This is an archived copy of the 2016-2017 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.valdosta.edu.

Dr. Calvin Walker, Interim Coordinator
1107 Nevins Hall

African American Studies (AFAM), an academic discipline, offers an intellectual approach to the study of African people both nationally and globally. It seeks to provide historically accurate assessments of the roles and contributions of people of African descent to America and to human history. An interdisciplinary program, this minor offers students the opportunity to communicate more effectively across cultural lines and to explore the social, political, and economic reality of the black experience in the United States. The minor encourages creative research, the acquisition of practical experiences, and the development of intellectual expertise in African American Studies. Several departments at Valdosta State University offer courses that support these goals.

Selected Educational Outcomes

  1. AFAM minors will study the historical and cultural origins of African Americans.
  2. AFAM minors will discuss the significant historical and political movements that have influenced and characterized the mobility of African Americans.
  3. AFAM minors will understand the diverse contributions African Americans have made, not only to America, but to other world cultures as well.
  4. AFAM minors will discuss those damaging stereotypes and myths that have plagued and ultimately hindered African Americans’ complete integration into American society.

Requirements for the Minor in African American Studies

AFAM 3000Introduction to African American Studies3
AFAM 4700African American Studies Seminar3
Select Elective courses from the following:9
Studies in African American Literature
Studies in African Literature
African American History to 1865
African American History Since 1865
Precolonial Africa
Modern Africa
Special Topics in African American Studies
Africa: Inequalities Past and Present
Special Topics in Literature
Special Topics in Theatre
Studies in Major Writers
Special Topics in History
Special Topics in History
Special Topics in History
The Old South
The New South
The Caribbean
Special Topics in Journalism
Private Voice
Special Topics in Philosophy
Alternative Dispute Resolution
African Politics
Special Topics in U.S. Government and Politics
Topics in Religious Studies
Race and Ethnic Relations
Total Hours15

No more than two courses from the same department may be taken to satisfy the requirements of the minor.