. Focuses on major authors; Achebe, Soyinka, Head, Wa Thiong'O, Brutus, Emecheta. Employs bio-literary analysis.

AFAS 299 – Independent Study

Qualified students working on an individual basis with professors who have agreed to supervise such work.

AFAS 299H – Honors Independent Study

Honors Course

Qualified students working on an individual basis with professors who have agreed to supervise such work.

AFAS 302 – Africana Studies Research Approaches

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

This course is designed to provide students with skills in conducting social science research in the field of Africana Studies. The course will consist of discussions of the role of knowledge, the various methods by which knowledge is acquired, and the manner that interpretations of knowledge occur.

AFAS 303 – Black Womanist Writers

Cross Listed

Honors Contract

This course examines the lives and writings of Black women from selected ethnicities such as Caribbean, Canadian, Latin American and African American who, despite geography, form bridges to meet and develop a dialogue which enlightens us.

AFAS 304A – The Social Construction of Race: Whiteness

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Individuals & Societies

Pass/Fail Option

Honors Contract

In constructing this course, the recognition of Whiteness/Blackness is not solely a reactionary response to challenges from persons of color; it is also a reflection of the need to provide a narrative of Whiteness/Blackness that intends an understanding of the notion of Whiteness/Blackness as a racial category and the implications of this categorization and association. For example, naming Whiteness displaced it from the unmarked, and unnamed status that is itself an effect of dominance. Within the particular disciplines of Anthropology and Ethnic Studies, Whiteness, Blackness and Race have come to be earnest subjects of study. Being White or Black in the 21st Century, however, is far from straightforward. It is riddled with ambiguity and marked by a general sense of racial angst as to what it means to be White or Black. This course will attempt to respond to the question: What does it mean to be Black/White in our global climate?

AFAS 306 – African-American Autobiographies: Women and Their Histories

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Individuals & Societies

Students will gain insight into the historical and cultural factors that have created, and continue to perpetuate gender and ethnic inequity. Students will come to understand African American writers, particularly women, as historical agents and self-defined individuals. While the course will emphasize the multiple roles of African American women, as portrayed autobiographically it also incorporates the historical struggles of those around them. It is my goal that through the course material students will see how African Americans are constantly recreating themselves in the face of adversity.

AFAS 320 – The African American Slave Narrative: History and Literature

Tier 2 Humanities

This course is designed to introduce undergraduate students to the history of narratives by African slaves before and after the American Civil War. This course will benefit majors/minors in American/African Literature or other interdisciplinary majors who wish to study the historical experiences of minority ethnic cultures in America.

AFAS 329 – Cultures and Societies of Africa

Cross Listed

Writing Emphasis Course

Introduction to African prehistory, social anthropology, ecology, religions, ancient and modern state formation, slavery, urbanization, and contemporary issues.

AFAS 330 – Minority Groups and American Politics

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Writing Emphasis Course

Political problems of the poor; analysis of systematic poverty in the U.S. and theories of causation; selected policy problems: education, housing, job training, enforcement of anti-discrimination statutes; future of "power" movements.

AFAS 335 – Rap, Culture and God

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Humanities

Pass/Fail Option

Honors Contract

Study of popular culture and religion in African-American and Latino/a communities, with a focus on the place of rap music in the cultural identity of these traditions.

AFAS 342 – Writers, Women and the Gods

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Humanities

In order to conceptualize the way gender and ethnicity has shaped women's lives in the public and private domain students will "hear" the voices of African American women in ethnography, history and literature as we discuss the Africana concepts of life, health, beauty and family. The experiences of these women, as expressed in literature have become "formidable" presences in African American culture and history. The self-expression and self-definition, expressed by African American women's voices have generated social and political changes in American history that have also impacted the dominant Euro-American culture of American society.

AFAS 345 – Caribbean Politics

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Individuals & Societies

Honors Contract

This course provides an introduction to the politics of Caribbean states, from 1960 to the present. It will discuss major issues that affect the Caribbean region, namely, migration, poverty, regional economic cooperation and political integration, democratic institutions, and U. S. foreign policy towards the region.

AFAS 363 – #Black Lives Matter Across The Americas: Race & Racism in Latin America

Cross Listed

How are race and racism perceived and experienced in countries in Latin America particularly such as Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia where a mixed-race ideology and the myth of racial equality have traditionally been at the core of national identity? This class critically analyzes notions of race and anti-racist activism to examine the ideologies and circumstances of the political structure, race-targeted public policies, and black activism in contemporary Latin America.

AFAS 371 – Hip-Hop Cinema

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Arts

Honors Contract

Course provides a strong foundation in the history and development of hip - hop cinema. Major films, directors, and movements are studied in their historical, social, and cultural context, with a particular focus on the aesthetics of visual language and cinematic techniques .

AFAS 374 – The Politics of Protest in Africa and the Diaspora

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Humanities

Honors Contract

Survey of the politics of protest in Africa and the Diaspora. Students will gain a solid understanding of the patterns of resistance adopted by people of African descent during the modern era, beginning with the slave revolt in Haiti. Their various modes of resistance will be considered in relationship to relevant institutions (political, social, cultural) as well as popular forms of expression (folk music, literature) and behavior (demonstrations). Students will also discover the defining aspects of European and Euro-American domination through the end of Apartheid, including the formulation of policies, major strategies employed and their consequences. Questions of race, ethnic origin and class relations are at issue throughout this course.

AFAS 376 – Global Soccer

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Individuals & Societies

Honors Contract

This interdisciplinary course is about the emergence and growing notoriety of soccer in France, the Francophone world, and the rest of the planet. While the British invented "football" (as soccer is known around the world) and professional football, the French were key players in structuring it worldwide. Following in the steps of Pierre de Coubertin who revived the Olympic Games at the end of the 19th century, French compatriots Jules Rimet, Robert Guérin, Henri Delaunay, Jacques de Ryswick, Gabriel Hanot, Jacques Goddet, and Jacques Ferran were central figures in the creation of the most important soccer institutions as of today: Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) in 1904, the FIFA World Cup Soccer in 1930, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) in 1954, the UEFA Coupe d'Europe des Clubs Champions Européens (Champions League) in 1955, and the Ballon d'Or (Golden Ball Award) in 1956. The course provides a strong foundation in the history and development of soccer in France, the Francophone world, and as a worldwide global phenomenon through explorations in the following areas: cultural and global studies, philosophy, history, institutions, the arts, and language. The course presents several important themes that will allow us to understand the popularity and identification of the populations with soccer worldwide, as well as the human values it represents: olympism, pacifism, imperialism, colonialism, national identities, race, politics, gender, and globalization. Students will read and discuss some of the most important scholarly texts dealing with soccer.

AFAS 381 – African/Indigenous Religions

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Humanities

This course examines religious beliefs in Africa in order to illuminate connections between religion and culture on that continent, and to examine the relationship between religio-culture and the socio-economic and political forces that shape contemporary African societies.

AFAS 399 – Independent Study

Qualified students working on an individual basis with professors who have agreed to supervise such work.

AFAS 399H – Honors Independent Study

Honors Course

Qualified students working on an individual basis with professors who have agreed to supervise such work.

AFAS 423 – Topics in Caribbean Culture, Literature and Identity

Cross Listed

Honors Contract

The aim of the course is to investigate African Caribbean writings in English on issues from slavery through the 20th century. the key focus will be on issues from what is now considered the post colonial islands and countries. It will also take into account, the growing body of literature by Caribbean women writers.

AFAS 424 – African American Drama and Performance

Cross Listed

This class examines a wide variety of performances and plays by self-identified African American dramatists and entertainers from the 1850s to today. The artworks themselves address the fundamental issues facing African Americans in US society, and they struggle with definitions of blackness itself. In many ways, these artists faced steep opposition from the racist images of African Americans that dominated the cultural landscape. This makes the works themselves a political act. The order of our readings is more or less chronological, as the newer works build upon and challenge those of their forbearers. In varying degrees, all are works of art, propaganda, and protest. All are works of sensitivity and sophistication, humor and rage. And all are trying to answer the same question, one that is ever constant and ever changing: What does it mean to be a black artist in America?

AFAS 439 – Blacks in Hollywood

Honors Contract

This introductory course focuses on the impact the subjective concept of race has had in African American cinematic representations, and how images work in controlling and policing thought and constructing sexuality. This course serves as an introduction to basic race theory.

AFAS 463 – Doing Business In /With Africa: A Cultural Perspective

Cross Listed

Honors Contract

Going into the 21st century, Africa, (along with Asia and Latin America), is often referred to as one of the emerging markets of the world. This recognition has cast Africa as occupying the last frontier market of modern international business and global capitalism. AFAS 463 Doing Business In/ With Africa is designed to provide cultural grounding and competency in Africa for students and professionals interested in conducting business and/or working with government agencies and non-profit organizations in Africa. Its focus, therefore, is the cultural aspect of the international business environment of Africa.

AFAS 478 – African American Literature

Cross Listed

The study of novels, drama and poetry by leading Black writers.

AFAS 493 – Internship

Specialized work on an individual basis, consisting of training and practice in actual service in a technical, business, or governmental establishment.

AFAS 498 – Senior Capstone

A culminating experience for majors involving a substantive project that demonstrates a synthesis of learning accumulated in the major, including broadly comprehensive knowledge of the discipline and its methodologies. Senior standing required.

AFAS 498H – Honors Thesis

Honors Course

An honors thesis is required of all the students graduating with honors. Students ordinarily sign up for this course as a two-semester sequence. The first semester the student performs research under the supervision of a faculty member; the second semester the student writes an honors thesis.

AFAS 498H – Honors Thesis

Honors Course

Writing Emphasis Course

An honors thesis is required of all the students graduating with honors. Students ordinarily sign up for this course as a two-semester sequence. The first semester the student performs research under the supervision of a faculty member; the second semester the student writes an honors thesis.

AFAS 499 – Independent Study

Qualified students working on an individual basis with professors who have agreed to supervise such work.

AFAS 524 – African American Drama and Performance

Cross Listed

This class examines a wide variety of performances and plays by self-identified African American dramatists and entertainers from the 1850s to today. The artworks themselves address the fundamental issues facing African Americans in US society, and they struggle with definitions of blackness itself. In many ways, these artists faced steep opposition from the racist images of African Americans that dominated the cultural landscape. This makes the works themselves a political act. The order of our readings is more or less chronological, as the newer works build upon and challenge those of their forbearers. In varying degrees, all are works of art, propaganda, and protest. All are works of sensitivity and sophistication, humor and rage. And all are trying to answer the same question, one that is ever constant and ever changing: What does it mean to be a black artist in America? Graduate-level requirements include an additional class presentation into the production history of one of the plays under discussion. Also, the final paper will be longer and will include deeper archival research.

AFAS 563 – Doing Business In /With Africa: A Cultural Perspective

Cross Listed

Going into the 21st century, Africa, (along with Asia and Latin America), is often referred to as one of the emerging markets of the world. This recognition has cast Africa as occupying the last frontier market of modern international business and global capitalism. AFAS 463 Doing Business In/ With Africa is designed to provide cultural grounding and competency in Africa for students and professionals interested in conducting business and/or working with government agencies and non-profit organizations in Africa. Its focus, therefore, is the cultural aspect of the international business environment of Africa. Graduate-level requirements include a 12-15 page proposal on a business or diplomatic venture in any African country. The proposal must demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of the cultural environment of the country that will host the venture. A Business/Diplomatic Proposal 20 minute Presentation.

AFAS 599 – Independent Study

Qualified graduate students working on an individual basis with professors who have agreed to supervise such work.

AFAS 150B1 – Contemporary Afro Brazil

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 1 Individuals & Societies

Honors Contract

This course introduces students to the origins and emergence of Afro-Brazilians, peoples of African descent in Brazil, from an interdisciplinary perspective. Principle topics of discussion will be drawn from areas of history, philosophy, political economy, literature, the arts, religion, culture, and society.

AFAS 160A1 – The Africana Experience

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 1 Traditions and Cultures

This course will introduce students to fundamental issues and concepts in the Africana experience in the United States, Africa, and the Caribbean, from an interdisciplinary perspective. Principle topics of discussion will be drawn from areas of history, philosophy, political-economy, literature and the arts, religion-culture and society.

AFAS 160A2 – African Diaspora: Religion and Culture

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 1 Traditions and Cultures

This course surveys continental African religions and their manifestations in the African Diaspora. Brazil, Jamaica, Trinidad, Cuba, Haiti and the U.S.A. are highlighted. The epistemologies and practices of the Fon, Yoruba, and Bantu peoples are analyzed to understand their continued impact on the contemporary world.

AFAS 160D1 – Introduction to African American Literature

Tier 1 Traditions and Cultures

Introduction to African American literature will explore the linguistic and cultural roots and traditions of literary writing by African Americans in three centuries of American history focusing on select readings in poetry, drama, and fictional prose. The overall goal of the course is to introduce students to the history of the different genres, contexts, and content of literary production by African American writers from the 1700s to the late 20th century.

AFAS 200 – Introduction to Africana Studies

Tier 2 Humanities

Course provides a comprehensive understanding of the African American experience as grounded in the humanities and social sciences. A broad investigation of Africana history and culture and its subsequent evolution in the United States.

AFAS 209 – African American History (1440-1877)

This course evaluates the early experiences of peoples of African descent in North America. The culture of African captives, their daily lives under different slave regimes, slave resistance, free blacks, and emancipation are the main subjects addressed in this class.

AFAS 209 – African American History (1440-1877)

Cross Listed

This course evaluates the early experiences of peoples of African descent in North America. The culture of African captives, their daily lives under different slave regimes, slave resistance, free blacks, and emancipation are the main subjects addressed in this class.

AFAS 220 – Introduction to African American Studies

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Individuals & Societies

Introductory survey of the literature, history, culture and social issues affecting Black Americans.

AFAS 222 – African American Studies: A History of Ideas

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Humanities

Pass/Fail Option

This course is concerned with the history of oppression of African and other Indigenous peoples in the world and examines ideas by radical philosophers and scholars from the African Diaspora directed toward liberation from oppression.

AFAS 230 – Introduction to African Literature

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Humanities

Anglophone and Francophone literature. Focuses on major authors; Achebe, Soyinka, Head, Wa Thiong'O, Brutus, Emecheta. Employs bio-literary analysis.

AFAS 260 – Ethnic Relations in the United States

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Individuals & Societies

Analysis of minority relations and mass movements in urban society; trends in the modern world, with special reference to present-day race problems and social conflict.

AFAS 302 – Africana Studies Research Approaches

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

This course is designed to provide students with skills in conducting social science research in the field of Africana Studies. The course will consist of discussions of the role of knowledge, the various methods by which knowledge is acquired, and the manner that interpretations of knowledge occur.

AFAS 304A – The Social Construction of Race: Whiteness

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Individuals & Societies

Pass/Fail Option

Honors Contract

In constructing this course, the recognition of Whiteness/Blackness is not solely a reactionary response to challenges from persons of color; it is also a reflection of the need to provide a narrative of Whiteness/Blackness that intends an understanding of the notion of Whiteness/Blackness as a racial category and the implications of this categorization and association. For example, naming Whiteness displaced it from the unmarked, and unnamed status that is itself an effect of dominance. Within the particular disciplines of Anthropology and Ethnic Studies, Whiteness, Blackness and Race have come to be earnest subjects of study. Being White or Black in the 21st Century, however, is far from straightforward. It is riddled with ambiguity and marked by a general sense of racial angst as to what it means to be White or Black. This course will attempt to respond to the question: What does it mean to be Black/White in our global climate?

AFAS 304B – The Social Construction of Race: Blackness

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Individuals & Societies

In constructing this course, the recognition of Whiteness/Blackness is not solely a reactionary response to challenges from persons of color: it is also a reflection of the need to provide a narrative of Whiteness/Blackness that intends an understanding of the notion of Whiteness/Blackness as a racial category and the implications of this categorization and association. For example, naming Whiteness displaces it from the unmarked status that is itself an effect of dominance. Within the particular disciplines of Anthropology and Ethnic Studies, Whiteness, Blackness and Race have come to be earnest subjects of Study. Being White or Black in the 21st Century, however, is far from straightforward. It is riddled with ambiguity and marked by a general sense of racial angst as to what it means to be White or Black. This course will attempt to respond to the question: what does it mean to be Black/White in our global climate?

AFAS 306 – African-American Autobiographies: Women and Their Histories

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Individuals & Societies

Students will gain insight into the historical and cultural factors that have created, and continue to perpetuate gender and ethnic inequity. Students will come to understand African American writers, particularly women, as historical agents and self-defined individuals. While the course will emphasize the multiple roles of African American women, as portrayed autobiographically it also incorporates the historical struggles of those around them. It is my goal that through the course material students will see how African Americans are constantly recreating themselves in the face of adversity.

AFAS 310 – Afro-Latin American Literature

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Humanities

A bio-critical discussion/study of writers of African decent/extraction from Latin America.

AFAS 314 – Caribbean Literature and Culture (West Indies)

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Humanities

The course examines how the literature captures the multifaceted social, cultural, and political life of the region.

AFAS 320 – The African American Slave Narrative: History and Literature

Tier 2 Humanities

This course is designed to introduce undergraduate students to the history of narratives by African slaves before and after the American Civil War. This course will benefit majors/minors in American/African Literature or other interdisciplinary majors who wish to study the historical experiences of minority ethnic cultures in America.

AFAS 335 – Rap, Culture and God

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Humanities

Pass/Fail Option

Honors Contract

Study of popular culture and religion in African-American and Latino/a communities, with a focus on the place of rap music in the cultural identity of these traditions.

AFAS 340 – The Politics of Race and the African Experience

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Individuals & Societies

By examining both primary and secondary sources this course explores the historical development of African-American civil rights from 1619 with the arrival of the first Africans to Jamestown colony, to the momentous decision by the Supreme court to desegregate schools in 1954.

AFAS 342 – Writers, Women and the Gods

Cross Listed

Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis

Tier 2 Humanities

In order to conceptualize the way gender and ethnicity has shaped women's lives in the public and private domain students will "hear" the voices of African American women in ethnography, history and literature as we discuss the Africana concepts of life, health, beauty and family. The experiences of these women, as expressed in literature have become "formidable" presences in African American culture and history. The self-expression and self-definition, expressed by African American women's voices have generated social and political changes in American history that have also impacted the dominant Euro-American culture of American society.