Major & Minor Requirements

The Africana Studies Program offers the depth of humanistic though (including philosophical, interoperative, creative, and fine arts) alongside training in the skill sets of the social and natural sciences. The major and minor programs are designed to introduce students to the history, politics, and culture of people of African descent. This includes an examination of the global African diaspora, including the United States, the continent of Africa, the Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Latino regions, and areas in Europe and Asia.

Students will study the breadth and depth of the global experience through a variety of methods and mediums including: Anthropology, Art and Art History, Communication, English, Geography, History, Journalism, Language, Media, Political Science, Sociology, Theatre and Dance, and the Sciences.

 

  • Major

    The Africana Studies Major

    The grade point average of the coursework comprising the major must be no less than 2.00 with no course grade below C- (1.70). At least two elective units must be at the 300-level or higher

    10 units, including

    • AFST101 Introduction to Africana Studies

    • AFST201 The Rumors of War Seminar

    • AFST301 Seminar in Africana Studies

    • AFST400 The W.E.B. DuBois Senior Seminar

    •  2 units from Group A – Gender and Sexuality

      • ENGL230 Women and Modern Literature

      • SOC319 Sociology of Gender and Sexuality

      • WGSS200 Introduction to Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies

      • WGSS379/WGSS490 Race in Feminist & Queer Thought

      • WGSS379/ Care, Touch, & Collectivities 

    •  1 unit from Group B – Research Methods

    •  3 units from Group C – Electives

      • AMST201 Introduction to American Studies

      • AMST381 Richmond Seminar

      • ANTH328 Anthropology of Race

      • ARTH319 Medieval Africa

      • DANC204 Hip-Hop Dance

      • DANC210 Salsa Dance

      • DANC312Contemporary African Movement Practices (CAMP)

      • DANC319 Collaborative Arts Lab Dance, Humanities, and Technology

      • EDSO220 Education in America

      • EDSO345 Urban Education

      • EDSO 376 Social Justice in Education

      • ENGL206 The Harlem Renaissance Then and Now

      • ENGL299 Black Style

      • ENGL299 Black Protest Literature and Culture

      • ENGL299 Black Vernacular in Richmond

      • ENGL299 African-American Theater

      • ENGL299/AMST391 Black Hair International

      • ENGL299 American Identities and Mythologies

      • ENGL299 Literatures of Empire (Bridge to Success Program)

      • ENGL337 Postcolonial Literature

      • ECON370 Slavery and the Post-Black Imagination

      • FREN328 Introduction to Maghrebian Literature and Culture

      • FREN471 Francophone Studies

      • HS397 Health and Housing

      • HS397 Health Disparities

      • HIST214 The Scottsboro Trials

      • HIST203 Slavery and Freedom in Early America

      • HIST240 Human Rights in the Atlantic World, 1750-1850

      • HIST260 Colonial Latin America

      • HIST262 The Making of Modern Brazil

      • HIST270 Early Islamic World

      • HIST272 The Ottoman Empire, 1299-1808

      • HIST280 Changing South Africa

      • HIST281 Africa c1500-c1900—Kings, Slaves, Trade, Jihad, and Conquest

      • HIST291 Histories of Public Health and Biomedicine in the Global South

      • HIST299 Women & Gender in African History

      • LAIS314 Luso-Brazilian Studies-A Global Perspective

      • LAIS397 Contemporary Novel in Francophone, Hispanophone, and Lusophone Africa

      • LAIS421 Christians, Jews, and Muslims from Frontier to Empire Medieval Spain

      • LAIS431 Imperial Spain The Age of Conflict

      • LAIS475 Writing Sex and Gender in Latin America

      • LAIS483 The Art of Embodiment Space and Body in Colonial Spanish America 

      • LAIS497 Gender, Race & Performance Across the America

      • MUS114 Popular Music of the 1970s and 1980s

      • MUS122 America’s Music and Media

      • MUS235 “I Want My MTV” Music Video and the Transformation of the Culture Industry

      • MUS238 Popular Music and the Margins

      • PHIL120 Contemporary Moral Issues

      • PLSC338 Critical Race Theory

      • PLSC359 African-American Psychology

      • RELG294 Islam in America

      • RHCS354 Communication Theory and Race

      • RHCS349 Memory and Memorializing in the City of Richmond

      • SOC218 Sociology of the Black Experience

      • SOC257 Sociology of Hip-Hop

      • SOC316 Race and Ethnicity in the United States

      • SOC320 Race, Class, and Schooling

      • THTR210 Performing Diversity A Cultural Odyssey

      • THTR239 Latinx on Stage From the Barrios to Broadway

      • THTR312/HIST391/LAIS497 Gender, Race, and Performance Across the Americas 

  • Minor

    The Africana Studies Minor

    The grade point average of the coursework comprising the minor must be no less than 2.00 with no course grade below C- (1.70). 

     5 units, including

    • AFST101 Introduction to Africana Studies

    • AFST201 The Rumors of War Seminar

    • 3 elective units chosen from those listed below

      • AFST301 Seminar in Africana Studies

      • AMST201 Introduction to American Studies

      • AMST381 Richmond Seminar

      • ANTH211 Field Methods in Ethnography

      • ANTH328 Anthropology of Race

      • ARTH319 Medieval Africa

      • DANC204 Hip-Hop Dance

      • DANC210 Salsa Dance

      • DANC312Contemporary African Movement Practices (CAMP)

      • DANC319 Collaborative Arts Lab Dance, Humanities, and Technology

      • EDSO220 Education in America

      • EDSO345 Urban Education

      • EDSO 376 Social Justice in Education

      • ENGL206 The Harlem Renaissance Then and Now

      • ENGL230 Women and Modern Literature

      • ENGL299 Black Style

      • ENGL299 Black Protest Literature and Culture

      • ENGL299 Black Vernacular in Richmond

      • ENGL299 African-American Theater

      • ENGL299/AMST391 Black Hair International

      • ENGL299 American Identities and Mythologies

      • ENGL299 Literatures of Empire (Bridge to Success Program)

      • ENGL337 Postcolonial Literature

      • ENGL376 Modern Literary Theory

      • ECON370 Slavery and the Post-Black Imagination

      • FREN328 Introduction to Maghrebian Literature and Culture

      • FREN471 Francophone Studies

      • HS397 Health and Housing

      • HS397 Health Disparities

      • HIST214 The Scottsboro Trials

      • HIST203 Slavery and Freedom in Early America

      • HIST240 Human Rights in the Atlantic World, 1750-1850

      • HIST260 Colonial Latin America

      • HIST262 The Making of Modern Brazil

      • HIST270 Early Islamic World

      • HIST272 The Ottoman Empire, 1299-1808

      • HIST280 Changing South Africa

      • HIST281 Africa c1500-c1900—Kings, Slaves, Trade, Jihad, and Conquest

      • HIST291 Histories of Public Health and Biomedicine in the Global South

      • HIST299 Women & Gender in African History

      • HIST398 Historiography

      • LAIS314 Luso-Brazilian Studies-A Global Perspective

      • LAIS397 Contemporary Novel in Francophone, Hispanophone, and Lusophone Africa

      • LAIS421 Christians, Jews, and Muslims from Frontier to Empire Medieval Spain

      • LAIS431 Imperial Spain The Age of Conflict

      • LAIS475 Writing Sex and Gender in Latin America

      • LAIS483 The Art of Embodiment Space and Body in Colonial Spanish America 

      • LAIS497 Gender, Race & Performance Across the America

      • MUS114 Popular Music of the 1970s and 1980s

      • MUS122 America’s Music and Media

      • MUS235 “I Want My MTV” Music Video and the Transformation of the Culture Industry

      • MUS238 Popular Music and the Margins

      • PHIL120 Contemporary Moral Issues

      • PLSC338 Critical Race Theory

      • PLSC359 African-American Psychology

      • PSYC200 Methods and Analyses

      • PSYC300 Core Methods

      • RELG294 Islam in America

      • RHCS354 Communication Theory and Race

      • RHCS349 Memory and Memorializing in the City of Richmond

      • SOC211 Sociological Research Methods and Data Analysis

      • SOC218 Sociology of the Black Experience

      • SOC257 Sociology of Hip-Hop

      • SOC316 Race and Ethnicity in the United States

      • SOC319 Sociology of Gender and Sexuality

      • SOC320 Race, Class, and Schooling

      • THTR210 Performing Diversity A Cultural Odyssey

      • THTR239 Latinx on Stage From the Barrios to Broadway

      • THTR312/HIST391/LAIS497 Gender, Race, and Performance Across the Americas 

      • VMAP112 Introduction to Drawing

      • VMAP113 Introduction to Painting

      • VMAP114 Introduction to Sculpture;

      • VMAP115 Introduction to Printmaking

      • VMAP116 Introduction to Photography

      • VMAP117 Introduction to Film, Sound and Video

      • WGSS200 Introduction to Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies

      • WGSS379/WGSS490 Race in Feminist & Queer Thought

      • WGSS379/ Care, Touch, & Collectivities