Course Descriptions
AFR 1000G - Introduction to Africana Studies
This class is a survey of the Africana Studies experience in the United States. The various areas of Africana 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 2000G - African American Social Movements
This course explores the history of African American social movements. Themes include identity, recruitment, mobilization, tactics, organization, race, gender, alliances, challenges and ideology.
AFR 2200G - Pan Africanism
This course examines the political, social, economic, cultural and ideological connections and relationships between Africans and their descendants in the diaspora (Asia, Europe, South America, North America, and the Caribbean) from a historical and comparative perspective. Topics include slavery, colonialism, resistance, Pan Africanism, liberations and black power movements.
AFR 2400 - Black Women in the Diaspora
This course explores realities of black women in the diaspora with an emphasis on the United States, Canada, Britain, Africa and the Caribbean. Topics such as identity, family, work, slavery, colonialism and globalization will be examined. Strategies that black women have employed to ensure the survival of "Self" and community will be explored. Prerequisites: Students will be required to take AFR 1000G or AFR 2000G before taking this course.
AFR 2500- Introduction to Research Methods in Africana Studies
This course is designed to introduce students to research methods. Students will learn qualitative and quantitative methods of carrying out Africana studies research, how to use scholarly literature to support their analysis and how to write research papers. The following topics will be explored: research ethics, social theory, research design, ethnography, oral history, survey and secondary data analysis. Prerequisites: Students will be required to take ENG 1001G or ENG 1002G or equivalent before taking this course.
AFR 2600 - African American Men
This course acknowledges the realities that are specific to African American males. Strategies and habits of mind that may reinforce and affirm their cultural strengths and overall identity, particularly in support of academic achievement will be examined. Prerequisite: Students will be required to take AFR 1000G or AFR 2000G before taking this course.
AFR 3000 - Special Topics in Africana Studies
Students will be exposed to specialized areas of study within the field of Africana 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 3150 - Women and Development in Africa
This course will expose students to the existing paradigms on women within Africa. Factors and forces mitigating for and against women such as colonialism, capitalism, patriarchy, religion, education and culture will be explored. Challenges and tasks women face in the process of industrialization and modernization will be assessed and analyzed. Prerequisite: Students will be required to take AFR 2500 or equivalent before taking this course.
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.
AFR 3500 - The African American Intellectual Tradition
This course will adhere to the definition of intellectual history as "the history not of thought, but of people thinking." Students will explore the critical role that African American intellectuals in all their guises have played in the shaping of the American historical and intellectual landscape. Topics include intellectual responses to slavery, emancipation, nation building and the civil rights movement. Prerequisite: Students will be required to take AFR 2500 or equivalent before taking this course.
AFR 3600 - HIV/AIDS and Development in Africa
The main focus in this course is to examine the challenges HIV/AIDS present in Sub-Saharan African in terms of economic, health, social and demographic underpinnings of development. Though focused on Sub-Saharan Africa as a region, the course will provide students with the building blocks necessary to design an HIV/AIDS prevention campaign and service learning opportunities. Prerequisite: Students will be required to take AFR 2500 or equivalent before taking this class.
AFR 3700 - Race and Neighborhood Development
The course examines the political causes and consequences of place-based racial inequalities in American cities. The ultimate purpose is to help students understand the legacy of uneven urban development; recognize its contemporary manifestations and ways of challenging it. Prerequisite: Students will be required to take AFR 2500 or equivalent before taking this course.
AFR 3970 - Study Abroad
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 4275 - Internship in Africana Studies
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 4300 - Capstone Seminar
This course is designed for senior students who are majors or minors in Africana Studies. Students will apply all the interdisciplinary knowledge they have gained as they design the capstone project. Each student will choose a topic for research, based on his/her area of concentration in the major or minor. The themes of the capstone will be determined by the research interests of the class. This course is restricted to Africana Studies majors and minors. Prerequisites: Completion of 75 hours, AFR 2500 or equivalent, and Africana Studies core courses (Majors: AFR 1000G, 2000G, 2200G, 2500, 3500, and HIS 3750; Minors: AFR 1000G or 2000G, and AFR 2500) or permission from the Director of Africana Studies.
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 Africana 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 Africana Studies Major, EIU offers several financial aid packages. For information, contact the Financial Aid office.
