African Studies Minor

The 18-hour interdisciplinary minor in African Studies offers students the opportunity for systematic and comprehensive study of African arts, cultures, economies, geography, history, literature, politics, and religions. It also seeks to provide or enhance skills valuable in areas such as business, government, world affairs, media, education, and ecology.

Director

Moses K. Tesi
Department of Political Science, PH 247
615.898.5731

Requirements

African Studies Minor

Political Science and International Relations
Director: Moses K. Tesi

The 18-hour interdisciplinary minor in African Studies offers students the opportunity for systematic and comprehensive study of African arts, cultures, economies, geography, history, literature, politics, and religions. It seeks to provide or enhance skills valuable in areas such as business, government, world affairs, media, education, and ecology. It will also offer students who are interested in pursuing further studies with the foundational tools necessary for graduate work in preparation for careers in university teaching, research, and international public policy. In this age of globalization, the minor in African Studies offers students the knowledge needed to better understand and relate to a part of the world that has contributed and continues to contribute much to world culture and civilization.

Students have an opportunity to choose a global track which requires them to participate in an approved study abroad experience for 3 to 12 credit hours. Please see program director for more information.

Interdisciplinary Minors

Interdisciplinary minors require the student to complete a minimum of 15 to 21 hours from a list of specific courses. Unless otherwise noted, a student may take no more than 6 hours of courses from a single department until he or she surpasses the required minimum number of hours necessary for completing the minor. Exceptions to this rule may be found within the discussions of several of the minors. In most cases, a student is also limited to just 3 hours of credit toward the minor in the same department or discipline in which he or she is taking a major. Students must fulfill all departmental prerequisites for any course within an interdisciplinary minor. In some cases, advisors may approve course substitutions within these program requirements.

Required Courses (9 hours)

 

  • PS 4180 - Contemporary African Politics

    3 credit hours

    Comparative study of selected African political systems with different colonial traditions in the process of rapid change; trends, issues and common themes in African politics. The ideology and politics of development, political system forms and processes, development efforts, and the challenges of state and nation-building.

Two of the following (6 hours)**:

  • ANTH 3514 - Peoples and Cultures of Africa

    3 credit hours

    The diverse peoples and cultures of Africa. Histories, sociocultural systems, and contemporary issues and impacts resulting from globalization from an anthropological perspective.

  • ART 4870 - African Art  3 credit hours  

    ART 4870 - African Art

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: ART 1910 with C or better or permission of instructor. Survey of visual art from the African continent and an examination of selected artists of the African diaspora. Discussion of ancient through contemporary artistic production, with focus upon nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

  • HIST 3075 - History Abroad  3 to 6 credit hours  
    *(approval required by program director regarding country of study required)*  dotslash:(approval required by program director regarding country of study required)* title:* 
    (approval required by program director regarding country of study required)* 

    HIST 3075 - History Abroad

    3 to 6 credit hours

    (Same as AST 3075.) Examines historical issues while participating in an educational abroad program. Experiential learning experience utilizes resources such as historical sites, museums, archaeological sites, and archives while abroad. Course is repeatable. Three to six credits may be applied to the History major as an elective. Three credits may be applied to the History minor as an elective.

  • HIST 4430 - Sub-Saharan Africa

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: Three hours of HIST 1010, HIST 1020, HIST 1110, or HIST 1120. Survey of the history of Africa from prehistoric times to the present. Emphasis on the early African kingdoms, European imperialism and colonialism, and the role of Africa as a contemporary world force.

  • PS 3780 - Study Abroad  3 to 6 credit hours  
    *(approval required by program director regarding country of study required)*  dotslash:(approval required by program director regarding country of study required)* title:* 
    (approval required by program director regarding country of study required)* 

    PS 3780 - Study Abroad

    3 to 6 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1010 or permission of instructor. Supervised study in a foreign country; familiarizes students with foreign cultures and political systems. Three to six hour classes may be repeated once if country of destination varies. No more than 6 hours may count toward a political science major. Pass/Fail.

Notes:

*If taking two education abroad courses, two different countries must be selected.

** These courses could also be taken as electives.

Electives (9 hours)

Students must distribute coursework across three or more disciplines. A student may take no more than six (6) hours toward the minor in a single department. (Study Abroad programs or Special Topics courses dealing with Africa will not count toward this limit but will not exceed three (3) additional hours in a single discipline.) Students will take their remaining classes from among the following:

  • ANTH 3514 - Peoples and Cultures of Africa

    3 credit hours

    The diverse peoples and cultures of Africa. Histories, sociocultural systems, and contemporary issues and impacts resulting from globalization from an anthropological perspective.

  • ARAB 1010 - Elementary Arabic I

    4 credit hours

    Foundation course in reading, writing, speaking, and aural comprehension.

  • ARAB 2010 - Intermediate Arabic I

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: ARAB 1020 or ARAB 1040 or permission of instructor. An intermediate course designed to improve language skills in Arabic, including reading, writing, speaking, and aural comprehensive.

  • ARAB 2020 - Intermediate Arabic II

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: ARAB 2010 or permission of instructor. Continuation of ARAB 2010.

  • ART 4870 - African Art  3 credit hours  

    ART 4870 - African Art

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: ART 1910 with C or better or permission of instructor. Survey of visual art from the African continent and an examination of selected artists of the African diaspora. Discussion of ancient through contemporary artistic production, with focus upon nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

  • ECON 4470 - Economic Development of the Third World

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisites:  ECON 2410, ECON 2420; junior standing; and admission into the College of Business. Conditions and problems of the less-developed countries; causes, processes, and consequences of economic development; introduction to basic growth models, development theories, and strategies for development. Economic as well as noneconomic factors studied.

  • ENGL - Studies in Narrative: Contemporary African Writers 3 credit hours
  • FREN 1010 - Elementary French I

    3 credit hours

    Foundation course in reading, writing, speaking, and aural comprehension.

  • FREN 1020 - Elementary French II

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: FREN 1010 or advanced placement. Continuation of FREN 1010.

  • PORT 1010 - Elementary Portuguese I

    3 credit hours

    Portuguese grammar with readings and oral exercises designed to improve the student's ability to understand the written and spoken language.

  • PORT 1020 - Elementary Portuguese II

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PORT 1010 or permission of instructor. Continuation of materials introduced in PORT 1010.

  • HIST 3070 - Topics in World History

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: Three hours of HIST 1010, HIST 1020, HIST 1110, or HIST 1120. A detailed examination of a topic pertinent to world history. Topics vary. May be taken more than once for credit with different topic.

  • HIST 3075 - History Abroad  3 to 6 credit hours  

    HIST 3075 - History Abroad

    3 to 6 credit hours

    (Same as AST 3075.) Examines historical issues while participating in an educational abroad program. Experiential learning experience utilizes resources such as historical sites, museums, archaeological sites, and archives while abroad. Course is repeatable. Three to six credits may be applied to the History major as an elective. Three credits may be applied to the History minor as an elective.

  • HIST 4425 - Nationalism and Decolonization in Africa

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: HIST 1010, HIST 1020, HIST 1110, or HIST 1120. Explores the various ways that African nations achieved sovereignty and the struggles they faced in creating a new state. Designed to show how the social and political movements took on different forms according to the types of colonial rule imposed upon these communities.

  • HIST 4430 - Sub-Saharan Africa

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: Three hours of HIST 1010, HIST 1020, HIST 1110, or HIST 1120. Survey of the history of Africa from prehistoric times to the present. Emphasis on the early African kingdoms, European imperialism and colonialism, and the role of Africa as a contemporary world force.

  • HIST 4435 - African Slave Trade

    3 credit hours

    (Same as AST 4435.) Prerequisite: Three hours of HIST 1010, HIST 1020, HIST 1110, or HIST 1120. Focuses on the history of the African slave trade. Explores trans-Atlantic slave trade compared to other slaveries; historical significance and legacies of the slave trade; and the changing meaning of the term "slavery" and some modern forms of slavery that persist to this day.

  • PS 3780 - Study Abroad  3 to 6 credit hours  
    (Approval by program director regarding the country of study required)(Approval by program director regarding the country of study required)  dotslash:(Approval by program director regarding the country of study required) title:(Approval by program director regarding the country of study required) 
    (Approval by program director regarding the country of study required) 

    PS 3780 - Study Abroad

    3 to 6 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1010 or permission of instructor. Supervised study in a foreign country; familiarizes students with foreign cultures and political systems. Three to six hour classes may be repeated once if country of destination varies. No more than 6 hours may count toward a political science major. Pass/Fail.

  • PS 4390 - Special Topics in Political Science  3 credit hours  
    (Approval by program director regarding the topic of study required)(Approval by program director regarding the topic of study required)  dotslash:(Approval by program director regarding the topic of study required) title:(Approval by program director regarding the topic of study required) 
    (Approval by program director regarding the topic of study required) 

    PS 4390 - Special Topics in Political Science

    3 credit hours

    Prerequisite: PS 1010 or PS 1005 or permission of the instructor. An in-depth study of a special topic significant in contemporary political developments or political science literature. May be taken more than once, as topics change, with up to six credit hours applied to a Political Science major.