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African American Studies Coordinator: Richard B. Turner
Professor: Horace Porter (English/American Studies/African American Studies)
Associate professors: Venise Berry (Journalism and Mass Communication/African American Studies), Tisch Jones (Theatre Arts/African American Studies), Michael Lomax (Health and Sport Studies/African American Studies), Sydné Mahone (Theatre Arts/African American Studies), Kevin Mumford (History/African American Studies), Leslie Schwalm (History/African American Studies/Women's Studies), Richard B. Turner (Religious Studies/African American Studies)
Assistant professors: Tim Havens (Communication Studies/African American Studies), Lena Hill (English/African American Studies), Michael Hill (English/African American Studies), Miriam Thaggert (English/African American Studies), Bridget Tsemo (Rhetoric/African American Studies), Deborah Whaley (American Studies/African American Studies), Vershawn Young (Rhetoric/African American Studies)
Undergraduate degree: B.A. in African American Studies
Undergraduate nondegree program: Minor in African American Studies
Graduate degree: M.A. in African American World Studies
Web site: http://www.uiowa.edu/~afam/index.html African American studies focuses on the study of people of African descent in the United States and the African diaspora. The African American Studies Program originated in 1969 through courses intended to foster awareness of African Americans' role in the development of the United States and the world. Because a thorough understanding of the African American experience cannot be achieved through study restricted to the perspective of a single discipline, all students are required to pursue courses in the humanities, social sciences, and performing arts. The African American Studies Program draws upon faculty from American studies, communication studies, education, health and sport studies, history, journalism and mass communication, religious studies, rhetoric, sociology, theatre arts, and women's studies. Future course work in political economy, gender and sexism, and the construction of race and identity is planned. Undergraduate Program The program offers a Bachelor of Arts and a minor in African American studies. Bachelor of Arts The Bachelor of Arts in African American studies requires 33 s.h. (11 courses) in the major. Students must maintain a g.p.a. of at least 2.00 in the major. Transfer credit is evaluated case-by-case and is limited to 9 s.h. INTRODUCTORY COURSES Students are required to complete both 129:060 Introduction to African American Society and 129:061 Introduction to African American Culture. Introduction to African American Society examines the construction of social and historical institutions in the United States and the African diaspora (e.g., Black church, Black family, gender, sexuality). The course may include readings in political science, religion, history, sociology, geography, anthropology, and other disciplines. Introduction to African American Culture presents themes in African American cultural studies. It includes readings in literature, music, film studies, religious studies, and the visual and performing arts. Both 129:060 and 129:061 are prerequisites for 100-level courses. Students must already have taken one of the two courses and must be taking the other before they may enroll in 100-level African American studies courses. SENIOR SEMINAR Students are required to take 129:199 Senior Seminar in their senior year. The course requires an original research paper on the historical and/or contemporary experiences of people of African descent in the United States and/or the global diaspora. Students use research methodologies from the social sciences, humanities, or performing arts in preparing the paper. At least one senior seminar is offered each year. It may cover a variety of topics. AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES CORE Students must complete five courses (15 s.h.) in the social sciences, humanities, and performing arts. They must select one course from each of the following five topical areas. Additional courses may be approved; consult an African American studies advisor. History One of these:
| 07B:126 Twentieth-Century Educational Movements |
2-3 s.h. |
| 129:050 Introduction to African American Religions |
3 s.h. |
| 129:065 Introduction to African American History |
3 s.h. |
| 129:123 Twentieth Century African American Religion: Civil Rights to Hip Hop |
3 s.h. |
| 129:124 Black Culture and Experience (when topic is history) |
3 s.h. |
| 129:137 History of Slavery in the U.S.A. |
3-4 s.h. |
| 129:184 Black Global Metropolis: Sexual History |
3 s.h. |
| 129:187 African American History 1865-Present |
3 s.h. |
| 129:189 Themes in African American History |
3 s.h. |
Social Inequality, Social Movements, and Politics One of these:
| 034:126 Social Movements in the U.S. |
3 s.h. |
| 034:152 African American and Latino Inequality |
3 s.h. |
| 129:079 Race and Ethnicity in Sport |
3 s.h. |
| 129:161 Insurgency and Globalization of Discontent |
3 s.h. |
| 129:153 The Civil Rights Movement |
3 s.h. |
Literature One of these:
| 129:069 Selected African American Authors |
3 s.h. |
| 129:116 African American Literature I |
3 s.h. |
| 129:117 African American Literature II |
3 s.h. |
| 129:124 Black Culture and Experience (when topic is literature) |
3 s.h. |
| 129:130 African American Literary/Rhetorical Criticism I |
3 s.h. |
| 129:131 African American Literary/Rhetorical Criticism II |
3 s.h. |
| 129:140 Topics in African American Studies |
arr. |
| 129:162 Midwest African American Literature and Culture |
3 s.h. |
| 129:181 African American Autobiography |
3 s.h. |
Media and Performing Arts One of these:
| 036:076 Race, Ethnicity, and Media |
3 s.h. |
| 049:192 Topics: Culturally Diverse Theatre (when topic is African Americans) |
3 s.h. |
| 129:122 African-Americans and Mass Communication |
3 s.h. |
| 129:128 Racial Narrative and American Performance |
3 s.h. |
| 129:175 African American Theatre I |
3 s.h. |
| 129:191 African American Theatre II |
3 s.h. |
Africa and the Diaspora One of these:
| 129:008 Literatures of the African Peoples |
3 s.h. |
| 129:063 African American Islam/International Perspective |
3 s.h. |
| 129:124 Black Culture and Experience (when topic is Africa or the African diaspora) |
3 s.h. |
| 129:138 African and African American Interactions |
3 s.h. |
| 129:163 Precolonial African History |
3 s.h. |
| 129:164 African History Since 1880 |
3 s.h. |
ELECTIVES Students must select three elective courses (total of 9 s.h.). Most students select electives from the list of courses in the social science, humanities, and performing arts core (above). However, with approval from an African American studies advisor, students may count up to two relevant courses offered by other departments, and not cross-referenced with African American studies, as partial fulfillment of the elective requirement. LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT The language requirement for the African American studies major is the same as that of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences General Education Program. Students are encouraged, but not required, to take African language (Swahili is currently offered) or Spanish language courses to fulfill the language requirement. Four-Year Graduation Plan The following checkpoints list the minimum requirements students must complete by certain semesters in order to stay on the University's Four-Year Graduation Plan. (Courses in the major are those required to complete the major; they may be offered by departments other than the major department.) During the first year of study, students should focus on completing the General Education Program, perhaps including beginning Swahili to complete the foreign language component, or taking Spanish language course work. Before the third semester begins: at least one-quarter of the semester hours required for graduation Before the fifth semester begins: at least three courses in the major, including 129:060 and 129:061, and at least one-half of the semester hours required for graduation Before the seventh semester begins: four more courses in the major (for a total of seven) and at least three-quarters of the semester hours required for graduation Before the eighth semester begins: at least eight courses in the major, including the senior seminar (may be taken in the seventh or eighth semester) During the eighth semester: enrollment in all remaining course work in the major (including the senior seminar if not taken in the seventh semester), all remaining General Education courses, and a sufficient number of semester hours to graduate Honors The University of Iowa Honors Program provides a stimulating and integrative educational experience for undergraduate majors who perform at a high level. The honors program in African American studies offers students the opportunity to pursue special interests in individual in-depth research. Honors students in African American studies must be members of the University Honors Program, which requires students to maintain a cumulative University of Iowa g.p.a. of at least 3.33 (contact the University of Iowa Honors Program for more information). Honors students complete all of the required course work for the major (33 s.h.). Students who wish to graduate with honors in African American studies are encouraged to register for up to 6 s.h. in 129:095 Honors Project. Work in this course enhances the student's ability to complete honors projects under the guidance of the supervising faculty member. Students take 129:095 with the approval of their African American studies advisor, who typically supervises the course. Students may count up to 6 s.h. earned in 129:095 toward the 33 s.h. required for the major. Under the guidance of the African American studies advisor, the honors student defines a research project (thesis) using primary, secondary, or archival sources. The thesis may build upon the student's final project for the senior seminar (129:199), but research for the honors thesis must be distinct from that for the student's senior seminar paper and must be more thorough and sophisticated. Students make project proposals by the end of their junior year. Each student completes a thesis under the guidance of a supervising faculty member and presents the results as a senior essay to a committee of three faculty members, including the supervising African American studies faculty member, and two other African American studies faculty members of the student's choice. The student's committee may choose to hear an oral defense of the honors thesis, usually during the student's last semester. Students should use one or more of their elective courses to develop the honors thesis. Minor The minor in African American studies requires 15 s.h., including 12 s.h. taken at The University of Iowa. In consultation with their advisors, students select either 129:060 Introduction to African American Society or 129:061 Introduction to African American Culture, and one course in four of the following topical areas (total of four topical area courses, 12 s.h.): history; social inequality, social movements, and politics; literature; media and performing arts; and Africa and the diaspora. Three of the four topical area courses must be taken at The University of Iowa. Students must maintain a g.p.a. of at least 2.00 in all courses in the minor. Courses used to complete another major or minor may not be used to complete a minor in African American studies. No course accepted toward the minor may be taken pass/nonpass. Graduate Program African American studies is not accepting graduate students in 2007-08. Cocurricular Activities Afro-American Cultural Center African American studies encourages students to use facilities of the Afro-American Cultural Center. The center serves as a museum and library of educational and cultural artifacts and exhibits of Black culture, providing cultural enrichment for Black people of the Iowa City community and a cultural meeting place for Black students. It also attempts to provide a knowledge of Black culture that will promote diversity among all members of the University community. Student Association The African American Studies Student Association aims to promote knowledge about people of African descent by sponsoring programs on various topics. Any University of Iowa student interested in African American studies is eligible to become a member.
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