Dr. Adam Wood, Interim Program Coordinator
1107 Nevins Hall
Africana 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 Africana Studies. Several departments at Valdosta State University offer courses that support these goals.
Selected Educational Outcomes
- AFAM minors will recognize the founding of the discipline of Africana Studies and key figures, concepts, and theories in the intellectual genealogy and development of the field.
- AFAM minors will describe and analyze the experiences of people of African descent in all parts of the world, especially African Diaspora in the Americas, the Caribbean, and Africa.
- AFAM minors will identify and analyze forms and traditions of thought or expression in relation to the cultural, historical, political, and social context of people of African descent as, for example, dance, literature, music, film, and philosophical and religious traditions.
- AFAM minors will collect, analyze, and synthesize qualitative and quantitative data using interdisciplinary techniques to explain the impact of societal, psychological, economic, historical, and political factors on people of African descent with particular focus on the impact of racial classification, class, and gender.
- AFAM minors will engage in experiential learning activities and projects that demonstrate civic responsibility and cultivate community empowerment while upholding the values of collective work, responsibility, and self-determination.
Requirements for the Minor in Africana Studies
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| AFAM 3000 | Introduction to Africana Studies | 3 |
| AFAM 4700 | Africana Studies Seminar | 3 |
| Select Elective courses from the following: | 12 | |
| African to African American Philosophy and Religious Studies | ||
| Africa: Inequalities Past and Present | ||
| Studies in African American Literature | ||
| Introduction to African American Literacy Criticism | ||
or ENGL 3225 | Introduction to African American Literary Criticism | |
| African American Politics | ||
or POLS 3280 | African American Politics | |
| Studies in African Literature | ||
| Special Topics in Africana Studies | ||
| African American History to 1865 | ||
| African American History Since 1865 | ||
| Precolonial Africa | ||
| Modern Africa | ||
| Special Topics in Africana Studies | ||
| African American Cultural History | ||
or HIST 4233 | African American Cultural History | |
| African American Intellectual History | ||
or HIST 4234 | African American Intellectual History | |
| Nazi Germany and the Jim Crow South | ||
or HIST 4235 | Nazi Germany and the Jim Crow South | |
| African Politics | ||
or POLS 4330 | African Politics | |
| The Caribbean World | ||
| Women in the African Diaspora | ||
| Contemporary Black Man | ||
| Race and Ethnic Relations | ||
| Total Hours | 18 | |
Certificate in Africana Studies
The Certificate in Africana Studies will be awarded to undergraduates who complete 12 hours of Africana Studies coursework but do not complete the necessary 18 hours for the minor.
