African Area Studies

College of Behavioral and Social Sciences
Dean: Joel Kassiola

African Area Studies Program
HSS 384
415-338-7496 or 415-338-7541
Co-Director: Jacques Hymans
Co-Director: Aguibou Yansane

Faculty

 Professors--Bettelheim, Hoffman, Hymans, Nobles, Katz, Kirkeberg, Treichel, T'Shaka, Yansane

Associate Professors--Richards, J., Steier

Lecturers--Bernstein, Gearring, Malonga-Casquelourd

Program

African Area Studies Minor

Program Scope

This aggregate of courses should lead students to appreciate the richness of Africa and its unity in diversity. It should help students to understand the issues facing African communities, societies, and nation-states in the past as well as the present. Students will closely examine African accomplishments, mores, traditions, cultures, and civilizations. Students should finish the minor with a greater degree of understanding of, and tolerance for, cultural differences and ethnic pluralism as well as the problems inherent in the process of social change in Africa.

Students who select this minor are presented with different disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives. Each course provides alternate ways to describe and analyze what was, and what is, important to individual Africans; to African communities, societies, and nation-states; to the African continent as a whole; and/or to the whole of Africa as part of the Third World. Common to all the perspectives is the examination of the process of change/development/modernization. It is hoped that students will be provided the tools to enable them to build their own frames of reference, syntheses of concepts, data, and theories, as well as to enrich their social attitudes and cultural values concerning Africa.

Career Outlook

Students will be encouraged to take advantage of the African Area Studies Minor to apply their knowledge, understanding, and interest in things African to their career goals (teaching, journalism, business, and international endeavors in the public sector, non-governmental agencies, and multilateral institutions).

AFRICAN AREA STUDIES MINOR

Students interested in this minor should see one of the African Area Studies faculty to choose the courses most appropriate to them. (NOTE:No more than six units may be taken on a CR/NC basis; no more than nine units may be transferred from other campuses.) All students completing the minor are required to demonstrate intermediate level competency in a relevant language other than English. For specific information on how to meet the requirement students should consult with the coordinator of the minor program.

The African Area Studies Minor consists of a core curriculum of three courses which contain material and perspectives which reach across the normal disciplinary divisions of the university, plus fifteen units of upper division courses taken from the following list, on advisement.

Courses for this program are listed in alphabetical sequence (consult Index for page reference).

Units

Core Curriculum

One course selected from each of the following 

areas:

Classical Africa		3

BLS 305	Ancient Egypt

CLAR 500	Ancient Egyptian Civilization

Africa: Tradition and Transition		3

BLS 302	Black Diaspora

HIST 610	History of Africa

Modern Africa		3

BLS 301	Africa in Global Perspective

HIST 611	Modern Africa

HUM 515	Styles of African Cultural 

Expression

Electives

 
Units selected on advisement with at least one 

course from each group and no duplication 

of courses that were taken as part of the 

core curriculum		15

Behavioral and Social Sciences

 
ANTH 315	Regional Ethnography: East and 

South Africa

ANTH 315	Regional Ethnography: Peoples 

and Culture of West Africa

GEOG 570	Regional Studies: Africa

HIST 600	Ancient Egypt

HIST 610	History of Africa

HIST 611	Modern Africa

IR 321	African Foreign Policy

Ethnic Studies

 
BLS 300	From Africa to America

BLS 301	Africa in Global Perspective

BLS 302	Black Diaspora

BLS 305	Ancient Egypt

BLS 411	African--African-American 

Literature

Humanities and Arts

 
ART 503	African Art History

CLAR 500	Ancient Egyptian Civilization 

(to 2000 B.C.)

CLAR 501	Ancient Egyptian Civilization 

(after 2000 B.C.)

CLAR 502	Ancient Egyptian Language and 

Literature

DANC/BLS 617	Black Dance Experience

HUM 515	Styles of African Cultural 


	Expression

Total for minor		24

Language Requirement

 All students completing this area studies minor are required to demonstrate intermediate level competency in a language (other than English), relevant to the area. This requirement may be met by completing the university entrance requirement of two years of high school language study, one year of successful college level language study, or by demonstration of equivalent competency.