Africana Studies is an interdisciplinary major degree-granting program which provides to the University community the African-American perspective to issues relevant to the education of all people, especially African Americans, for the 21st century. Some of the program courses are cross-listed with Political Science, Language, Literacy and Sociocultural Studies, American Studies, English, Communication and Journalism and other departments. All of these courses may be taken toward a degree, substitutes for required courses may be made with prior approval of the student’s major department, or as electives.
Charles E. Becknell, Jr., Director
The Charlie Morrisey Research Hall is a repository of documents including photographs, rare books and artifacts documenting the presence of Africans and African-Americans in New Mexico in particular and the Southwest in general. Presently, the CMR Hall has more than 4,000 photographs, books and other documents.
The CMR Hall also organizes public lectures and panel discussions. These lectures and panels address the presence and contributions of Africans and African-Americans to the Southwest. Periodically, the CMR Hall organizes major exhibitions of its rare photographs and other artifacts. Interested organizations may request rental of the CMR Hall’s traveling exhibition of The Charlie Morrisey collections of rare photographs and artifacts.
Courses
AFST 101.
Swahili I.
(3)
(Also offered as SWAH 101)
Foundation course for all beginning students interested in reading or speaking the language.
Meets University of New Mexico General Education Curriculum Area 6: Second Language.
{Offered upon demand}
AFST 102.
Swahili II.
(3)
(Also offered as SWAH 102)
This course builds directly upon AFST 101, and is designed to bring the students beyond a novice-intermediate or intermediate level of competence.
Prerequisite: 101.
AFST 1110.
Introduction to Africana Studies.
(3)
An interdisciplinary course that introduces students to the histories, cultures, and experiences of global people of African descent.
Meets New Mexico General Education Curriculum Area 5: Humanities.
AFST 1120.
Race in the Digital Age.
(3)
The digital realm is comprised of storied sites such as commerce, employment, education, therapy, community, political expression, crime, and ideas. Technology has transformed the who, what, where, and why of how we define community and identity in the digital age. However, who you are and where you are still matters, despite the benefits of anonymity in cyberspace. This course will investigate the relevance of race, gender, class, identity, and the “cultural capital” that one can spend in our Digital Age economy. To this end, we will start with critical race scholar, Prof. Derrick Bell’s 1990 sci-fi influenced work which prophesied a 21st century “post-racial” American: entwining over two centuries of racial designations on an ever evolving economic marketplace. This course will approach our present “post-racial” moment as an exceptional period for developing new models for identity formation.
AFST 1996.
Topics.
(1-6, no limit Δ)
Explorations of a variety of topics in Africana Studies.
AFST 2110.
African American History.
(3)
This course surveys the long and turbulent journey of African-Americans, the rich culture they have cultivated, and their persistent struggle for freedom from the perspective, interests, aspirations, possibilities and envisioned destinies of African descended peoples. From African antiquity to the 21st century, students will study: 1) The African background; 2) The Holocaust of Enslavement; 3) Black Resistance and Abolition; 4) Reconstruction; 5) The Jim Crow Era; 6) Civil Rights and Black Power, and; 7) The Post-Industrial/Post Civil Rights Era.
AFST 2140.
Black Women in the African Diaspora.
(3)
This survey course reviews the contributions of Black women to the Black Diasporic story.
AFST 2996.
Topics.
(1-6, no limit Δ)
Explorations of a variety of topics in Africana Studies.
AFST 303.
Black Liberation and Religion.
(3)
(Also offered as RELG 303)
Students will be introduced to the Black experience, which necessitates the redefinition of God and Jesus Christ in the lives of Black people as the struggle for transcendental and political freedom.
AFST 307.
African Diaspora in the Southwest.
(3)
(Also offered as AMST 351)
A survey of the lives of Blacks in the American West (1528–1918).
AFST 309.
Black Politics.
(3)
(Also offered as POLS 309)
A study of the history and diverse educational and political maturation processes of elected American officials and functions of the political process.
{Fall}
AFST 315.
Race and the Law.
(3)
Explores the historical and contemporary treatment of race in the United States by the courts and the legislature, and the construction of race as a concept and position of identity through the law.
AFST 322.
Africana Study Abroad.
(1-6 to a maximum of 9 Δ)
This course surveys the Civil Rights Movement, focusing on legal decisions, events, and consequences of the era. Black radicalism, federal policies, world affairs, the role/impact of gender, and post-Civil Rights America will be explored.
AFST 329.
Introduction to African Politics.
(3)
(Also offered as POLS 329)
An introductory course in the volatile politics in Africa. The various ideologies that underlie political movements and influence African governments will be explored.
AFST 333.
Black Political Theory.
(3)
Survey course of the literature and philosophy of the Black Diaspora.
AFST 335.
Sociology of Black Communities.
(3)
This course examines issues and introduces relevant sociological theories and concepts related to Black social life in America and Afro-Latin communities from a historical and contemporary frame of reference.
AFST 340.
Race and Globalization.
(3)
This course highlights the intersection and impact of race and globalization on people and communities worldwide and their resistance to the most oppressive consequences of economic, political, and cultural globalization.
AFST 345.
Foundations in Critical Race Theory.
(3)
This course interrogates theories related to race, racism, racial power, racialization, white supremacy and anti-black ideology.
AFST 360.
The Harlem Renaissance.
(3)
This course introduces the art, literature, and music of the Harlem Renaissance and the development of Black identity. The course will also review the historic roots of the Black Arts Movement and Hip Hop Culture.
AFST 380.
African Literature.
(3)
An analytical look at the works of major African writers and their usage of African symbols to portray Africa of the past, present and the future.
AFST 381.
African-American Literature II.
(3)
(Also offered as ENGL 366)
This is the second phase of a three-part journey through the African-American experience in search of humanity and peace. The vehicle is post-slavery books written by and about African-American people. Issues raised and the characters in the books provide the occasion for in-depth discussion of inhumanity, protests, self definition, race relationships, liberalism, etc.
AFST 385.
The African World.
(3)
An interdisciplinary introduction to the study of Africa; its political and economic geographies; its traditional and new societies; and its politics in global perspectives.
AFST 388.
Blacks in Latin America.
(3)
A comprehensive analysis of the plight of Black people in Latin America as compared with their experiences in North America, from the 15th to 19th century.
AFST 391.
Problems.
(1-3 to a maximum of 12 Δ)
AFST 395.
Education in Colonial Africa.
(3)
A study of European education and its psychological, sociological and cultural impact on traditional African society.
{Fall, Spring}
AFST 396.
Emancipation and Equality.
(3)
The course examines the ending of and aftermath of slavery focusing on Silversmith’s The First Emancipation and also the general emancipation of the Civil War era.
AFST *397.
Interdisciplinary Topics.
(1-3, no limit Δ)
Special topic courses in specialized areas of African-American Studies. African-American Literature; Sociopolitics: Africa; Politics of Southern Africa; Black Books III, Education and African-American Education and Free Society.
{Fall, Spring}
AFST 398.
Africana Philosophy and Methods.
(3)
This course draws upon significant philosophical ideas and methodological practices, which outline an Africana worldview.
AFST 399.
Race, Culture and Education.
(3)
Analysis of the different child-rearing practices and their effects on the academic performances of children. Analyzes the role of culture in education.
AFST 453.
African American Art.
(3)
(Also offered as ARTH 453 / 553)
This class provides an overview of African American artists and contextualizes their creativity within the wider framework of U.S. art. What, for example, are the benefits and pitfalls of assigning race to any creative practice?
AFST *495.
Topics in Africana Studies.
(1-3 to a maximum of 24 Δ)
Explorations of a variety of advanced topics in Africana Studies.
AFST 498.
Research Seminar.
(3)
This course examines several types of research and mixed-methods as tools for understanding the role of theory, research, methods, and practice across disciplines related to Africana Studies.
