Courses
 

AFR 1000 - Introduction to African American Studies

This class is a survey of the African American Studies experience in the United States. The various areas of African American Studies will be covered at an introductory level. Through a broad overview of the following areas, students will be introduced to African American literature, music, theatre, politics, religion, history, philosophy and psychology.

AFR 2000 - African American Experience

This class is an autobiographical / biographical focus of aspects of the black individual's existence in America and how some of these experiences have been documented essentially through literature, drama, music and documentary film. Some works to be examined, and which detail the African-American experience, include: "Roots," "Autobiography of Jane Pitman," "Bad Blood: The Tuskegee Experiment," "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl," "Autobiography of Malcolm X," "The Life and times of Billie Holiday," "Blues People, " etc.

AFR 3000 - Special Topics African-American Studies

Students will be exposed to specialized areas of study within the field of African American Studies. These areas are not offered within the program curriculum and are offered when visiting professors are available. Alternatively, faculty members at Eastern are welcome to introduce specialized topics related to the African American experience.

AFR 3100 - African Aesthetics and Cosmology

This course will examine the aspects of African culture that distinguish it from European aesthetics. Some stereotypes of Africans that have persisted are that Africans are rhythmic people, with great dexterity in the areas of song, dance, sports and rhythm. This course will examine the various forms in which these attributes exist in Africa and how these attributes have found themselves in the Diaspora. The course shall attempt to answer how much these attributes have influenced the mainstream and how the mainstream has misunderstood this culture.

AFR 3200 - African-American Identity

Students enrolled in African-American identity will be analyzing the trend of self-destructive behavior prevalent in the black community with the goal of identifying sources of the problem and the corrective measures that ought to be taken to preserve the African-American identity.

AFR 3300 - African Cinema

This course will examine how the cinema of Africa has documented the cultural, social and political heritage of the continent. Essentially, the course will explore the impact of colonization on traditional African institutions and the contemporary conflicts that imperialism in Africa has produced.

Students will be able to undertake the minimum of one summer abroad in the African Diaspora, or the maximum of one semester, with the approval of the director. PLEASE NOTE that it is possible to take both the Study Abroad and the African Language Requirement in the case that the student is abroad in an African country.

AFR 4000 - Seminar on African-American Leadership

This course will examine the various ideologies of African-American leaders within the 20th century. Various talented and intellectually vibrant individuals have been extremely vocal on problems that African Americans encounter in the United States. Various leaders have advocated different teachings as solutions to the African American crisis. The leaders, along with the solutions they have advocated, will be the focus of our analysis in this course.

AFR 4100 - From Negritude to Afrocentricity

Students enrolled in this course will come to understand the plight of Africans from a global international perspective. This course examines the African problem from the perspective of the world stage.

AFR 4275 - Internship

A semester's experience as an intern in an agency or organization relevant to the student's curriculum. The total hours must not exceed 15 including courses taken in any other internship offered by the university.

AFR 4400 - Independent Study

The Independent Study is a mini-thesis endeavor. Students signing up for the Independent Study will be responsible for selecting a topic in their area of interest. Students are encouraged to select research topics that would advance the field of knowledge in African American Studies. Students intending to enroll in graduate school are encouraged to develop their independent study topics as possible additions to the graduate admission portfolio. The program will support the presentation of outstanding research papers at regional/national conferences.

Financial Aid and Scholarships

Apart from 10 scholarships offered to the African American Studies Major, EIU offers several financial aid packages. For information, contact the Financial Aid office.