The CARTER G. WOODSON INSTITUTE
for
AFRICAN-AMERICAN & AFRICAN STUDIES
at
THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
108 Minor Hall
P.O. Box 400162
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4162
(434) 924-3109
COURSE OFFERING DIRECTORY
(as of August 9, 2006)
FALL 2006
www.virginia.edu/woodson
THE CARTER G. WOODSON INSTITUTE
Founded in 1981, the University of Virginia’s Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies is named in honor of native Virginian Carter Godwin Woodson. Born in 1875 in Buckingham County to parents who were formerly enslaved, Woodson would go on to be the first African-American to earn a Ph.D. in history at Harvard University in 1912. He was instrumental in bringing professional recognition to the study of African-American history during a period when most historians held the opinion that African Americans were a people without history. Woodson was the founder of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History and its scholarly journal The Journal of Negro History. Under his leadership, Negro History Week was inaugurated in the United States as an annual celebration of African-American achievement.
At the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies, our goal is to continue the pioneering work of our namesake through an active program of undergraduate teaching and curriculum development, original interdisciplinary research; institutional and financial support of scholars; conferences and colloquia; publications and public outreach projects. The Woodson Institute promotes interdisciplinary and collaborative research and interpretation of the African and African-American experience in a global context. It links research and writing in African-American and African studies to undergraduate teaching. Throughout its history, the Woodson Institute has guided the University's African-American and African Studies major, offered graduate students doing work of topical interest an intellectual home, and received national and international acclaim for the success of its residential fellowship program.
THE CARTER G. WOODSON INSTITUTE
for
AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND AFRICAN STUDIES
AAS FACULTY ADVISORS
Scot French (), Interim Director
The Carter G. Woodson Institute
Reginald D. Butler (), Director Emeritus
History Department
Ellen Contini-Morava ()
Anthropology Department
Scott K. DeVeaux ()
Music Department
Claudrena Harold ()
History Department
Cynthia Hoehler-Fatton ()
Religious Studies Department
Adria LaViolette ()
Anthropology Department
John Mason ()
History Department
Benjamin C. Ray ()
Religious Studies Department
Marlon Ross ()
English Department
Hanan Sabea ()
Anthropology Department
Milton Vickerman ()
Sociology Department
Corey D. B.Walker ()
Religious Studies Department
Melvin N. Wilson ()
Psychology Department
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AFRICAN-AMERICAN & AFRICAN STUDIES
CURRICULUM
In January 1997, new requirements for a major in African-American and African Studies [AAS] became effective. Declared majors were not affected by these changes, however, new majors will be required to abide by the new requirements. Also, beginning Fall 1997, the AAS program implemented a Distinguished Majors Program. Current third-year AAS majors with a GPA of at least 3.4 are eligible (a full description of the program is included in this directory).
AAS MAJOR REQUIREMENTS
The African-American and African Studies interdisciplinary major comprises 9 courses (29 credit hours) taken with a program approved by any member of the AAS Steering Committee, who will act as the student's advisor. These courses may include courses taken before declaration of the major. In order to declare a major, a student must have taken AAS 101 and 102 and earned a grade of C or better in each course. Students must have an average 2.0 in the major for it to be considered complete.
The major requires a distribution of courses in the following areas and levels, which must be selected from the AAS Course Offering Directory.
1. AAS 101 and 102.
2. One course concerning race and politics in the United States.
3. One course in the humanities: Art History, Drama, English, French, Music, Philosophy, or Religious Studies.
4. One course in the social sciences or history: Anthropology, Economics, Government and Foreign Affairs, History, Psychology, Slavic Languages, or Sociology. This course must be in addition to AAS 101 and 102.
5. One course about Africa, which may fulfill requirements 3-4 above.
6. Four courses above the 300 level, which may fulfill requirements 2-5 above.
7. One 400 level seminar requiring a research paper, which may fulfill requirement 6 above.
Please note: While a single course may fulfill more than one requirement, students should remember that they must take a total of seven courses in addition to AAS 101 and 102 for a total of 29 credit hours.
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Each semester, the African-American and African Studies program publishes a list of courses that satisfy the above requirements. Students should speak with an advisor if they have any questions about how to distribute the Major courses.
Students frequently find that African-American and African Studies works well as a double-major with another discipline in the humanities and social sciences. Up to 11 credits in another departmental major may count toward an AAS major, IF the courses are among those listed in the AAS Course Offering Directory. Up to 6 transfer credits from relevant study abroad programs may be counted toward the major, with the advance written permission of the AAS Undergraduate Studies Director. Up to 3 credits of an appropriate language course may be counted toward the major.
Exceptions to any of these requirements will be made only upon written petition to the AAS Undergraduate Studies Director. No petitions will be accepted after the completion of a student's seventh semester.
DECLARING A MAJOR Students considering a major or minor in African-American and African Studies may consult any member of the Steering Committee.
The procedure for declaring a major in African-American and African Studies are:
Ø Pick up a Declaration of Major form in Garrett Hall.
Ø Fill in section pertaining to courses you have already taken.
Ø Consult with the AAS Undergraduate Studies Director concerning the assignment of a faculty advisor. Bring the Declaration of Major form and a copy of your PACE form.
Ø Consult with your advisor about courses which you have taken or plan to take to fulfill the AAS requirements. Have the faculty advisor sign the form. (NOTE: At the end of this directory, there is a AAS Major worksheet to help you organize your studies.)
Ø Return the form to the Carter G. Woodson Institute, Minor Hall 108.
AAS MINOR REQUIREMENTS A Minor in African-American and African Studies comprises the following:
In order to declare a minor, a student must have taken AAS 101 and 102 and earned a grade of C or better in each course.
1. AAS 101 and 102.
2. Twelve credit hours, in addition to AAS 101 and 102, selected from the AAS Course Offering Directory.
3. An average of 2.0 in all courses counted under this requirement.
DECLARING A MINOR
Ø Pick up a Declaration of Minor form at the Carter G. Woodson Institute, Minor Hall 108.
Ø Fill in section pertaining to courses you have already taken.
Ø Consult with the AAS Undergraduate Studies Director concerning the assignment of an AAS faculty advisor.
Ø Return the form, along with a copy of your PACE form, to the Carter G. Woodson Institute, Minor Hall 108.
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Independent Study in AAS 401 allows students to work on an individual research project. Students wishing to pursue this option should pick up an information sheet at the Woodson Institute, which explains the procedure and requirements. Students must propose a topic to an appropriate faculty member, submit a written proposal for his/her approval, prepare an extensive annotated bibliography on relevant readings comparable to the reading list of a regular upper-level course, and complete a research paper of at least 20 pages.
Distinguished Majors Program in African-American and African Studies. Third-year students with superior academic performance are encouraged to apply for the AAS Distinguished Majors Program (DMP) in which they conduct research and write a thesis demonstrating originality and independent study of high quality. Participants are eligible for graduation with distinction. The requirements for admission to the DMP are:
1. Satisfaction of all College requirements as stated in the Undergraduate Record with a GPA of at least 3.4 in all University courses.
2. Permission of an advisor. This person may be any faculty member who teaches courses listed in the AAS Course Offering Directory, willing to supervise the thesis. Permission should be sought no later than the second semester of the third year. The supervisor's written approval of the topic must be secured by the students and filed at the Carter G. Woodson Institute.
3. Like the AAS Major, the DMP comprises 29 credit hours. Participants must fulfill the distribution requirements for the Major (see AAS Major requirements 1-5). DMP participants must complete at least 6 hours of course work above the 400 level, in addition to the 6 hours specific to preparation of the thesis, outlined below.
Once the advisor has been secured, the student should seek two additional faculty members who agree to read the thesis. The student registers for three credits of AAS 451 (Directed Research) in the first semester of the fourth year. In this course, the student conducts research for, and writes the first draft of, his or her thesis. In the second semester, the student registers for AAS 452 (Thesis) and revises the draft based on the committee's recommendations, producing a finished thesis of about 8,000 words or 40 pages, which must be approved by the committee and deposited at the Carter G. Woodson Institute. The thesis committee will make a recommendation to the AAS Steering Committee for final approval of the thesis. Any student seeking help in setting up this program should see his or her major advisor.
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND AFRICAN STUDIES PROGRAM
AAS 100A – BLACK NATIONALISM
1300-1500 R
PV8 108
Instructor: Claudrena N. Harold
This course examines black nationalists’ protracted struggle for political autonomy, economic independence, and cultural self-definition in twentieth-century America. Major events to be discussed include the rise and fall of the Marcus Garvey Movement during the 1920s, the emergence of Elijah Muhammad’s Nation of Islam after the close of World War II, and the political and cultural upheavals in Afro-America during the Black Power era. Students will have the opportunity to explore the politics of a wide range of black radicals, including Amy Jacques and Marcus Garvey, Robert Williams, Malcolm X, Huey P. Newton, Audley Moore, and Amiri Baraka (Leroi Jones). Scholarly investigations of black nationalism normally conclude with an analysis of the disintegration of the Black Power Movement in the early 1970s, but this course will also investigate the contemporary manifestations of black nationalism. Exploring diverse topics such as the Million Man March in 1995, the rise of Afrocentricity as a major theoretical framework in Black Studies, and the race consciousness articulated in the music of various hip-hop artists, students will investigate the continuing significance and visibility of black nationalism in American politics and culture. Possible texts for the course include Michele Mitchell’s Righteous Propagation: African Americans and the Politics of Racial Destiny after Reconstruction, Dean Robinson’s Black Nationalism in American Politics and Thought, Tony Martin’s Race First: The Ideological and Organizational Struggles of Marcus Garvey, Tommie Shelby’s We Who are Dark: The Philosophical Foundations of Black Solidarity, William L. Van Deburg’s New Day in Babylon: The Black Power Movement and American Culture, 1965-1975, James W. Smethhurst’s The Black Arts Movement: Literary Nationalism in the 1960s and 1970s, and Timothy Tyson’s Radio Free Dixie: Robert Williams and the Roots of Black Power. Students will read an average of 200 pages per week. Grades will be based on class attendance and participation, two exams, and three book reviews.
AAS 101 - AFRICA IN THE ATLANTIC WORLD (4)
1230-1345 T R
WIL 301
Instructors: Roquinaldo Ferreira and Scot French
This team-taught lecture course is part of a year-long survey of the history and culture of Africans in Africa and people of African descent in the Americas. During this semester, we will cover a variety of topics, including African societies before 1800, the Atlantic slave trade, literatures of the Atlantic World, the origins and development of New World plantation societies, Africana religions, life and labor in the United States, and the protracted process of emancipation. Students should come away with an understanding of the major problems, events, and people that shaped the African-American experience. At the same time, we will gain a sense of how that experience fit into the history of people of African descent in the larger Atlantic world. Students are encouraged, but not required, to take both semesters of this course. Reading will include the following books: Herbert Klein, The Atlantic Slave Trade. Cambridge, 2001; Robin Law and Paul Lovejoy (eds.), Randy J. Sparks, The Two Princes of Calabar: An Eighteenth Century Atlantic Odyssey. Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 2004; Michael L. Conniff and Thomas J. Davis, Africans in the Americas: A History of the Black Diaspora. Blackburn Press, 2002; George Reid Andrews, Afro-Latin America, 1800-2000. Oxford, 2004. Grading for the class will consist of the following: Participation/Discussion; Short Response Papers; Midterm Exam; Short Writing Assignment; Final Exam. (Cross-listed as HIAF 203: The African Diaspora)
AAS 323 – RISE AND FALL OF THE SLAVE SOUTH (3)
0900-0950 MW
MIN 125
Instructor: Edward L. Ayers
This course will explore the emergence and destruction of the most powerful slave society of the modern world: the American South. It will begin with the sixteenth century and extend through the Civil War and Reconstruction. We will examine the lives of slaves and slaveowners, small farmers and large planters, men and women, soldiers and civilians.
Requirements include substantial research in primary documents in Alderman Library. Research topics are broad and require students willing to tackle open-ended assignments. Readings will be diverse, including original documents, materials on the Web, fiction, and secondary accounts. Energetic participation in a weekly discussion section is a central part of the course. (This course is cross-listed as HIUS 323.)
AAS 405B – FROM BLACK ARTS TO HIP-HOP
1300-1530 M
Minor 108
Instructor: Alwin A. D. Jones
In this seminar we will study the last 50 years of Black “writing” in America, especially focusing on the Black Arts and Hip Hop Movements, the impetus being: Black Writing is Still Alive and Emergent. We will investigate the politics, poetics, and aesthetics of writings as bracketed by these two movements. From its inception, scholars within Black Studies have always maintained an interdisciplinary approach in their intellectual pursuits, we will therefore follow suit in ours by examining film, "life writing," visual art, poetry, music and music lyrics, drama, performance arts, theory, history, activist writing, etc. Our in-depth study will highlight themes and issues within the period such as international collaboration, cross-generational discourse, generational identity, gender, race, space, religion and theodicy, revolution, the relationship between the written and spoken/performed word, “remix” and signification, the role of the cipher, and other interests that students might have. “When you roll up in the dance yo… Anything can happen” as we investigate these themes critically. For example, we will work together to “define” current hip hop sensibilities that include strains and urgings such as “neo-soul,” “spoken word,” “Hollywood rap/film star-ism,” “gangsta rap-ism,” etc. We would want to investigate what we happens when we look at urgings such as commercial and popular hip hop and/or rap in light of the political and aesthetic inclinations of the Black Arts Movement and other strains of hip hop.