AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES
SPRING SEMESTER 2006
UNDERGRADUATE COURSE OFFERINGS
AAS 100A: Introduction to African American Studies--L. Nieves
Crosslisted with HIS 103 LUL
This course will use approaches and methods designed to explore and
understand the experiences of African Americans and the African Diaspora.
The course aims to acquaint students with the nature of African American
studies as a field of intellectual inquiry and as a degree program offered
by the University at Buffalo.
Tues. /Thurs. 8:00-9:20
Clemens 4
3 credits/Lec.
Reg. #128796
AAS 149: Hip Hop and Social Issues—K. Bhardwaj
Crosslisted with AMS 130
Hip hop is now a global force, and we must understand how it rose to
such prominence.
Starting with the history of hip hop in its varied forms, students
will use an interdisciplinary approach to analyze the social, political
and economic issues addressed by hip hop culture (particularly rap music).
Socio-cultural perspectives of African people throughout the diaspora,
Latinos and whites regarding hip hop will be of special focus.
The course will analyze the effects of corporate America on what
KRS One called “The voice of Black people” and students will examine the
images and ideas presented by an industry that is driven by profit, not
the empowerment of oppressed people. Prominent artists that will
be studied include KRS One, Rakim, Nas, Biggie, Tupac, Public Enemy, N.W.A.,
Run DMC, Brand Nubian, Mos Def, Kool G Rap, Ice Cube, Common and many others.
Students who are familiar with hip hop culture are encouraged
to enroll, for they will facilitate class discussions. However, a
mastery of hip hop is not required. The class will move forward as
a group and no one will be left behind.
Thursday 7:00-9:40
O’Brian 210
3 credits/Sem.
Reg. #419958
AAS 239: Sociology of the Black Athlete—L. Thomas-Rogers
Crosslisted with CPM 295 LTR
This course will examine the intersection between sports and race.
America’s fascination with sports is well known, as is the history of racial
discrimination in the United States. To what extent do Black athletes
face racial discrimination? How does their celebrity/hero status
affect their standing within American society? How have Black athletes
influenced social and political issues within the Black community?
The course will use readings, videos and small group discussion to examine
historical (Jesse Owens, Jackie Robinson, 1968 Olympics) and contemporary
(O. J. Simpson’s trial, Kobe Bryant) issues surrounding sports and race.
Tues./Thurs. 3:00-6:20
Baldy 120
3 credits/Lec.
Reg. #296040
AAS 254: Blacks in Films I—J. Pappas
This course will explore thematic issues centering on ever evolving
changes in social, political and cultural discourses. Students will
be asked to focus on an aspect of African/African American life.
Films will be selected that speak to a narrative claim that frames Black
interests in cinematic terms where control of the imagery is paramount.
Of importance is the way and manner in which Black filmmakers articulate
and frame their references. The student will be able to centralize
their thoughts around particular themes such as: Jazz in Cinema,
Black Humor, The Black Family, Diaspora Films, the Blacksploitation period,
independent black film 1900-to present perspectives on black Cinema.
Tuesday 7:00-9:40
Knox 110
3 credits/Lec.
Reg. # 324192
AAS 260: Major Issues in African American Studies—J. Carter
Cross-listed with HIS 271 CAR and CPM 263 CAR
This course provides an overview of the major issues in the field of
African American Studies. Offered as a series of lectures and assigned
readings, this course uses a variety of disciplines to survey the conditions
and development of African Americans from the Atlantic slave trade to the
present.
Mon. /Wed. 5:00-6:20
Alumni 97
3 credits/Lec.
Reg. #380292
AAS 265: Evolution of Spiritual and Gospel Music—R. Scott
This course is a study of Spiritual and Gospel which constitutes the
musical ensemble that deals with ways African slaves in America coped with
hardships of slavery by expressing their dreams and hopes to be free.
This was accomplished by using topics involving Biblical characters, folk
songs from Africa, the slave American experience. The course also
explores ways in which this tradition of music has been integrated into
general American folk traditions of song and dance, well beyond the slave
plantations where they originated.
Monday 7:00-9:40
Clemens 119
3 credits/Sem.
Reg. #499874
AAS 270: Major Issues in Caribbean Studies--K. Henry
Cross-listed with AMS 271 HEN and HIS 260
This course provides a social, political and economic overview of the
Caribbean. While the course focuses on the twentieth century, it
also provides an historical framework for understanding the region.
Discussions of that framework and of the geography and economy of the region
lay the groundwork for the course. Class sessions are devoted in
great degree to social and cultural issues, including ones relating to
family, education, literature, religion, and popular pastimes. Our
analyses uncover common experiences and identities across linguistic and
other boundaries, but space is reserved for particular territories of special
historical experience and interestCHaiti and Cuba notably.
MWF 11:00-11:50
Capen 258
3 credits/Lec.
Reg. #230382
AAS 280: Survey of African Studies—P. Ekeh
Cross-listed with HIS 280 EKE
This course provides an overview of African history and politics since
the continent’s contact with Western Europe in the late fifteenth century.
This course covers the subject matter in three phases: precolonial
times, colonialism, and the postcolonial era. We shall seek to (I)
understand the scope and consequences of the Arab and European slave trade
in Africa, (II) examine the dynamics of European imperialism in Africa,
and (III) offer perspectives on current African problems.
Tues. /Thurs. 8:00-9:20
Baldy 117
3 credits/Lec.
Reg. #221267
AAS 327: Current African History
Those who have taken this course in the past have been intrigued by
the title of the course, the question that arose in their minds was, How
can history be current? Current history is a contradiction in terms
it would appear. By current history in this course we mean the study
of the present on the basis of a study of the past. That is, we will
be looking at the current circumstances of a number of African nations
from a historical perspective. The selection of the countries to
be studied will be determined by how well their current circumstances embody
one or more of a number of important issues of relevance to much of Africa
today; such as: nation building (versus disintegration); health (versus
AIDS); agricultural development (versus famine); and so on. In the
concluding part of the course we will also look at U.S. relations with
Africa and the role of African Americans in these relations.
Tues. /Thurs. 12:30-1:50
Norton 216
3 credits/Sem.
Reg. #108872
AAS 338: Supervised ResearchCJ. Carter
This is a research course designed for students who are interested
in investigating areas of study about African Americans and Diaspora Blacks.
Day/Time: Arranged
Clemens 734A
3 credits/Tut.
AAS 358: African Diaspora: Social and Cultural EvolutionCK.
Henry
Cross-listed with AMS 358 HEN and HIS 364 HEN
This course treats broad aspects of the black diasporic experience
in both the eastern and western hemispheres. The course also examines
the pre-slave and post-slave eras, reviewing and analyzing a range of social,
cultural, economic, and political movements and issues.
Wednesday 4:10-6:50
Baldy 117
3 credits/Sem.
Reg. #254573
AAS 361: Slavery and the Underground Railroad--K. Cottrell
Cross-listed with CPM 361 CT
This course deals with an aspect of American history (roughly 1830-1860)
involving the quest for freedom by African slaves who ran away from bondage
through an elaborate system of escape routes stretching from the U.S. South
to the North and Canada. Labeled the AUnderground Railroad,@ these networks
were managed by >conductors= who helped their >passengers= (the escaped
slaves) move from >station= to >station= and to reach freedom in the North.
The course probes the background history of slavery, the legislative backcloth
of the Underground Railroad, its geography of routes, and the biography
of its major >conductors.= The course also explores the local history of
the Underground Railroad of Western New York, including planned visits
to its >stations= in Buffalo, Rochester, and Ontario.
Wednesday 7:00-9:40
Alumni 97
3 credits/Sem.
Reg. #062673
AAS 363: Jr. Seminar: DirectedCJ. Carter
This course introduces students to the interdisciplinary field of African
American Studies, its relationship to other disciplines, and to social
science research methodology. Students read the classic literature in the
field and prepare annotated bibliographies. Topics covered may include
slavery, colonialism, urbanization and migration, gender and gender construction,
and intellectual movements.
Day/Time: Arranged
Clemens 734A
3 Credits/Tut.
AAS 382: African Americans in the City—L. Williams
Cross-listed with AMS 381 LSW and HIS 365 LSW
This seminar explores the social, political, and economic development,
as well as the transformation of African American urban experiences from
the early 19th century to the late 20th century. Emphases will be
placed on the social conditions of urban life, the impact of economic policies,
geographical location, labor, migration, family and institutional development,
and responses to new forms of social control. The course explores
the relationship between racial identification and community formation,
and assesses the impact of notions of community solidarity. It also
examines the impact of class and gender on community formation.
The readings for this course include historical accounts, fiction,
and other social science treatises, as well as films. This approach
will allow students to examine the ways in which different disciplines
address the urban experience.
Students are expected to attend each session, actively participate
in the discussion, and lead minimally one class. Short papers on
each week’s topic should be presented at the beginning of each class session.
All students will prepare a research paper that explores themes
developed during the course of the semester.
Tuesday 3:00-5:40
Alumni 88
3 credits/Sem.
Reg. #244559
AAS 386: Male/Female Relationships—J. Carter
Every culture has guidelines for its male/female relationships.
In the United States, these guidelines date back to colonial times and
include many religious, racial and gender dictates and practices.
Our discussions will incorporate the cultural influences on mate selection
with emphasis placed on relationships by society that includes friends,
religious beliefs, educational achievement and race identity. We will examine
the economic and familial influences along with ideological obstacles placed
on relationships.
Tues. /Thurs. 3:30-4:45
Baldy 108
3 credits/Sem.
Reg. #133328
AAS 392: The Black Church—K. Gladden
This course explores the origin and development of the African American
church and its role in the sociopolitical and economic organization of
African Americans in a comprehensive historical and sociological overview
of the African American religious experience. The course examines
elements of the black church that have survived from Africa and includes
considerations of the black presence in the Bible. It considers the
black church in the post-emancipation era, including its social roles in
the economy, education, etc., and its transformation during the great migration
of the World War I Era. The course also considers the contribution
of black theology to twentieth-century black liberation and the Civil Rights
movement.
Wednesday 7:00-9:40
Park 146
3 credits/Sem.
Reg. #314587
AAS 399A: Community ProjectsCStaff
Students are assigned a research project with a community-based
organization, agency, or center. Much time is spent studying how
the agency structures and disseminates its services. Provision for
effective research enables the student to participate in the black community
and observe the dynamics of community activities and the role of the black
community in decision making in government and social agencies and in the
development of cultural and economic activities.
Day/Time: Arranged
Clemens 734A
1-5 credits/Tut.
AAS 425: Liberation Struggles of the African Diaspora—K.
Griffler
Dual-listed with AAS 564
This seminar focuses on the movements of people of African descent
in search of freedom from colonialism, racial oppression, slavery and apartheid.
Using a comparative approach, it traces evolving programs and conceptions
of the freedom struggle across generations and regions. Topics might
include the Haitian Revolution, the African American Civil Rights Movement,
the South African anti-apartheid movement, and anti-colonial movements
of Africa and the Caribbean.
This course is intended to identify major trends and themes in
the liberation struggle of people of African descent over the past two
centuries. In doing so, it both fosters a diasporic understanding
of the African American experience and connects the Civil Rights Movement
of the 1950s and 1960s to past struggles of people of African descent,
including struggles against enslavement and
colonialism. It further provides an opportunity for in-depth
study of the major thinkers of Black liberation, together with the notions
of liberation and freedom from racial oppression. Finally, it takes
a central struggle from each of the main areas of the African Diaspora—Africa,
the Caribbean, and the United States.
Tues./Thurs. 5:00-6:20
O’Brian 214
3 credits/Sem.
Reg. #001409
AAS 461: Comparative History in US and South Africa—K. Griffler
Dual-listed with AAS 562
This course examines the history of racial oppression and the struggle
against it in the United States and South Africa from a comparative perspective
in the attempt to come to general conclusions about the historical nature
of racial oppression of people of African descent. It focuses on
socioeconomic systems of exploitation, the legal expression of these systems,
the shape of racism, as well as the responses of Black people. The
emphasis will be on tracing recurring themes, such as labor systems, colonialism
and imperialism, and exploring the mechanisms by which Africans became
caught up in systems of oppression. A second major purpose of the
course is to investigate comparatively the liberation movements that ended
or weakened specific historical forms of oppression in the US and South
Africa.
Wednesday 4:10-6:50
Park 440
3 credits/Sem.
Reg. #361131
AAS 463: Senior Seminar: Research Project--L. Williams
Prerequisite: Permission of Instructor
A one-semester course builds on AAS 363 and culminates in a research
project in cooperation with a member of the department=s faculty.
Students complete AAS 463 with an awareness of the history of the discipline,
its changing foci and relation to other disciplines, its great works and
pivotal intellectual figures, and its important research tools and resources.
Day/Time: Arranged
Clemens 734A
5 credits/Tut.
AAS 499: Independent Study: Carter-Ekeh-Henry-Griffler--Pappas,
and Williams
Prerequisite: Permission of Instructor
Individual research under the supervision of a member of the department=s
faculty.
Day/Time: Arranged
Clemens 732
1-8 credits/Tut.
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