AFRAM-BA - African and African American Studies (BA)

The mission of the undergraduate program in African and African American Studies is to provide students with an interdisciplinary introduction to the study of people of African descent as a central component of American culture. Courses in the major promote research across disciplinary and departmental boundaries as well as provide students with research training and community service learning opportunities. Courses of study are drawn from anthropology, art, art history, economics, education, drama, history, languages, linguistics, literature, music, philosophy, political science, psychology, religion, and sociology, among others. The program provides an intellectual background for students considering graduate school or professional careers.

All external credit requests are reviewed by the faculty director.

The department expects undergraduate majors in the program to be able to demonstrate the following learning outcomes. These learning outcomes are used in evaluating students and the program's undergraduate program. Students are expected to demonstrate:

1. an interdisciplinary understanding of scholarship related to the African diaspora and Africa, drawing on interdisciplinary course work and each student's individualized concentration.

2. the ability to identify and critically assess different disciplinary, methodological, and interpretive approaches to the study of African Americans, Africans, and/or people of the African diaspora.

3. an understanding of comparative approaches to race.

4. skills in disciplinary methods necessary for their study.

5. the ability to express their interpretive and analytical arguments in clear, effective prose.