MTSU now offers the first Africana Studies major in the region and the only one in
Tennessee with the option of either a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) or a Bachelor of Science
(B.S.). Learn about the history and culture of people of African descent throughout
the diaspora, race relations, and socio-economic/political institutions. Students
can gain an invaluable foundation in cultural literacy and historical knowledge for
a wide range of careers sought in an increasingly multicultural society and workforce.
Graduates with the socio-cultural knowledge and history of Africa can work in an array
of international/foreign relations occupations. Majors can choose from courses that
cover international, contemporary, and historical issues across various disciplines,
including political science, history, geography, literature, and philosophy. A study
abroad opportunity is offered in Senegal, Africa.
McCray finds ancestors’ achievements, more diversity
Breia McCray, among the first Africana Studies majors, previously took an introduction
course to study contributions of African-Americans and find more diversity on campus.
“I learned so much about myself within a few months,” McCray says. “The class taught
me that I do not have to focus only on the enslavement of African-Americans, but I
can also examine stories about their success and achievements.” Educational institutions
she had attended had lacked such a major, and she said black scholars and their scholarship
were marginalized or ignored. “Now I feel a part of something great! The establishment
of an Africana Studies major will not only benefit black students, but also students
who are interested in learning about the history and culture of people of African
descent,” McCray says. The new major will allow McCray to expand knowledge about her
ancestors’ “contributions to the national legacy of this country and abroad.”
Student ‘ecstatic’ life-changing program turns into major
First-generation college student Janeka Haden entered MTSU “an undecided major, undecided
about my future, and undecided about my next move.” Always interested in history,
especially courses about her culture and heritage, she declared Social Work her major
and African American Studies her minor as a sophomore. “As I began to explore AAS
courses, I realized the classes, along with the faculty, were some of the most fervent
I have ever experienced,” she says. Now converted to an Africana Studies major, the
program and faculty have “created a culture that was unmatched and made you feel welcome
no matter what your ethnic background.” She was “ecstatic” to learn in Spring 2017
that a major was planned and kept checking for official word. “Every person of African
descent and individuals who share a love for the subject should be able to experience
some of the life-changing professors and content I have encountered,” she says.
Related Media
-
MTSU College of Liberal Arts
-
Africana Studies at MTSU |"Out of the Blue" September 2021
-
MTSU | The University of Opportunities
Businesses already seek to hire individuals who have an understanding of working in
and with diverse populations. Within the next 30 years, a majority non-white national
demographic will populate the American society, and appreciation of multi-racial perspectives
will be an important skill set. This program also helps prepare students interested
in international business related to the West Indies (Caribbean) and Africa, where
economies are progressing. Africa has nine of the 20 fastest-growing economies in
the world, and U.S. imports/exports are experiencing huge increases. With a degree
in Africana Studies, students will be able to pursue graduate education and/or careers
in many fields. Examples include, but are not limited to
- business management
- city planning
- education
- international business/foreign relations (as advisors, analysts, investors/developers,
entrepreneurs, and academic scholars)
- international relations
- journalism
- law
- psychology
- public health
- public history (including archives, cultural resource management, historic homes,
historic preservation, and museums)
- social work
Employers of MTSU alumni
This information is still being compiled since this is a new major.
Noteworthy Africana Studies or African American Studies Majors
- Angela Bassett, award-winning actress
- Mae Jemison, physician and NASA astronaut
- Ava DuVernay, filmmaker and Selma producer
- Marc H. Morial, former mayor of New Orleans
The Africana Studies major is offered as either a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) or a Bachelor
of Science (B.S.), starting in 2017–18. Students who are considering a graduate degree
in this field are strongly encouraged to complete the requirements for the B.A. in
Africana Studies.
Because Africana Studies is interdisciplinary, students have the unique opportunity
to study with professors from diverse backgrounds and to learn in a diverse educational
environment. Faculty who teach in the program are well published, having authored
books and/or scholarly articles in peer-reviewed journals.
All students must take a major field core of 24 hours, Africana Studies electives
of 12 hours, and 41 hours of General Education classes and must have a minor (15–18
hours) in another subject area for either degree. Only B.A. students must fulfill
a foreign language proficiency of 12 hours. Unrestricted electives account for remaining
courses (13 hours for B.A., 25 hours for B.S.)
In the AST 4600 senior seminar course, students will produce and present research
projects (oral and written) to analyze a specific aspect of the black diasporic experience.
Recognized scholars and leading figures also will visit campus as part of a planned
distinguished lecture series.
Noteworthy individuals who majored in African American or Africana Studies include
actress Angela Bassett, astronaut/physician Mae Jemison, New Orleans former mayor
Marc H. Morial, and Selma producer Ava DuVernay.
Minors
An undergraduate interdisciplinary African American Studies minor, requiring 18 hours
of coursework, is also available to MTSU students. The program of study exposes students
to the history and culture of African-Americans in the United States and connects
those experiences to the peoples of Africa, the Caribbean, and other parts of the
Americas.
An African Studies interdisciplinary minor, housed in the Department of Political
Science and International Relations, is another related option offered by the University.
This 18-hour minor provides the opportunity for systematic and comprehensive study
of African arts, cultures, economies, geography, history, literature, politics, and
religions. Find more information about the African Studies minor in the online catalog.
Africana Studies, B.A.
Africana Studies, B.A.
Adonijah Bakari
Adonijah.Bakari@mtsu.edu
(615) 898-5905
The B.A. in Africana Studies is designed for students who want to learn about the history and culture of people of African descent throughout the diaspora, race relations, and socio-economic/political institutions. Courses cover international, contemporary, and historical issues across various disciplines, including political science, history, geography, literature, and philosophy.
Academic Map
Following is a printable, suggested four-year schedule of courses:
Africana Studies, B.A., Academic Map
Degree Requirements
| General Education | 41 hours |
| Major Requirements | 39 hours* |
| Major Core | (30 hours) |
| Africana Studies Elective Courses | (9 hours) |
| Foreign Language | 6 hours |
| Approved Bachelor of Arts Minor | 15-18 hours |
| Electives | 16-25 hours |
| TOTAL | 120 hours |
*This program requires courses that can also fulfill requirements of the General Education curriculum. If program requirements are also used to fulfill General Education requirements, the number of elective hours will increase.
General Education (41 hours)
General Education requirements include courses in Communication, History, Humanities and/or Fine Arts, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social/Behavioral Sciences categories.
The following courses required by the program meet General Education requirements:
Major Requirements (39 hours)
Major Courses (30 hours)
AST 2100 - Introduction to Africana Studies
3 credit hours
(may be counted in General Education)(may be counted in General Education)
dotslash:(may be counted in General Education)
title:(may be counted in General Education)
(may be counted in General Education)
AST 2100 - Introduction to Africana Studies
3 credit hours
Introductory survey course which explains the African American experience from before enslavement to the present day and the social, religious, political, and cultural practices that have evolved from these experiences.
AST 4600 - Topics in Africana Studies
3 credit hours
Selected topics, issues, and problems in the African and African American experience. Course emphasis on primary source materials, critical reading, and critical analysis. Topics will vary. May not be repeated for additional credit hours in the minor.
ENGL 2020 - Themes in Literature and Culture
3 credit hours
(may be counted in General Education)(may be counted in General Education)
dotslash:(may be counted in General Education)
title:(may be counted in General Education)
(may be counted in General Education)
ENGL 2020 - Themes in Literature and Culture
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: ENGL 1010 and ENGL 1020. Traces a specific theme or idea through a number of literary texts that reflect different historical and cultural contexts. Subject will vary.
(selected topics only - during registration search for courses using Attribute: Africana Studies)
HIST 2040 - Survey African American History I
3 credit hours
The role of African Americans in establishing and shaping the American nation. Covers their historical development and contributions to American art, music, literature, and religion. May be used to satisfy one part of the General Education History requirement.
NOTE: HIST 2040 is not a prerequisite for HIST 2050.
HIST 2050 - Survey African American History II
3 credit hours
(may be counted in General Education)(may be counted in General Education)
dotslash:(may be counted in General Education)
title:(may be counted in General Education)
(may be counted in General Education)
HIST 2050 - Survey African American History II
3 credit hours
The role of African Americans in shaping the American nation and creating a twentieth-century racial identity. Covers their historical development and examines their contributions to American art, music, literature, and religion. May be used to satisfy one part of the General Education History requirement.
HIST 4160 - Black Religious History
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: Six hours of HIST 2010, HIST 2020, HIST 2030, HIST 2040, or HIST 2050. Explores a wide variety of data related principally to the history of black denominational bodies from the period of enslavement to the present. Designed to unearth key historical events, persons, and moments in American religious life.
HIST 4750 - African American Social and Intellectual History
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: Six hours of HIST 2010, HIST 2020, HIST 2030, HIST 2040, or HIST 2050. The changing ideology of race and the socioeconomic status of African Americans in the American experience; contributions to the culture and institutions of the United States.
HIST 4985 - Senior Seminar
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: HIST 3010/HIST 3011 and a minimum of 12 upper-division hours in history or permission of the undergraduate director. Capstone course for History majors. Students will conduct original research and produce a research paper, a pedagogical project, or a research-based creative project. Requires a formal oral presentation for completion of the course. May be taken for credit once.
GEOG 3470 - Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa
3 credit hours
Cultural and physical geography of Africa south of the Sahara Desert. Emphasis on geography of humans specifically their demographics, settlement patterns, urbanization, internal and external migrations, ethnicity and ethnic tensions, humans and natural resources, and globalization. (Spring even-numbered years)
HIST 4430 - Sub-Saharan Africa
3 credit hours
(Same as AAS 4430 and AST 4430.) Prerequisite: Three hours of HIST 1010, HIST 1020, HIST 1110, or HIST 1120. Survey of the history of Africa from prehistoric times to the present. Emphasis on the early African kingdoms, European imperialism and colonialism, and the role of Africa as a contemporary world force.
PS 3420 - African American Politics
3 credit hours
The unique history, content, and form of African American political participation; examines the nature of consequences of African American influence within, or exclusion from, the workings of various American political institutions; the nature and types of issues that influence contemporary discussions in American and African American politics related to the socioeconomic conditions of African Americans. Students who have taken PS 4390 - Special Topics in Political Science (Black Politics in America) may not take PS 3420 for credit.
PS 4180 - Contemporary African Politics
3 credit hours
Comparative study of selected African political systems with different colonial traditions in the process of rapid change; trends, issues and common themes in African politics. The ideology and politics of development, political system forms and processes, development efforts, and the challenges of state and nation-building.
ART 4870 - African Art
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: ART 1910 with C or better or permission of instructor. Survey of visual art from the African continent and an examination of selected artists of the African diaspora. Discussion of ancient through contemporary artistic production, with focus upon nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
ART 4880 - African American Art
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: ART 1920 and ART 1930 with C or better or permission of instructor. An art historical survey of African American culture and visual arts, beginning with eighteenth century expressions in painting, sculpture, and the decorative arts, but focusing on the twentieth century expressions.
DANC 4200 - Women in Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Dance
3 credit hours
Examines dance as a field whose content shaped the identity of women in the United States. Representation and objectification of women in dance as it evolved and changed throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century. Offered odd-numbered spring semesters only.
MUHL 4530 - History of Jazz
3 credit hours
Study of the history and literature of jazz music including African roots, developments and aspects of style periods, and the contemporary state of jazz. Listening and analysis.
MUHL 4540 - History of Black Gospel Music
3 credit hours
Historical and cultural survey of black gospel music from its West African and European American antecedents to the present.
Africana Studies Electives (9 hours)
To be selected in consultation with advisor according to student interest, career ambitions, and learning goals
ART 4870 - African Art
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: ART 1910 with C or better or permission of instructor. Survey of visual art from the African continent and an examination of selected artists of the African diaspora. Discussion of ancient through contemporary artistic production, with focus upon nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
ART 4880 - African American Art
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: ART 1920 and ART 1930 with C or better or permission of instructor. An art historical survey of African American culture and visual arts, beginning with eighteenth century expressions in painting, sculpture, and the decorative arts, but focusing on the twentieth century expressions.
AST 4990 - Independent Study in Africana Studies
3 credit hours
Allows the examination of a specific topic within the study of Africa, the Caribbean, or America. Student conducts research and confers regularly with the instructor. Work must draw upon theories and methods applicable to Africana Studies. See the program director for guidelines. May not be repeated for additional credit hours in the minor.
COMM 2560 - Intercultural Communication
3 credit hours
Introduces how communication patterns are influenced by perceptions, values, and norms of behavior that vary among people of different cultural, racial, and national backgrounds. Content focuses on increasing understanding as well as improving abilities to facilitate cross-cultural interactions.
DANC 4200 - Women in Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Dance
3 credit hours
Examines dance as a field whose content shaped the identity of women in the United States. Representation and objectification of women in dance as it evolved and changed throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century. Offered odd-numbered spring semesters only.
(selected topics only - during registration search for courses using Attribute: Africana Studies)
EMC 4820 - Race, Gender, and Class in Media
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing or permission of instructor. Critical examination of diversity in mass communication with particular emphasis on media representations of race, gender, and class. Also examines audience interpretations of media texts.
ENGL 3340 - African American Literature
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: Completion of 1000- and 2000-level English requirements with a grade of C- or better. Defines and traces the development and transformations of the African American literary tradition. Emphasis on analysis of historical, literary, philosophical, and cultural contexts.
ENGL 3450 - Studies in Narrative
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: Completion of 1000- and 2000-level English requirements with a grade of C- or better. Examines the chronological and/or thematic development of at least two different types of narrative, representing at least two different continents.
(selected topics only - during registration search for courses using Attribute: Africana Studies)
ENGL 3735 - Black Women as Writers
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: Completion of 1000- and 2000-level English requirements with a grade of C- or better. A survey of black women's literary expressions and the historical and sociocultural factors that shape these women's artistic sensibilities and thematic concerns. Emphasis will be given to U.S. women writers.
GEOG 3470 - Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa
3 credit hours
Cultural and physical geography of Africa south of the Sahara Desert. Emphasis on geography of humans specifically their demographics, settlement patterns, urbanization, internal and external migrations, ethnicity and ethnic tensions, humans and natural resources, and globalization. (Spring even-numbered years)
GEOG 4500 - Geography of the Middle East and North Africa
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: Junior standing. Situated at the intersection of Europe, Africa and Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa together form a complex and dynamic region linked by similarities such as environment, culture, and religion. Explores the geography of the region emphasizing current issues such as population and migration, religion, conflict, natural resources, geo-political alliances and globalization. (Spring odd-numbered years)
HIST 2040 - Survey African American History I
3 credit hours
The role of African Americans in establishing and shaping the American nation. Covers their historical development and contributions to American art, music, literature, and religion. May be used to satisfy one part of the General Education History requirement.
NOTE: HIST 2040 is not a prerequisite for HIST 2050.
HIST 2050 - Survey African American History II
3 credit hours
The role of African Americans in shaping the American nation and creating a twentieth-century racial identity. Covers their historical development and examines their contributions to American art, music, literature, and religion. May be used to satisfy one part of the General Education History requirement.
HIST 3030 - Topics in African American History
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: Six hours of HIST 2010, HIST 2020, HIST 2030, HIST 2040, or HIST 2050. A seminar course exploring selected topics and problems in the African-American experience since 1619. Possible topics include the Great Migration, the life and work of Malcolm X, Pan-Africanism, Caribbean enslavement, the African American church, the African American woman, African American education, and the Harlem Renaissance. May repeat for up to six credit hours.
HIST 3070 - Topics in World History
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: Three hours of HIST 1010, HIST 1020, HIST 1110, or HIST 1120. A detailed examination of a topic pertinent to world history. Topics vary. May be taken more than once for credit with different topic.
(selected topics only - during registration search for courses using Attribute: Africana Studies)
HIST 3075 - History Abroad
3 to 6 credit hours
(Same as AST 3075.) Examines historical issues while participating in an educational abroad program. Experiential learning experience utilizes resources such as historical sites, museums, archaeological sites, and archives while abroad. Course is repeatable. Three to six credits may be applied to the History major as an elective. Three credits may be applied to the History minor as an elective.
(selected topics only - during registration search for courses using Attribute: Africana Studies)
HIST 4425 - Nationalism and Decolonization in Africa
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: HIST 1010, HIST 1020, HIST 1110, or HIST 1120. Explores the various ways that African nations achieved sovereignty and the struggles they faced in creating a new state. Designed to show how the social and political movements took on different forms according to the types of colonial rule imposed upon these communities.
HIST 4430 - Sub-Saharan Africa
3 credit hours
(Same as AAS 4430 and AST 4430.) Prerequisite: Three hours of HIST 1010, HIST 1020, HIST 1110, or HIST 1120. Survey of the history of Africa from prehistoric times to the present. Emphasis on the early African kingdoms, European imperialism and colonialism, and the role of Africa as a contemporary world force.
HIST 4435 - African Slave Trade
3 credit hours
(Same as AST 4435.) Prerequisite: Three hours of HIST 1010, HIST 1020, HIST 1110, or HIST 1120. Focuses on the history of the African slave trade. Explores trans-Atlantic slave trade compared to other slaveries; historical significance and legacies of the slave trade; and the changing meaning of the term "slavery" and some modern forms of slavery that persist to this day.
HIST 4440 - The Middle East
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: Three hours of HIST 1010, HIST 1020, HIST 1110, or HIST 1120.The rise and spread of Islam, the Ottoman Empire, European imperialism in the Middle East, and contemporary developments. Emphasis on cultural contributions of the Middle East to Western civilization.
HIST 4560 - Ancient Egypt
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: Three hours of HIST 1010, HIST 1020, HIST 1110, or HIST 1120. Examines the political, social, and cultural developments reflected in Egyptian artistic, literary, and architectural works within the context of the 3000-year history of this ancient state from the Predynastic Period through the Ptolemaic Dynasty (3200-32 BCE). Counts as an elective in the global category in History major.
HIST 4755 - Race and Place: The Struggle for Fair Housing Since 1900
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: Six hours of HIST 2010, HIST 2020, HIST 2030, HIST 2040, or HIST 2050. Examines the rise of various twentieth-century federal housing policies that made homeownership affordable for most Americans for the first time in the country's history. Particular emphasis placed on the exclusionary nature of these policies, their generational implications, and the activism that ultimately contributed to their demise.
JOUR 4820 - Race, Gender, and Class in Media
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing or permission of instructor. Critical examination of diversity in mass communication with particular emphasis on media representations of race, gender, and class. Also examines audience interpretations of media texts.
MUHL 4530 - History of Jazz
3 credit hours
Study of the history and literature of jazz music including African roots, developments and aspects of style periods, and the contemporary state of jazz. Listening and analysis.
MUHL 4540 - History of Black Gospel Music
3 credit hours
Historical and cultural survey of black gospel music from its West African and European American antecedents to the present.
PHIL 3500 - Philosophy, Race, and Society
3 credit hours
Examines sociopolitical and existential concerns of African Americans, especially in respect to issues of justice, equality, and the very meaning of life in a world of anti-black racism, against the backdrop of "enlightenment" philosophical discourse on race and personhood.
PS 3170 - Civil Rights Policy and Politics
3 credit hours
Assesses the institutional impact--past and present--of the civil rights movement on American political institutions (the presidency, Congress, the courts, the executive cabinets, the administrative regulatory agencies, and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights). Events and topics include the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the 1991 Civil Rights Act, voter dilution, felony disenfranchisement and sentencing disparities, campaign finance reform, affirmative action, disability rights, gender discrimination, and majority-minority congressional districts.
PS 3420 - African American Politics
3 credit hours
The unique history, content, and form of African American political participation; examines the nature of consequences of African American influence within, or exclusion from, the workings of various American political institutions; the nature and types of issues that influence contemporary discussions in American and African American politics related to the socioeconomic conditions of African Americans. Students who have taken PS 4390 - Special Topics in Political Science (Black Politics in America) may not take PS 3420 for credit.
PS 4180 - Contemporary African Politics
3 credit hours
Comparative study of selected African political systems with different colonial traditions in the process of rapid change; trends, issues and common themes in African politics. The ideology and politics of development, political system forms and processes, development efforts, and the challenges of state and nation-building.
PSY 3250 - Perspectives on Black Psychology
3 credit hours
Application of psychological principles to the personality development and behavior patterns of African Americans, in light of cultural heritage and contemporary events. Implications for assessment and counseling.
PSY 4720 - Cross-Cultural Psychology
3 credit hours
Reviews the concept of culture and how this and other demographic factors influence issues in psychology and human experiences including thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
SOC 4240 - Race and Ethnic Relations
3 credit hours
(Same as AAS 4240 and AST 4240.) The dynamics of race and ethnic relations in the United States from a socio historic perspective.
SOC 4511 - Social Movements and Social Change
3 credit hours
Study of the major sociological theories of revolutions, rebellions, civil wars, and protest movements of the past and present and their relationship to significant social changes.
SW 3200 - Cultural Diversity: Competency for Practice
3 credit hours
Examines culturally appropriate practice issues that are essential considerations for effective service delivery, including African American families and other historically oppressed groups in the U.S.
- Additional elective courses as approved by program for specific course/instructor by semester
*Available as elective if not taken in core
Foreign Language Requirement (6 hours)
- Students must successfully complete 2010 and 2020 or any courses numbered above the 2000 level in a single foreign language.
Minor (15-18 hours)
- Approved Bachelor of Arts minor
Electives (16-25)
Curriculum: Africana Studies, B.A.
Curricular listings include General Education requirements in Communication, History, Humanities and/or Fine Arts, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social/Behavioral Sciences categories.
Freshman
ENGL 1010 - Expository Writing
3 credit hours
The first General Education English course. Emphasis on learning to adapt composing processes to a variety of expository and analytic writing assignments. Minimum grade of C- required to meet degree requirements.
ENGL 1020 - Research and Argumentative Writing
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: ENGL 1010. The second General Education English course. Emphasis on analytic and argumentative writing and on locating, organizing, and using library resource materials in the writing. Minimum grade of C- required to meet degree requirements.
COMM 2200 - Fundamentals of Communication
3 credit hours
Introduces principles and processes of effective public oral communication including researching, critical thinking, organizing, presenting, listening, and using appropriate language. Counts as part of the General Education Communication requirement. TBR Common Course: COMM 2025
AST 2100 - Introduction to Africana Studies
3 credit hours
Introductory survey course which explains the African American experience from before enslavement to the present day and the social, religious, political, and cultural practices that have evolved from these experiences.
- Foreign language (2000 level) 6 credit hours (Requires testing out of FL 1010 and 1020)
- Natural Sciences 8 credit hours
- Mathematics 3 credit hours
HIST 2040 - Survey African American History I
3 credit hours
The role of African Americans in establishing and shaping the American nation. Covers their historical development and contributions to American art, music, literature, and religion. May be used to satisfy one part of the General Education History requirement.
NOTE: HIST 2040 is not a prerequisite for HIST 2050.
HIST 2050 - Survey African American History II
3 credit hours
The role of African Americans in shaping the American nation and creating a twentieth-century racial identity. Covers their historical development and examines their contributions to American art, music, literature, and religion. May be used to satisfy one part of the General Education History requirement.
Subtotal: 32 Hours
Sophomore
ENGL 2020 - Themes in Literature and Culture
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: ENGL 1010 and ENGL 1020. Traces a specific theme or idea through a number of literary texts that reflect different historical and cultural contexts. Subject will vary.
(selected topics only - during registration search for courses using Attribute: Africana Studies)
ENGL 2030 - The Experience of Literature
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: ENGL 1010 and ENGL 1020. The reading of a variety of literary types which illuminate themes and experiences common to human existence.
HUM 2610 - World Literatures
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: ENGL 1010 and ENGL 1020. Representative works of French, German, and Hispanic authors in English translation. No foreign-language proficiency required. Carries General Education credit.
- Foreign language or electives 6 credit hours
- Social and Behavioral Sciences (2 rubrics) 6 credit hours
- Humanities and/or Fine Arts (2 rubrics) 6 credit hours
- Minor course 3 credit hours
- General Education History 6 credit hours
Subtotal: 30 Hours
Junior
HIST 4160 - Black Religious History
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: Six hours of HIST 2010, HIST 2020, HIST 2030, HIST 2040, or HIST 2050. Explores a wide variety of data related principally to the history of black denominational bodies from the period of enslavement to the present. Designed to unearth key historical events, persons, and moments in American religious life.
HIST 4750 - African American Social and Intellectual History
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: Six hours of HIST 2010, HIST 2020, HIST 2030, HIST 2040, or HIST 2050. The changing ideology of race and the socioeconomic status of African Americans in the American experience; contributions to the culture and institutions of the United States.
- Upper-division electives 6 credit hours
- Minor courses 6 credit hours
- General electives 6 credit hours
GEOG 3470 - Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa
3 credit hours
Cultural and physical geography of Africa south of the Sahara Desert. Emphasis on geography of humans specifically their demographics, settlement patterns, urbanization, internal and external migrations, ethnicity and ethnic tensions, humans and natural resources, and globalization. (Spring even-numbered years)
HIST 4430 - Sub-Saharan Africa
3 credit hours
(Same as AAS 4430 and AST 4430.) Prerequisite: Three hours of HIST 1010, HIST 1020, HIST 1110, or HIST 1120. Survey of the history of Africa from prehistoric times to the present. Emphasis on the early African kingdoms, European imperialism and colonialism, and the role of Africa as a contemporary world force.
PS 4180 - Contemporary African Politics
3 credit hours
Comparative study of selected African political systems with different colonial traditions in the process of rapid change; trends, issues and common themes in African politics. The ideology and politics of development, political system forms and processes, development efforts, and the challenges of state and nation-building.
PS 3420 - African American Politics
3 credit hours
The unique history, content, and form of African American political participation; examines the nature of consequences of African American influence within, or exclusion from, the workings of various American political institutions; the nature and types of issues that influence contemporary discussions in American and African American politics related to the socioeconomic conditions of African Americans. Students who have taken PS 4390 - Special Topics in Political Science (Black Politics in America) may not take PS 3420 for credit.
Subtotal: 30 Hours
Senior
AST 4600 - Topics in Africana Studies
3 credit hours
Selected topics, issues, and problems in the African and African American experience. Course emphasis on primary source materials, critical reading, and critical analysis. Topics will vary. May not be repeated for additional credit hours in the minor.
HIST 4985 - Senior Seminar
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: HIST 3010/HIST 3011 and a minimum of 12 upper-division hours in history or permission of the undergraduate director. Capstone course for History majors. Students will conduct original research and produce a research paper, a pedagogical project, or a research-based creative project. Requires a formal oral presentation for completion of the course. May be taken for credit once.
- Minor courses 6 credit hours
- General electives 7 credit hours
- General elective/minor course 3 credit hours
- Upper-division electives 3 credit hours
ART 4870 - African Art
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: ART 1910 with C or better or permission of instructor. Survey of visual art from the African continent and an examination of selected artists of the African diaspora. Discussion of ancient through contemporary artistic production, with focus upon nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
ART 4880 - African American Art
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: ART 1920 and ART 1930 with C or better or permission of instructor. An art historical survey of African American culture and visual arts, beginning with eighteenth century expressions in painting, sculpture, and the decorative arts, but focusing on the twentieth century expressions.
DANC 4200 - Women in Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Dance
3 credit hours
Examines dance as a field whose content shaped the identity of women in the United States. Representation and objectification of women in dance as it evolved and changed throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century. Offered odd-numbered spring semesters only.
MUHL 4530 - History of Jazz
3 credit hours
Study of the history and literature of jazz music including African roots, developments and aspects of style periods, and the contemporary state of jazz. Listening and analysis.
MUHL 4540 - History of Black Gospel Music
3 credit hours
Historical and cultural survey of black gospel music from its West African and European American antecedents to the present.
Subtotal: 28 Hours
Africana Studies, B.S.
Africana Studies, B.S.
Adonijah Bakari
Adonijah.Bakari@mtsu.edu
615-898-5905
The B.S. in Africana Studies is designed for students who want to learn about the history and culture of people of African descent throughout the diaspora, race relations, and socio-economic/political institutions. Courses cover international, contemporary, and historical issues across various disciplines, including political science, history, geography, literature, and philosophy.
Academic Map
Following is a printable, suggested four-year schedule of courses:
Africana Studies, B.S., Academic Map
Degree Requirements
| General Education | 41 hours |
| Major Requirements | 39 hours* |
| Major Core | (30 hours) |
| Africana Studies Elective Courses | (9 hours) |
| Minor | 15-18 hours |
| Electives | 22-31 hours |
| TOTAL | 120 hours |
*This program requires courses that can also fulfill requirements of the General Education curriculum. If program requirements are also used to fulfill General Education requirements, the number of elective hours will increase.
General Education (41 hours)
General Education requirements include courses in Communication, History, Humanities and/or Fine Arts, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social/Behavioral Sciences categories.
The following courses required by the program meet General Education requirements:
Major Requirements (39 hours)
Major Courses (30 hours)
AST 2100 - Introduction to Africana Studies
3 credit hours
(may be counted)(may be counted in General Education)
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title:(may be counted)
(may be counted in General Education)
AST 2100 - Introduction to Africana Studies
3 credit hours
Introductory survey course which explains the African American experience from before enslavement to the present day and the social, religious, political, and cultural practices that have evolved from these experiences.
AST 4600 - Topics in Africana Studies
3 credit hours
Selected topics, issues, and problems in the African and African American experience. Course emphasis on primary source materials, critical reading, and critical analysis. Topics will vary. May not be repeated for additional credit hours in the minor.
ENGL 2020 - Themes in Literature and Culture
3 credit hours
(may be counted)(may be counted in General Education)
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title:(may be counted)
(may be counted in General Education)
ENGL 2020 - Themes in Literature and Culture
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: ENGL 1010 and ENGL 1020. Traces a specific theme or idea through a number of literary texts that reflect different historical and cultural contexts. Subject will vary.
(selected topics only - during registration search for courses using Attribute: Africana Studies)
HIST 2040 - Survey African American History I
3 credit hours
The role of African Americans in establishing and shaping the American nation. Covers their historical development and contributions to American art, music, literature, and religion. May be used to satisfy one part of the General Education History requirement.
NOTE: HIST 2040 is not a prerequisite for HIST 2050.
HIST 2050 - Survey African American History II
3 credit hours
(may be counted in General Education)(may be counted in General Education)
dotslash:(may be counted in General Education)
title:(may be counted in General Education)
(may be counted in General Education)
HIST 2050 - Survey African American History II
3 credit hours
The role of African Americans in shaping the American nation and creating a twentieth-century racial identity. Covers their historical development and examines their contributions to American art, music, literature, and religion. May be used to satisfy one part of the General Education History requirement.
HIST 4160 - Black Religious History
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: Six hours of HIST 2010, HIST 2020, HIST 2030, HIST 2040, or HIST 2050. Explores a wide variety of data related principally to the history of black denominational bodies from the period of enslavement to the present. Designed to unearth key historical events, persons, and moments in American religious life.
HIST 4750 - African American Social and Intellectual History
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: Six hours of HIST 2010, HIST 2020, HIST 2030, HIST 2040, or HIST 2050. The changing ideology of race and the socioeconomic status of African Americans in the American experience; contributions to the culture and institutions of the United States.
HIST 4985 - Senior Seminar
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: HIST 3010/HIST 3011 and a minimum of 12 upper-division hours in history or permission of the undergraduate director. Capstone course for History majors. Students will conduct original research and produce a research paper, a pedagogical project, or a research-based creative project. Requires a formal oral presentation for completion of the course. May be taken for credit once.
GEOG 3470 - Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa
3 credit hours
Cultural and physical geography of Africa south of the Sahara Desert. Emphasis on geography of humans specifically their demographics, settlement patterns, urbanization, internal and external migrations, ethnicity and ethnic tensions, humans and natural resources, and globalization. (Spring even-numbered years)
HIST 4430 - Sub-Saharan Africa
3 credit hours
(Same as AAS 4430 and AST 4430.) Prerequisite: Three hours of HIST 1010, HIST 1020, HIST 1110, or HIST 1120. Survey of the history of Africa from prehistoric times to the present. Emphasis on the early African kingdoms, European imperialism and colonialism, and the role of Africa as a contemporary world force.
PS 3420 - African American Politics
3 credit hours
The unique history, content, and form of African American political participation; examines the nature of consequences of African American influence within, or exclusion from, the workings of various American political institutions; the nature and types of issues that influence contemporary discussions in American and African American politics related to the socioeconomic conditions of African Americans. Students who have taken PS 4390 - Special Topics in Political Science (Black Politics in America) may not take PS 3420 for credit.
PS 4180 - Contemporary African Politics
3 credit hours
Comparative study of selected African political systems with different colonial traditions in the process of rapid change; trends, issues and common themes in African politics. The ideology and politics of development, political system forms and processes, development efforts, and the challenges of state and nation-building.
ART 4870 - African Art
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: ART 1910 with C or better or permission of instructor. Survey of visual art from the African continent and an examination of selected artists of the African diaspora. Discussion of ancient through contemporary artistic production, with focus upon nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
ART 4880 - African American Art
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: ART 1920 and ART 1930 with C or better or permission of instructor. An art historical survey of African American culture and visual arts, beginning with eighteenth century expressions in painting, sculpture, and the decorative arts, but focusing on the twentieth century expressions.
DANC 4200 - Women in Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Dance
3 credit hours
Examines dance as a field whose content shaped the identity of women in the United States. Representation and objectification of women in dance as it evolved and changed throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century. Offered odd-numbered spring semesters only.
MUHL 4530 - History of Jazz
3 credit hours
Study of the history and literature of jazz music including African roots, developments and aspects of style periods, and the contemporary state of jazz. Listening and analysis.
MUHL 4540 - History of Black Gospel Music
3 credit hours
Historical and cultural survey of black gospel music from its West African and European American antecedents to the present.
Africana Studies Electives (9 hours)
To be selected in consultation with advisor according to student interest, career ambitions, and learning goals
ART 4870 - African Art
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: ART 1910 with C or better or permission of instructor. Survey of visual art from the African continent and an examination of selected artists of the African diaspora. Discussion of ancient through contemporary artistic production, with focus upon nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
ART 4880 - African American Art
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: ART 1920 and ART 1930 with C or better or permission of instructor. An art historical survey of African American culture and visual arts, beginning with eighteenth century expressions in painting, sculpture, and the decorative arts, but focusing on the twentieth century expressions.
AST 4990 - Independent Study in Africana Studies
3 credit hours
Allows the examination of a specific topic within the study of Africa, the Caribbean, or America. Student conducts research and confers regularly with the instructor. Work must draw upon theories and methods applicable to Africana Studies. See the program director for guidelines. May not be repeated for additional credit hours in the minor.
COMM 2560 - Intercultural Communication
3 credit hours
Introduces how communication patterns are influenced by perceptions, values, and norms of behavior that vary among people of different cultural, racial, and national backgrounds. Content focuses on increasing understanding as well as improving abilities to facilitate cross-cultural interactions.
DANC 4200 - Women in Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Dance
3 credit hours
Examines dance as a field whose content shaped the identity of women in the United States. Representation and objectification of women in dance as it evolved and changed throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century. Offered odd-numbered spring semesters only.
(selected topics only - during registration search for courses using Attribute: Africana Studies)
EMC 4820 - Race, Gender, and Class in Media
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing or permission of instructor. Critical examination of diversity in mass communication with particular emphasis on media representations of race, gender, and class. Also examines audience interpretations of media texts.
ENGL 3340 - African American Literature
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: Completion of 1000- and 2000-level English requirements with a grade of C- or better. Defines and traces the development and transformations of the African American literary tradition. Emphasis on analysis of historical, literary, philosophical, and cultural contexts.
ENGL 3450 - Studies in Narrative
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: Completion of 1000- and 2000-level English requirements with a grade of C- or better. Examines the chronological and/or thematic development of at least two different types of narrative, representing at least two different continents.
(selected topics only - during registration search for courses using Attribute: Africana Studies)
ENGL 3735 - Black Women as Writers
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: Completion of 1000- and 2000-level English requirements with a grade of C- or better. A survey of black women's literary expressions and the historical and sociocultural factors that shape these women's artistic sensibilities and thematic concerns. Emphasis will be given to U.S. women writers.
GEOG 3470 - Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa
3 credit hours
Cultural and physical geography of Africa south of the Sahara Desert. Emphasis on geography of humans specifically their demographics, settlement patterns, urbanization, internal and external migrations, ethnicity and ethnic tensions, humans and natural resources, and globalization. (Spring even-numbered years)
GEOG 4500 - Geography of the Middle East and North Africa
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: Junior standing. Situated at the intersection of Europe, Africa and Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa together form a complex and dynamic region linked by similarities such as environment, culture, and religion. Explores the geography of the region emphasizing current issues such as population and migration, religion, conflict, natural resources, geo-political alliances and globalization. (Spring odd-numbered years)
HIST 2040 - Survey African American History I
3 credit hours
The role of African Americans in establishing and shaping the American nation. Covers their historical development and contributions to American art, music, literature, and religion. May be used to satisfy one part of the General Education History requirement.
NOTE: HIST 2040 is not a prerequisite for HIST 2050.
HIST 2050 - Survey African American History II
3 credit hours
The role of African Americans in shaping the American nation and creating a twentieth-century racial identity. Covers their historical development and examines their contributions to American art, music, literature, and religion. May be used to satisfy one part of the General Education History requirement.
HIST 3030 - Topics in African American History
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: Six hours of HIST 2010, HIST 2020, HIST 2030, HIST 2040, or HIST 2050. A seminar course exploring selected topics and problems in the African-American experience since 1619. Possible topics include the Great Migration, the life and work of Malcolm X, Pan-Africanism, Caribbean enslavement, the African American church, the African American woman, African American education, and the Harlem Renaissance. May repeat for up to six credit hours.
HIST 3070 - Topics in World History
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: Three hours of HIST 1010, HIST 1020, HIST 1110, or HIST 1120. A detailed examination of a topic pertinent to world history. Topics vary. May be taken more than once for credit with different topic.
(selected topics only - during registration search for courses using Attribute: Africana Studies)
HIST 3075 - History Abroad
3 to 6 credit hours
(Same as AST 3075.) Examines historical issues while participating in an educational abroad program. Experiential learning experience utilizes resources such as historical sites, museums, archaeological sites, and archives while abroad. Course is repeatable. Three to six credits may be applied to the History major as an elective. Three credits may be applied to the History minor as an elective.
(selected topics only - during registration search for courses using Attribute: Africana Studies)
HIST 4425 - Nationalism and Decolonization in Africa
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: HIST 1010, HIST 1020, HIST 1110, or HIST 1120. Explores the various ways that African nations achieved sovereignty and the struggles they faced in creating a new state. Designed to show how the social and political movements took on different forms according to the types of colonial rule imposed upon these communities.
HIST 4430 - Sub-Saharan Africa
3 credit hours
(Same as AAS 4430 and AST 4430.) Prerequisite: Three hours of HIST 1010, HIST 1020, HIST 1110, or HIST 1120. Survey of the history of Africa from prehistoric times to the present. Emphasis on the early African kingdoms, European imperialism and colonialism, and the role of Africa as a contemporary world force.
HIST 4435 - African Slave Trade
3 credit hours
(Same as AST 4435.) Prerequisite: Three hours of HIST 1010, HIST 1020, HIST 1110, or HIST 1120. Focuses on the history of the African slave trade. Explores trans-Atlantic slave trade compared to other slaveries; historical significance and legacies of the slave trade; and the changing meaning of the term "slavery" and some modern forms of slavery that persist to this day.
HIST 4440 - The Middle East
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: Three hours of HIST 1010, HIST 1020, HIST 1110, or HIST 1120.The rise and spread of Islam, the Ottoman Empire, European imperialism in the Middle East, and contemporary developments. Emphasis on cultural contributions of the Middle East to Western civilization.
HIST 4560 - Ancient Egypt
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: Three hours of HIST 1010, HIST 1020, HIST 1110, or HIST 1120. Examines the political, social, and cultural developments reflected in Egyptian artistic, literary, and architectural works within the context of the 3000-year history of this ancient state from the Predynastic Period through the Ptolemaic Dynasty (3200-32 BCE). Counts as an elective in the global category in History major.
HIST 4755 - Race and Place: The Struggle for Fair Housing Since 1900
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: Six hours of HIST 2010, HIST 2020, HIST 2030, HIST 2040, or HIST 2050. Examines the rise of various twentieth-century federal housing policies that made homeownership affordable for most Americans for the first time in the country's history. Particular emphasis placed on the exclusionary nature of these policies, their generational implications, and the activism that ultimately contributed to their demise.
JOUR 4820 - Race, Gender, and Class in Media
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing or permission of instructor. Critical examination of diversity in mass communication with particular emphasis on media representations of race, gender, and class. Also examines audience interpretations of media texts.
MUHL 4530 - History of Jazz
3 credit hours
Study of the history and literature of jazz music including African roots, developments and aspects of style periods, and the contemporary state of jazz. Listening and analysis.
MUHL 4540 - History of Black Gospel Music
3 credit hours
Historical and cultural survey of black gospel music from its West African and European American antecedents to the present.
PHIL 3500 - Philosophy, Race, and Society
3 credit hours
Examines sociopolitical and existential concerns of African Americans, especially in respect to issues of justice, equality, and the very meaning of life in a world of anti-black racism, against the backdrop of "enlightenment" philosophical discourse on race and personhood.
PS 3170 - Civil Rights Policy and Politics
3 credit hours
Assesses the institutional impact--past and present--of the civil rights movement on American political institutions (the presidency, Congress, the courts, the executive cabinets, the administrative regulatory agencies, and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights). Events and topics include the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the 1991 Civil Rights Act, voter dilution, felony disenfranchisement and sentencing disparities, campaign finance reform, affirmative action, disability rights, gender discrimination, and majority-minority congressional districts.
PS 3420 - African American Politics
3 credit hours
The unique history, content, and form of African American political participation; examines the nature of consequences of African American influence within, or exclusion from, the workings of various American political institutions; the nature and types of issues that influence contemporary discussions in American and African American politics related to the socioeconomic conditions of African Americans. Students who have taken PS 4390 - Special Topics in Political Science (Black Politics in America) may not take PS 3420 for credit.
PS 4180 - Contemporary African Politics
3 credit hours
Comparative study of selected African political systems with different colonial traditions in the process of rapid change; trends, issues and common themes in African politics. The ideology and politics of development, political system forms and processes, development efforts, and the challenges of state and nation-building.
PSY 3250 - Perspectives on Black Psychology
3 credit hours
Application of psychological principles to the personality development and behavior patterns of African Americans, in light of cultural heritage and contemporary events. Implications for assessment and counseling.
PSY 4720 - Cross-Cultural Psychology
3 credit hours
Reviews the concept of culture and how this and other demographic factors influence issues in psychology and human experiences including thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
SOC 4240 - Race and Ethnic Relations
3 credit hours
(Same as AAS 4240 and AST 4240.) The dynamics of race and ethnic relations in the United States from a socio historic perspective.
SOC 4511 - Social Movements and Social Change
3 credit hours
Study of the major sociological theories of revolutions, rebellions, civil wars, and protest movements of the past and present and their relationship to significant social changes.
SW 3200 - Cultural Diversity: Competency for Practice
3 credit hours
Examines culturally appropriate practice issues that are essential considerations for effective service delivery, including African American families and other historically oppressed groups in the U.S.
- Additional elective courses as approved by program for specific course/instructor by semester
*Available as elective if not taken in core
Minor (15-18 hours)
Electives (22-31 hours)
Curriculum: Africana Studies
Curricular listings include General Education requirements in Communication, History, Humanities and/or Fine Arts, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social/Behavioral Sciences categories.
Freshman
ENGL 1010 - Expository Writing
3 credit hours
The first General Education English course. Emphasis on learning to adapt composing processes to a variety of expository and analytic writing assignments. Minimum grade of C- required to meet degree requirements.
ENGL 1020 - Research and Argumentative Writing
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: ENGL 1010. The second General Education English course. Emphasis on analytic and argumentative writing and on locating, organizing, and using library resource materials in the writing. Minimum grade of C- required to meet degree requirements.
COMM 2200 - Fundamentals of Communication
3 credit hours
Introduces principles and processes of effective public oral communication including researching, critical thinking, organizing, presenting, listening, and using appropriate language. Counts as part of the General Education Communication requirement. TBR Common Course: COMM 2025
AST 2100 - Introduction to Africana Studies
3 credit hours
Introductory survey course which explains the African American experience from before enslavement to the present day and the social, religious, political, and cultural practices that have evolved from these experiences.
- General electives 6 credit hours
- Natural Sciences 8 credit hours
- Mathematics 3 credit hours
HIST 2040 - Survey African American History I
3 credit hours
The role of African Americans in establishing and shaping the American nation. Covers their historical development and contributions to American art, music, literature, and religion. May be used to satisfy one part of the General Education History requirement.
NOTE: HIST 2040 is not a prerequisite for HIST 2050.
HIST 2050 - Survey African American History II
3 credit hours
The role of African Americans in shaping the American nation and creating a twentieth-century racial identity. Covers their historical development and examines their contributions to American art, music, literature, and religion. May be used to satisfy one part of the General Education History requirement.
Subtotal: 32 Hours
Sophomore
ENGL 2020 - Themes in Literature and Culture
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: ENGL 1010 and ENGL 1020. Traces a specific theme or idea through a number of literary texts that reflect different historical and cultural contexts. Subject will vary.
(selected topics only - during registration search for courses using Attribute: Africana Studies)
ENGL 2030 - The Experience of Literature
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: ENGL 1010 and ENGL 1020. The reading of a variety of literary types which illuminate themes and experiences common to human existence.
HUM 2610 - World Literatures
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: ENGL 1010 and ENGL 1020. Representative works of French, German, and Hispanic authors in English translation. No foreign-language proficiency required. Carries General Education credit.
- General electives 6 credit hours
- Social and Behavioral Sciences (2 rubrics) 6 credit hours
- Humanities and/or Fine Arts (2 rubrics) 6 credit hours
- General Education History 6 credit hours
- Minor course 3 credit hours
Subtotal: 30 Hours
Junior
HIST 4160 - Black Religious History
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: Six hours of HIST 2010, HIST 2020, HIST 2030, HIST 2040, or HIST 2050. Explores a wide variety of data related principally to the history of black denominational bodies from the period of enslavement to the present. Designed to unearth key historical events, persons, and moments in American religious life.
HIST 4750 - African American Social and Intellectual History
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: Six hours of HIST 2010, HIST 2020, HIST 2030, HIST 2040, or HIST 2050. The changing ideology of race and the socioeconomic status of African Americans in the American experience; contributions to the culture and institutions of the United States.
- Upper-division electives 6 credit hours
- Minor courses 6 credit hours
- General electives 6 credit hours
GEOG 3470 - Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa
3 credit hours
Cultural and physical geography of Africa south of the Sahara Desert. Emphasis on geography of humans specifically their demographics, settlement patterns, urbanization, internal and external migrations, ethnicity and ethnic tensions, humans and natural resources, and globalization. (Spring even-numbered years)
HIST 4430 - Sub-Saharan Africa
3 credit hours
(Same as AAS 4430 and AST 4430.) Prerequisite: Three hours of HIST 1010, HIST 1020, HIST 1110, or HIST 1120. Survey of the history of Africa from prehistoric times to the present. Emphasis on the early African kingdoms, European imperialism and colonialism, and the role of Africa as a contemporary world force.
PS 4180 - Contemporary African Politics
3 credit hours
Comparative study of selected African political systems with different colonial traditions in the process of rapid change; trends, issues and common themes in African politics. The ideology and politics of development, political system forms and processes, development efforts, and the challenges of state and nation-building.
PS 3420 - African American Politics
3 credit hours
The unique history, content, and form of African American political participation; examines the nature of consequences of African American influence within, or exclusion from, the workings of various American political institutions; the nature and types of issues that influence contemporary discussions in American and African American politics related to the socioeconomic conditions of African Americans. Students who have taken PS 4390 - Special Topics in Political Science (Black Politics in America) may not take PS 3420 for credit.
Subtotal: 30 Hours
Senior
AST 4600 - Topics in Africana Studies
3 credit hours
Selected topics, issues, and problems in the African and African American experience. Course emphasis on primary source materials, critical reading, and critical analysis. Topics will vary. May not be repeated for additional credit hours in the minor.
HIST 4985 - Senior Seminar
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: HIST 3010/HIST 3011 and a minimum of 12 upper-division hours in history or permission of the undergraduate director. Capstone course for History majors. Students will conduct original research and produce a research paper, a pedagogical project, or a research-based creative project. Requires a formal oral presentation for completion of the course. May be taken for credit once.
- Minor courses 6 credit hours
- General electives 7 credit hours
- General elective/minor course 3 credit hours
- Upper-division electives 3 credit hours
ART 4870 - African Art
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: ART 1910 with C or better or permission of instructor. Survey of visual art from the African continent and an examination of selected artists of the African diaspora. Discussion of ancient through contemporary artistic production, with focus upon nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
ART 4880 - African American Art
3 credit hours
Prerequisites: ART 1920 and ART 1930 with C or better or permission of instructor. An art historical survey of African American culture and visual arts, beginning with eighteenth century expressions in painting, sculpture, and the decorative arts, but focusing on the twentieth century expressions.
DANC 4200 - Women in Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Dance
3 credit hours
Examines dance as a field whose content shaped the identity of women in the United States. Representation and objectification of women in dance as it evolved and changed throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century. Offered odd-numbered spring semesters only.
MUHL 4530 - History of Jazz
3 credit hours
Study of the history and literature of jazz music including African roots, developments and aspects of style periods, and the contemporary state of jazz. Listening and analysis.
MUHL 4540 - History of Black Gospel Music
3 credit hours
Historical and cultural survey of black gospel music from its West African and European American antecedents to the present.
Subtotal: 28 Hours
Our adjunct faculty bring outstanding professional experience to our programs. Many are industry leaders with decorated careers and honors. Importantly, they are innovative educators who offer hands-on learning to our students to prepare them to enter and thrive in a dynamic, and oftentimes emerging, industry and professional world. They inspire, instruct, and challenge our students toward academic and professional success.
The interdisciplinary nature of this program allows students to choose from a variety
of courses. Specific course numbers are included under the Requirements tab. Clicking
on a course number opens the course description.
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Civil Rights Historic Sites in Montgomery and Birmingham, AL
Civil Rights Historic Sites in Montgomery and Birmingham, AL
Civil Rights Historic Sites in Montgomery and Birmingham, AL
Civil Rights Historic Sites in Montgomery and Birmingham, AL
Civil Rights Historic Sites in Montgomery and Birmingham, AL
Civil Rights Historic Sites in Montgomery and Birmingham, AL
Civil Rights Historic Sites in Montgomery and Birmingham, AL
Civil Rights Historic Sites in Montgomery and Birmingham, AL
Civil Rights Historic Sites in Montgomery and Birmingham, AL
Civil Rights Historic Sites in Montgomery and Birmingham, AL
Civil Rights Historic Sites in Montgomery and Birmingham, AL
Civil Rights Historic Sites in Montgomery and Birmingham, AL
Civil Rights Historic Sites in Montgomery and Birmingham, AL
Civil Rights Historic Sites in Montgomery and Birmingham, AL
Discover Senegal with the benefit of having someone from Senegal as a guide on this
MTSU Faculty-led program. Sample African cultures, history and politics, and Euro-African
encounters in Dakar, Goree Island, St. Louis of Senegal, Thies, Touba, and Joal-Fadiouth.
For more information about this wonderful study abroad opportunity, please contact
Dr. Aliou Ly at 615-898-2627 or aliou.ly@mtsu.edu.
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