This course is an Introduction to Africa and African American History and Culture. It is designed as a first year experience (FYE) course for freshman and transfer students. It will begin by exploring such themes as great African civilizations and contemporary African geography. We will examine the transatlantic slave trade and the dispersal of Africans in the Americas. The course follows the struggle of the African Americas from slavery to freedom by examining "first person accounts" of the experiences of African Americans through History. We will also examine the workings of apartheid in South Africa for a comparative analysis of race in the United States.
Africans were dispersed throughout the Americas as a result of the slave trade in the 15-19th centuries. The course studies the history of the slave trade and the cultures that developed among the descendants of Africans in South America, Central America, North America, and the Caribbean.
An examination of the cultural practices of African Americans in the 20th and 21st centuries. Some topics to be discussed include African American musical traditions such as Jazz and Blues, the Harlem Renaissance, The Garvey Movement, Cultural Arts Movement of the 60's, Hip Hop Culture, and more.
A survey of important themes in the history of African Americans. The course will focus upon African life before the slave trade, the Atlantic slave trade, the struggle for emancipation and independence, and the struggle for civil rights.
An examination of the political and social movements of the 20th century with emphasis on the civil rights movement and the black power movements of the 1950's and 1960's.
A survey of African civilizations from the evolution of mankind to the present. The course highlights the important civilizations of Ancient Egypt, Nubia, Sudan, Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Zimbabwe, and others.
This course prepares students to participate in a simulation of the Organization of African Unity annual conference. The four day conference hosted by Howard University in Washington, DC debates and discusses the problems of the countries of the African continent. The class will act as diplomatic representatives of selected African nations. Students will have the opportunity to interact with the Embassy officials from the country that they represent.
An analysis of post-1945 Africa focusing upon the political, economic, and social experiences of African nations. The course traces the political evolution of Africa from the colonial period to political independence and analyzes the nation building process and its impact on the international political economy.