Africana Studies Minor

Dr. Mollie Godfrey, Coordinator
Phone: (540) 568-6103
Email: godfrema@jmu.edu

Dr. Besi Brillian Muhonja, Coordinator
Phone: (540) 568-2500
Email: muhonjbx@jmu.edu

Website: http://www.jmu.edu/africana

The minor in Africana studies broadens students’ world perspectives by enhancing their acquaintance with and understanding of the peoples, cultures, and institutions of Africa and the African Diaspora.The Africana program engages cross disciplinary approaches to understand and to encounter Africa and the African Diaspora in a global context. The cross disciplinary character of the program is further enhanced by the fact that courses taken to fulfill program requirements are drawn from several departments. From these course offerings, students will examine and engage with some of Africana studies key contributing disciplines, concepts, methods and topics including the development of new identities.

The minor program in Africana studies is open to all undergraduate students at JMU. Courses taken to complete the Africana studies minor can also be used to satisfy the student’s major, as well as General Education requirements.

The Africana studies minor requires:

Successful completion of 19 credit hours according to the requirements listed below.
No more than nine hours from a single discipline.

Required Courses

AFST 200. Introduction to Africana Studies 3.00
AFST 489. Africana Studies Senior Research Experience 1.00 ²

Choose five, one of which must be at the 400 level: 15 Credit Hours

AFST 300. Special Topics in Africana Studies 3.00
AFST 400. Selected Topics in Africana Studies 3.00
AFST 401. Internship in Africana Studies 3.00
ANTH 280. Peoples and Cultures of Sub-Saharan Africa 3.00 (C)
ANTH 391. Study Abroad 1.00 - 6.00 (May be A, B, C, F) (must be in Africa or in Diaspora) ¹
ANTH 395. Special Topics in Anthropology 3.00 (May be A,B, or C) ¹
ARTH 210. African Art & Culture in the Humanities 3.00
HUM 252. Global Cultures 3.00 (African Experience)
ARTH 312. African Art: Sub-Saharan 3.00
ARTH 418. Modern and Contemporary African Art 3.00
ARTH 419. Topics in African Art 3.00
ARTH 424. Arts of Ancient Egypt 3.00
ARTH 488. African-American Art 3.00
AFST 488. African-American Art 3.00
ARTH 489. Topics in Art History 3.00 ¹
ENG 260. Survey of African-American Literature 3.00
ENG 358. Oral Literature 3.00 ¹
ENG 361. African-American Fiction 3.00
ENG 362. African-American Poetry 3.00
ENG 408. Advanced Studies in African-American Literature 3.00
ENG 412. Special Topic Seminar 3.00 ¹
ENG 432. Advanced Studies in African Literature 3.00
GEOG 335. Geography of Africa 3.00
GEOG 339. Geography of the Caribbean 3.00
HUM 252. Global Cultures 3.00 (African Cultures in the Humanities) ¹
HIST 263. Africa 3.00
HIST 307**. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade 3.00
HIST 341. Selected Themes in World History 3.00 (when appropriate)
HIST 355. African-American History to 1865 3.00
HIST 356. African-American History Since 1865 3.00
HIST 361**. Class and Ethnicity in Africa 3.00
HIST 391. Travel Studies Seminar 3.00 (must be in Africa or in Diaspora) ¹
HIST 436**. Afro-Latin America 3.00
ANTH 436. Afro-Latin America 3.00 (C)
HIST 439. Selected Topics in American History 3.00 ¹
HIST 470. Modern Africa 3.00
HIST 489. Selected Topics in World History 3.00 ¹, ²
MUS 356. History of Jazz in America 3.00
POSC 326. Civil Rights 3.00
POSC 353. African Politics 3.00
POSC 361. Topics in International Relations 3.00 ¹
REL 330. Religions of Africa and the African Diaspora 3.00
REL 336. African-American Religion 3.00
SOCI 336. Race and Ethnicity 3.00
SOCI 354. Social Inequality 3.00
SOCI 391. Study Abroad 1.00 - 6.00 (must be in Africa or in Diaspora)¹
SWA 101 -SWA 490 . Kiswahili

Total: 19 Credit Hours

Footnotes

¹ Course topic and content must focus on the peoples of Africa and/or the African Diasporas as well as be approved by the program coordinator(s).
²Research must have an African and/or African Diaspora focus.

Additional Information

Other appropriate courses not listed above may be considered for the minor. Consult with program coordinators.

In addition to taking these courses, students are encouraged to participate in travel or study programs to Africa, the Caribbean and other relevant areas. Students who want to earn credit hours through participation in an accredited travel/study program are encouraged to do so with prior approval of the coordinators.