2003 Introduction to African and African-American Studies. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Introduces students to African and African-American Studies at the University of Oklahoma, and at other institutions of higher education in the U.S. Students will study the major ideas, concepts, problems, issues, research and scholars in the field. Provides career focus and information for students who will major or minor in African and African-American Studies. (F, Sp) [IV-NW]
2113 Africa and the Diaspora. The course introduces students to the study of Africa and the dispersion of African people throughout the New World. Focus is placed upon the geographical and historical understanding of the continent of Africa and the identification of central causes of underdevelopment within the continent. (Irreg.)
2913 Perspectives on the Digital Divide: Theory and Application. This course focuses on the issue of the digital divide and the impact of computer illiteracy in today's society, with special focus on developing regions of Africa. The lack of access to communication technologies, including personal computers and the internet, is examined as an obstacle to the economic, social and political development in these regions. Focus is directed to theory and application. (Irreg.)
3123 West African & African-American Experiences. Prerequisite: any course that focuses on African or African American content, or English 1213. Provides a basis for understanding discourse concerning the future of West Africa and Africans in the American Diaspora. Examines significant issues concerning West African people, their past, their priorities, and prognoses. (Irreg.)
3133 Introduction to African Aesthetics. Prerequisite: any course that focuses on African or African American content, or English 1213. Explores the philosophy, culture, and aesthetic expressions of African Americans before, during, and after enslavement through a comparison of African and African American culture. Emphasis is placed upon developing a body of knowledge and analytic skills that will enable students to deepen their understanding of traditional and contemporary culture practiced by the African American community. (Irreg.)
3143 Gospel Music in African and African-American Studies. Prerequisite: junior standing and any 2000-level AFAM course. African and African-American history as it relates to gospel music. The class correlates the climate and cultural history with various genres of music that led to gospel music. Individual artists are studied not in isolation but as part of the larger cultural context. (F, Sp)
3313 A Social History of Black Military Life: 1877-1895. Prerequisite: any course that focuses on African and African American content, or English 1213. Course presents a social history of black military life during the post-Reconstruction era. Examines the nexus between the common attitude toward African Americans in American society and American military racial policy during the post-Reconstruction era. (Irreg.)
3323 Black Military Presence in the American West: 1866-1891. Prerequisite: any course that focuses on African or African American content, or English 1213. After the Civil War, Congress enacted legislation to authorize regiments of black enlisted men and white officers for service in cavalry and infantry units throughout the American west. This course examines African American service and heroism to this nation from 1866 to 1891 in Texas, Indian Territory, New Mexico, the Dakotas, Montana, and Arizona. The course is reading and writing intensive. (Irreg.)
3333 Blacks in Oklahoma: A Stolen Legacy. Prerequisite: Junior standing and any 2000-level African and African American Studies class. This course examines the unique interrelationships that encouraged black migration into Oklahoma prior to statehood. The experience of African Americans in Oklahoma is characterized by the chattel slavery exercised by members of the five civilized tribes, a legacy of military service and law enforcement, organized efforts to establish Oklahoma as an all-black state, significant socio-political activity (led primarily by editors of black newspapers) and a number of historic cultural contributions. This course will provide an in-depth exploration of the historic interrelationships, socio-political activism, economic development and culture of black Oklahomans, (Irreg.)
3413 African-American Education in the United States. Prerequisite: any course that focuses on African or African-American content, or English 1213. Examines two major historical features of African American education: the ways in which the African American community has sought to educate itself and the ways in which white Americans have sought to educate African Americans. Emphasis is placed on the purpose of education, and alternative visions of educational possibility. (Irreg.)
3423 African-American Men. Prerequisite: any course the focuses on African and African-American content, or English 1213. Examines the status and role of the African-American male, from the perspective of contemporary research and literature which should frame the extant disclosure and discussions, policy-making, and future research. (Irreg.)
3433 African American Women. Prerequisite: any course the focuses on African or African American content, or English 1213. Examines the history and experience of African American women, focusing on race, gender, and socio-economic status and the corresponding effects of these forces in their lives. (Irreg.)
3443 African American Athlete. Prerequisite: any course that focuses on African or African American content, or English 1213. Examines the history, participation, and the influences of the black athlete. Provides a forum for discussion of the contemporary issues related to the Africa American athlete. (Irreg.)
3513 AFAM Research Methods. Prerequisite: AFAM major or minor, junior standing. This course is designed to introduce students to research methods in African and African American studies. Qualitative and quantitative research methods are studied, discussed, and undertaken. Course design stresses the importance of using both methods to cross-validate findings. (Irreg.)
3613 Visual Culture and African American Identity: 1895-1939. Prerequisite: any course the focuses on African or African American content, or English 1213. Examines the visual commodities of black and white cultural producers to analyze issues of caste and class status, gender, and sexuality that historically and currently inform competing notions of blackness within the public sphere. (Irreg.)
3643 African Folklore. Prerequisite: Junior standing and any 2000-level African and African American Studies class. This course investigates the continuation of traditional elements produced in diverse media and circumstances in a modern, largely urban Africa. Issues such as identity, difference, diversity; tradition and history; modernity and development; wealth and power; political change and gender relations are topics to be explored through folk expression. (Irreg.)
4003 Senior Seminar in African and African-American Studies. Prerequisite: completion of 12 hours of required AFAM or AFAM-related courses. Provides students the opportunity to review and integrate their study in African and African-American courses. Students will be involved in academic experiences that facilitate the translation from theory to practice. Experiences will vary depending on the instructor. (Sp) [V]
4010 Special Topics in African and African-American Studies. 1 to 3 hours. Prerequisite: junior standing and any course covering African and African-American issues. May be repeated with change of content; maximum credit nine hours. Designed to permit the study of specific and changing issues and problems in AFAM Studies. Course will also be used for special workshops, conferences, seminars, etc. and individually planned and supervised activities focused on specific areas of concern. (Irreg.)
4113 African Civilizations. Prerequisite: any course that focuses on African or African-American content, or English 1213. Examines major ancient and recent African civilizations. Includes study of state formation, kinship, government, iconography, ritual, habitat and dance, music, and art. (Irreg.)
4123 African Politics. Prerequisite: Junior standing and any 2000-level African and African-American Studies course. The course examines African politics as it relates to civil-military relations, military coups d’etat and political liberalization and democratization. The overriding objective of the course is to familiarize students with the problems and transformation of African political systems. (Irreg.)
4133 Contemporary Visual Art of Africa. Prerequisite: junior standing and any 2000-level African and African-American Studies (AFAM) class. This course explores current visual arts developments in Africa. The course traces the historical evolution, influences and status of contemporary African art, with special reference to established visual artists who either work within or outside of Africa. (Sp)
4143 Africa’s Role in the Contemporary World. Prerequisite: Junior standing and any 2000-level African and African-American Studies class. This course will resent Africa’s contemporary reality – the positive as well as the negative—by examining major current issues after surveying Africa’s history, geography, societies, and culture. Themes covered will include: political developments, regional conflicts, human rights and women’s issues, economic development and poverty, refugees and migration, and the environment. The course will also examine Africa’s role in US global policy priorities, including the war against terrorism. (Irreg.)
4153 African Youth Cultures. Prerequisite: Junior standing and any 2000-level African and African-American Studies class. This course examines African youth cultures and sub cultures as they enter and transform political, social, cultural, and economic spaces. It also explores their relationship with adult, mainstream societies. We will investigate African youth’s identity project—how and why they articulate and mobilize an individual and group identity. Some issues of exploration will be the following: What is youth culture and subculture? How do western concepts of individualism apply to an African context? (Irreg.)
4213 African Dance. Prerequisite: any course that focuses on African or African American content, or English 1213. Examines various essential dance movements from the African Diaspora. Theory and praxis meet in an effort to better understand the culture and language of dance amongst African people. (Irreg.)
4223 African Dance II. Prerequisite: any course that focuses on African or African American content, or English 1213. The course is designed to deepen understanding of African dance through a combination of praxis, theory, and choreography. In this course the Umfundalai technique is taught at an accelerated pace. Students are challenged to perform advanced combinations of this dance technique. Students conduct research on African dance and African dance aesthetics. Theoretical applications of African aesthetics to African dance are made. Students explore aesthetic theory, relevant historical information and traditional African cultural philosophy through choreography. (Irreg.)
4233 Blacks & the Movies: Hollywood & Black Independent Film. Prerequisite: any course that focuses on African or African American content, or English 1213. Historical overview of the development of African American cinema. Examines how film has been used to culturally define the parameters of black cultural identity and how black cultural producers promoted alternate constructions of black identity. (Irreg.)
4313 Harlem Renaissance. Prerequisite: any course that focuses on African or African American content, or English 1213. Examines the artistic and literary strivings of African Americans produced during the period between the post-World War I era and the Great Depression. Examines work of individual artists and literary figures. Also examines the impact of African and African American aesthetics on the development of American Modernism. (Irreg.)
4323 Afro-Caribbean Prose. Prerequisite: Junior standing and any 2000-level African and African-American Studies class. The course will examine the theme of black identity by exploring writers form the Dominican republic, Puerto Rico, New York, and from Cuba, who humanize the image of blacks by illustrating different aspects and dimensions if the psyche in Spanish-speaking Caribbean islands. Selected texts will be examined to explore how they illustrate representations of silenced voices, address the absence of authentic characterization of blacks, and conscientiously and progressively concentrate on a new racial reality. (Sp)
4413 Issues in the African American Family. Prerequisite: any course that focuses on African or African American content, or English 1213. The purpose of the class is to explore the inter- and intra-structural components of the African American family using an applied social systems and ecological approach. Great emphasis will be placed on historical and concurrent social, religious, political and economic factors that influence the psyche of both the family and in a broader sense a culture rooted in the Afrocentric paradigm. (Irreg.)
4423 African American Health Issues. Prerequisite: any course that focuses upon African or African American content, or English 1213. Examines health problems, health status, and health behavior of African American men and women. A life course perspective is emphasized from birth to later life. It is assumed that being African American predisposes persons to health problems that increase the risk of disease or that influence health based on the diversity of cultural beliefs, values, and practices. Access to health services will be addressed. (Irreg.)
4433 Women of the Diaspora. Prerequisite: any course that focuses on African or African American content, or English 1213. A comparative study of the complex roles of women of African descent in cross-cultural perspective. Examines the issue in the socio-cultural contexts of South Africa, United States, and the Caribbean. Topics include gender relations, impact of urbanization, class status, and Diasporan women as culture workers. (Irreg.)
4453 Black/White Relations in America. Prerequisite: any course that focuses on African and African American content, or English 1213. Examines race relations in general and black/white relations in particular; creative race relations problem-solving and decision-making strategies; and self-awareness as it affects race relations. (Irreg.)
4613 African American Music Traditions. Prerequisite: any course that focuses on African or African American content, or English 1213. Examines African cultural retentions in African American music. Emphasis is placed upon traditional African rhythms, attitudes, themes, and sounds. Investigates how these devices inform African American musical traditions. (Irreg.)
4623 Hip Hop Culture and Contemporary America. Prerequisite: any course that focuses on African or African American content, or English 1213. Historical inquiry into behavioral and sociopolitical trends of hip hop culture. Attempts to codify and recognize dominant cultural attitudes, concepts and paradigms as global phenomenon shaping understanding of contemporary African American character, identity, and culture. (Irreg.)
4633 African American Religious Traditions. Prerequisite: any course that focuses on African or African American content, or English 1213. An anthropological and historical inquiry into the nature of the religious experience of Africans enslaved and involuntarily brought to the United States. Emphasis is placed upon the identification and understanding of the central cultural and religious practices and products form black peoples' experiences of the holy. (Irreg.)
4643 Contemporary Black Feminism. Prerequisite: Junior standing and any 2000-level African and African-American Studies class. This course analyses the way race, gender, sexuality, and socioeconomic status have historically dominated, intersected and/or competed within the lives of African-American women. This course examines the way African-American women have drawn upon these internal struggles to serve as voices of power and agents of social change. Readings in this course will highlight the life experiences, work, and contributions of both early and contemporary African-American feminists, particularly their efforts toward advocating for black women’s liberation, womanism, and black feminist agendas. (Irreg.)
4713 Afrocentric Thinking and the Civil Rights Movement. Prerequisite: any course that focuses on African or African American content, or English 1213. Examines afrocentric thinking and identifies key afrocentric patterns and strategies within the civil rights movement. Students will analyze African American leadership and how leaders brought afrocentric thinkng to the forefront. (Irreg.)
4723 Leadership in the African American Community. Prerequisite: any course that focuses on African or African American content, or English 1213. Comprehensive analysis of leadership skills and development from afrocentric perspective applied historically for social change; how these strategies are enacted for empowerment within contemporary society. (Irreg.)
4733 Civil Rights Law: Employment and Education. Prerequisite: any course the focuses on African or African American content, or English 1213. Analyzes civil rights law in employment and education. Focuses on laws that address discrimination, equal employment opportunity, equal educational opportunity and affirmative action, as well as the legal foundation for diversity initiatives. Examines regulations of enforcement agencies, and agency grievance procedures, including selected court cases. (Irreg.)
4990 Independent Study. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Permits the student to study in depth, under the guidance of the instructor, particular and special African and African-American topics of interest to the student and within the expertise of the instructor. Generally, students and the instructor meet to determine the nature of independent study, schedule progress reports and meetings, timelines for the submission of assignments, nature of the evaluation process and culminating effort or activity. (F, Sp, Su)
Updated: April 27, 2007