INTERDISCIPLINARY PROGRAM IN AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES
300A Murray Krieger
Hall; (949) 824-2376
Lindon Barrett, Director
Participating Faculty
Lindon Barrett, Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania, Director and Professor of African American Studies and Professor of Comparative Literature (critical theory, African American cultural studies)
Bridget Cooks, Ph.D. University of Rochester, Assistant Professor of African American Studies and Art History (African American art and culture, Black visual culture, museum criticism, film, feminist theory and postcolonial theory)
Sohail Daulatzai, Ph.D. University of Southern California, Assistant Professor of African American Studies and of Film and Media Studies (cultural studies, postcolonial theory, race, Islam, cultural politics of popular culture: cinema, hip-hop, and sports)
Douglas M. Haynes, Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley, Director of the ADVANCE Program for Faculty Equity and Diversity and Associate Professor of History (social and cultural history of modern Britain, social history of modern medicine)
Winston James, Ph.D. London School of Economics and Political Science, Professor of History (Caribbean, African American, and African diaspora)
Ulysses Jenkins, Jr., M.F.A. Otis Parsons Art Institute, Associate Professor of Studio Art (film as a primary medium)
Victoria E. Johnson, Ph.D. University of Southern California, Assistant Professor of Film and Media Studies and of African American Studies (history and critical theory of U.S. television, popular film, and media; politics of geography, race, gender, and sexuality in popular culture; cultural studies)
Claire Jean Kim, Ph.D. Yale University, Associate Professor of Asian American Studies and Political Science (racial and ethnic politics, protest and social movements, contemporary political theory)
Donald McKayle, Choreographer/Director, concert, theatre, film, television, Graduate Choreography Advisor, Artistic Director of UCI Dance, and Claire Trevor Professor of Dance (choreography, modern dance)
Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Director of the International Center for Writing and Translation and UCI Distinguished Professor of Comparative Literature and English (African literature, the politics of culture, performance theory, language in postcolonial theories)
R. Radhakrishnan, Ph.D. State University of New York, Binghamton, Professor of Asian American Studies, English, and Comparative Literature (critical theory, Asian American literature and theory, cultural studies, twentieth-century literature, diasporic and ethnic literatures and theories)
Jared Sexton, Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley, Assistant Professor of African American Studies and of Film and Media Studies (race and sexuality, policing and imprisonment, contemporary U.S. cinema and political culture, multiracial coalition, critical theory)
Katherine Tate, Ph.D. University of Michigan, Professor of Political Science (voting behavior, African American and minority politics, elections)
Darryl Taylor, D.M.A. University of Michigan, Associate Professor of Music (vocal arts)
Frank B. Wilderson III, Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley, Assistant Professor of African American Studies and Drama (film theory, Marxism, dramaturgy, black political theory)
African American Studies is an interdisciplinary program which offers undergraduate students an opportunity to study those societies and cultures established by the people of the African diaspora. The program's curriculum encourages students to investigate the African American experience from a variety of disciplinary perspectives and theoretical approaches. Among the topics explored in the course offerings are the process of colonization and the forced migration of African people, the positionality of African people in the racialized symbolic and social orders of the western hemisphere, the rhetoric produced by and about African people, and the cultural and aesthetic values associated with "blackness" and "Africanness." The Program offers a B.A. degree program in African American Studies and a minor.
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
UCI graduates with a B.A. degree in African American Studies enhance their chances of success in the job market and in the highly competitive arena of graduate and professional school admissions, especially in the fields of medicine and other health professions, law, and business. Employers and admissions officers understand that many of their employees and graduates will one day work in communities with significant African American populations, and for this reason they give due consideration to applicants who have in-depth knowledge of African American culture.
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE BACHELOR'S DEGREE
University Requirements: See pages 57-62.
School Requirements: See pages 258-259.
Requirements for the Major
A. African American Studies 40A, 40B, 40C.
B. Five courses, one from each of the following five rubrics: Humanities (African American Studies 110-119), Gender/Sexuality (120-129), History (130-139), Fine Arts (140-149), and Social Sciences (150-159).
C. Four upper-division electives selected from the five rubrics listed above.
D. African American Studies 162, taken in satisfaction of the upper-division writing requirement, and African American Studies 163.
Residence Requirement for the Major: A minimum of five upper-division courses required for the major must be completed successfully at UCI.
Requirements for the Minor
African American Studies 40A, 40B, 40C and four upper-division courses chosen from four of the following five rubrics: Humanities (African American Studies 110-119), Gender/Sexuality (120-129), History (130-139), Fine Arts (140-149), and Social Sciences (150-159).
Residence Requirement for the Minor: Four upper-division courses required for the minor must be completed successfully at UCI. Two of the four may be taken through the UC Education Abroad Program, provided course content is approved in advance by the appropriate department chair.
Courses in African American Studies
LOWER-DIVISION
40A, B, C African American Studies I, II, III (4, 4, 4). Introduction to the main contours of the African American experience, from the importation of Africans into the Americas to the present. 40A: Discusses main contours of African American experience from the forced importation of Africans into the Americas in the late fifteenth century to the development of social movements in post-emancipation societies of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. 40B: Introduction to the history of modern racial thinking in Western society and its relationship to the material contexts of racial oppression, with emphasis on its development in British colonies and U.S. 40C: Introduction to theories of racial blackness in the modern world, with emphasis on developments in British colonies and U.S. Traces emergence of blackness as term of collective identity, social organization, and political mobilization. (IV, VII-A)
50 Introductory Topics in African American Studies (4). Introduction to a broad range of topics in African American studies, exploring history, literature, art, culture, politics, and contemporary social issues. Topical organization of courses addresses issues that have been of importance historically and are reshaping the African diaspora today. May be repeated for credit as topics vary.
UPPER-DIVISION
HUMANITIES
111A African American Art: 1619-1929 (4). Investigates the history and aesthetics of African American art with an emphasis on the politics of cultural representation. Same as Art History 164A. (VII-A)
111B African American Art: 1930-Present (4). Investigates the history and aesthetics of African American art with an emphasis on the politics of cultural representation. Same as Art History 164B. (VII-A)
112A Early African American Literature (4). Examines the earliest forms of black literary practices, including the jeremiad, the slave narrative, the novel, the pamphlet, poetry, the short story. How are these literary forms related to the historical experiences of enslavement and emancipation? May be taken twice for credit as topics vary.
112B African American Literature 1900-Present (4). Examines individual literary forms and/or authors, as well as movements such as the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts Movement. How does black literary practice represent the conditions of modern subjectivities and environments? May be taken twice for credit as topics vary.
113 African American Cinema and Media (4). Explores the diversity of Black creative production and the historical, social, and economic forces that shaped their emergence. May include Black film, hip-hop culture, fine art, photography, and others. May be taken twice for credit as topics vary.
114 International Cultures (4). Explores the various cultures of the African diaspora and their impacts on a global scale. Examines a diverse range of media, including music (reggae, hip-hop), literature, film, and others and the links between culture and social movements throughout the diaspora. May be taken twice for credit as topics vary.
115 Race and Visual Representation (4). Examines film, documentary, fine art, photography, and other visual media to explore the multiple ways in which ideas about race are projected and woven through the visual landscape and the impacts this has on perpetuating social inequalities. May be taken twice for credit as topics vary. Formerly African American Studies 131.
116 African Literatures (4). Examines literary figures, forms, and movements of African societies. How do these literatures represent indigenous cultural practices, the conditions of modernity, and the relations between both? May be taken twice for credit as topics vary.
118 Topics in African American Humanities (4). Provides students with an opportunity to pursue advanced work in African American studies from one or more humanities approaches (literature, film and media studies, art history, and others). May be taken twice for credit as topics vary.
GENDER/SEXUALITY
120 African American Feminist Theory (4). Explores the development of African American feminist thought through the waves of American feminism from the nineteenth century through the present. Topics include analyses of sexism, racism, and heterosexism across a variety of disciplines including history, literature, and the arts.
122 African American Masculinities (4). Examines historical construction of black masculinities in various regions and periods. Interrogates especially representations of black men and boys in U.S. culture and society in relation to broader politics of race, class, gender, and sexuality.
123 African American Queer Theory (4). Explores intersections of African American studies, women's studies, gay and lesbian studies, and queer theory to challenge dominant views of race, gender, and sexuality. Considers historical and social scientific approaches to topic as well as arts and humanities.
124 Race and Gender (4). Examines the social construction of the categories of race and gender in international and national contexts. Texts address the intersection of economic, social, and scientific theories of difference that formed each category in various historical contexts.
128 Topics in Gender/Sexuality (4). Expressions of genders and sexualities across the spectrum of African American experience and creativity. May be taken twice for credit as topics vary. Formerly African American Studies 170.
HISTORY
132A New World Slave Societies (4). Examines the origins, development, operation, and end of slave societies in the Americas, including the pattern and forms of slave resistance. Focuses primarily upon the U.S., the Caribbean (Hispanic and non-Hispanic), and Brazil. Same as History 150C. Formerly African American Studies 140.
132B Slavery in the United States (4). Explores the origins, development, and operation of the institution of slavery in the U.S. from colonial times to the end of the Civil War. Experiences in the North and South are explored, right through to the end of slavery. Same as History 150D.
133A Early African American History (4). Introduction to the main social, political, and political contours of the African American experience from the importation of Africans into the Americas, from the seventeenth through the eighteenth centuries. May be taken twice for credit as topics vary. Same as History 150A.
133B African American History 1900-Present (4). Examines different dimensions-economic, cultural, political, and social-of the African American experience since 1900, including pattern and forms of struggle against racist oppression and exploitation. May be taken twice for credit as topics vary. Same as History 150B.
134A Caribbean History: Colonization to Emancipation (4). Exploration of the history of the archipelago from pre-Columbian times to the end of slavery; examining the impact of European colonization, decimation of the indigenous populations, African slavery, resistance, and emancipation; the unity and diversity of experience in region. Same as History 164A.
134B Caribbean History: Emancipation to Independence (4). Post-emancipation and anti-colonial struggles ending with political independence for most of the region. Examines social, political, economic, cultural dimensions of post-emancipation period, including large-scale migration to Central America, the U.S., and Britain; the region's global cultural and political contribution. Same as History 164B.
137 History of the African Diaspora (4). Examines the causes and consequences of the multiple diasporas of African peoples since the sixteenth century in the Atlantic world, especially the Americas and Europe. Same as History 134E.
138 Topics in African American History (4). May be taken twice for credit as topics vary. Same as History 150. (VII-A)
FINE ARTS
141 Topics in African American Dance (4). Offers experience in the rehearsal and performance of African diasporic dance and movement. May be taken twice for credit as topics vary.
142 Topics in African American Drama (4). Considers African American theatrical performance and production, including acting, design and production, dramaturgy, criticism and theory, and stagecraft. May be taken twice for credit as topics vary.
143 Topics in African American Music (4). Examines African American musical forms and traditions, such as blues, jazz, and reggae, in performance and/or critical and theoretical contexts. May be taken twice for credit as topics vary.
144 Topics in Expressive Forms (4). Examines various forms of aesthetic expression in the African diaspora, including dance, music, and the plastic arts, as well as artistic visions of black cyberspace, digital activism, film, video, and aesthetic conceptions of the future. May be taken twice for credit as topics vary. Formerly African American Studies 160.
148 Advanced Studio Topics (4). Provides an intensive and specialized working environment for practice of a variety of fine arts as practiced in African American traditions; painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, video, music, digital arts, and performance. May be taken twice for credit as topics vary. Formerly African American Studies 181.
SOCIAL SCIENCES
151 Comparative Minority Politics (4). Examines the political experiences of Blacks, Latinos, and Asian Americans in the United States from roughly 1950 to the present. Focuses on how each group has pursued political empowerment via both conventional political channels and social movements. Same as Asian American Studies 132, Chicano/Latino Studies 147, and Political Science 124C. (VII-A)
152 African American Politics (4). Examines the politics of African Americans in order to gain a broader perspective of the American political process. Major developments in African American politics (including the civil rights movement, Black presidential bids), continuing problem of racism, responsiveness of key governing institutions. Same as Political Science 124E. Formerly African American Studies 121.
153 African American Psychology (4). Historical overview of the development of black psychology and the African American frame of reference. Topics include personality development, psychological assessment, issues in education, black mental health, and the role of the African American psychologist in the community. Same as Psychology 174E. (VII-A)
154 African American Social Formations (4). Topics which promote critical investigation into the historical, political, and social formations associated with the Black Diaspora. May be taken twice for credit as topics vary.
155 Intercultural Studies (4). Studies relationships between various cultural formations within the Black Diaspora, and the exchange, amalgamations, and tensions between Black Diasporic formations and non-Black formations. Examines expressions of racialization as representation, adaptation, and resistance. May be taken twice for credit as topics vary.
156 African Societies and Politics (4). Examines the violent incorporation of Africa within European modernity. Places the discourses of Pan-Africanism, African Nationalisms, Negritude, African Marxism, and/or African Socialism in juxtaposition to the forces of capitalism, colonialism, and imperialism that restructure African history. May be taken twice for credit as topics vary.
158 Topics in African American Social Sciences (4). Provides students with an opportunity to pursue advanced work in African American studies from one or more social science approaches (psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, and others). May be taken twice for credit as topics vary.
OTHER COURSES
162 The Black Protest Tradition (4). History and discourses of the black protest tradition. Traces the emergence of black protest against racial slavery and white supremacy from the early colonial period to the present and the complex elaboration of identity politics within black communities in the twentieth century. Prerequisites: satisfactory completion of the lower-division writing requirement; upper-division standing. Formerly African American Studies 139.
163 Seminar in African American Studies (4). Explores theoretical and methodologies issues in Black Studies via concentrated work on a specific ensemble of questions. Emphasis is on generating student responses to the material covered through oral and written reports. May be taken twice for credit as topics vary. Formerly African American Studies 180.
198 Directed Group Study (1 to 4). Special topics through directed reading. Paper required. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. May taken for credit for a total of 24 units.
199 Independent Study (1 to 4). Investigation of special topics through directed reading. Paper required. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. May be repeated for credit as topics vary.
GRADUATE
399 University Teaching (4) F, W, S. Limited to teaching assistants. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only. May be repeated for credit.