AFSD 201
4.00 credits
Rosenberg, Scott.
This course is designed to introduce students to the discipline of Africana Studies, which is the study, interpretation, and dissemination of knowledge concerning African-American, African, and Caribbean affairs and culture. Our chief aim is to look at the arts and culture of people of African descent with specific attention at the retention of Africanisms in New World Contexts. As such, we will devote attention to music, dance, religion, and literature as ways of influencing and creating space for voice, inclusion, and identity in New World contexts. We will further investigate the transformation of these themes over the last 500 hundred years as Africans, African Americans and African Caribbeans have been exposed to European domination and exploitation.
AFSD 492 00. AFSD Senior Project
2.00 credits
Rosenberg, Scott.
Prerequisite: Permission of Program Director
Note: Students must submit an Independent Study - Senior Project Proposal- to the Registrar's office, Recitation Hall, for final approval. After final approval, the student will be officially registered for the credits. During the senior year, our minors are required to complete a two-credit Senior Project that explores the Black Diasporic connections between academic disciplines. Students often study and analyze the intersection of Africana Studies and their major. For example, one student produced and directed a compilation of scenes from plays by two important African American playwrights while another planned a Black Knowledge Conference for the Wittenberg community in conjunction with the Office of Multicultural Student Programs.
English 190A/C - Afro-Caribbean Studies: Migratory Subjects
4 semester hours
Wilkerson, Carmiele
Prerequisite: ENGL 101E
This course will examine major writers from contemporary Caribbean literature. The course will introduce students to the literary works and cultural history of English-speaking Caribbean authors who have migrated from their respective Islands to the U.S., Canada and Europe. In Migratory Subjects, students will examine short stories, poetry, political essays and novels written by women authors from Trinidad, Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana and Haiti. We will look at their work as an entry point into the migratory experience that aids in the formation of nationhood for Caribbean writers of the African Diaspora. Possible authors include, Dionne Brand, Grace Nichols, Audre Lorde, Michelle Cliff, and Edwidge Danticat.
English 313 - Harlem Renaissance
4 semester hours
Wilkerson, Carmiele
Prerequisite: ENGL 200 and 290A
The core ideals of the Harlem Renaissance fueled an ideological movement brought about by a keen political awareness of the oppression and inequity that Blacks faced in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century. Writers of the Harlem Renaissance used this awareness as a tool to reach a large audience of Black and white Americans. The Harlem Renaissance was an era of enormous literary production written by and about Black Americans.
By the end of this course, students will
(1) recognize major writers of the period
(2) develop an understanding of how race informs literary identity
(3) be acquainted with a selection of women writers of the period
(4) have further advanced skills in critical reading, thinking and writing
HIST 170C 1W. Lesotho and the Shadow of Apartheid
4.00 credits
Rosenberg, Scott
Prerequisite: none
This class will look at formation of mountain Kingdom of Lesotho during the time of Moshoeshoe. Special attention will be paid to how Moshoeshoe brought the Basotho together and his relationship with Europeans. Next this class will look at the Kings who came after Moshoeshoe and the struggle between the chieftainship and the commoners during the twentieth century. We will also devote time to discussing the development of a national identity based on Moshoeshoe as a form of resisting incorporation into South Africa. Considerable attention will be given to Lesotho's underdevelopment, environmental degradation and growing dependence on migrant labor in the colonial period. We will then discuss Lesotho independence and post-colonial politics. Lastly, this class will focus on Lesotho's future as an independent viable nation. The items examined will include the HIV/AIDS crisis, Lesotho dependence on migrant labor and the textile industry as well as its relationship with South Africa. Writing intensive.
SOCI 277 C/R 1W & 2W Islam and Islamic Societies
4 Credits
Pankhurst, Jerry
Pre-requisites: None
This course will provide a broad introduction to the religion of Islam, accompanied by an examination of the connections between Islam and the varied life of Muslim societies and of Muslim minority communities in non-Muslim societies. Given the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the West's military reprisals and subsequent reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq, the ongoing struggle of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the devastation of the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia and elsewhere in the Indian Ocean basin, and other problem situations, knowledge of these issues has become of highest priority. We will seek to understand the complex sources of conflict in areas in which Islam is implicated in some way; we will also try to become acquainted with the rich cultural life of Muslims. We will consider Muslim societies all over the world, but, in support of the minor in Africana Studies, we will give a special emphasis to Islam in Africa and to African American Islam.
Course format: lecture/seminar, with much group discussion. Graded Requirements: A variety of writing exercises throughout the term, oral presentations, examinations and a term project. Students should expect one or more alternative class meetings during the evening to accommodate guest speakers. This course is Writing Intensive (W) and can be taken for either C or R credit in General Education.
SOCI 350 01 Race and Ethnicity
4 Credits
Rowell, Kathy
Pre-requisites: None
Race and ethnicity continue to be important markers of identity, stratification, and political action in the world. This course will expose you to concepts and theories that can promote an understanding of the roles of race and ethnicity in contemporary society and guide new ways of thinking about these issues. Specifically, the course will introduce you to the sociocultural analysis of race and ethnic group membership in its various historical and geographical contexts around the world. Why has racial/ethnic group membership remained a salient factor in social life? What factors perpetuate racial/ethnic stratification? When does racial/ethnic group membership form the basis of social and political mobilization? Key concepts will be critically evaluated, with attention drawn to their ideological basis, explanatory power, and policy implications. Students will be encouraged to think critically about the social issues under study and their relevance to their own lives as members of a global society.
THDN 112A - 1W Dance in Popular Culture
4 Semester Hours
Pinheiro, Ligia
Prerequisite: None
What do A Chorus Line, Fred Astaire, a Madonna video, and many television commercials have in common? All of them make use of American show dance. This class attempts to sharpen your interpretive, descriptive, and evaluative skills as you watch tap, jazz, ballroom, MTV, and musical theatre dance. Assessment is based on class assignments and class participation.
THDN 210C Dance Ethnology
4 Semester Hours
Chang, Shih-Ming Li
Prerequisite: None
The purpose of this course is to provide knowledge and understanding of different cultures around the world by comparing and analyzing the differences of their dances. Through the understanding of the basic elements of time, space, and movement quality, the course will help students develop the ability to analyze different styles, forms, and functions of the dances of different countries and cultures. The course format includes video viewing, lecture/discussion, research, and learning some folk dances. Grading is based upon participation, assignments, a midterm, a final exam, and a presentation.
