Skip Navigation
search: People Opens New Window | Departments Opens New Window | Penn State Opens New Window | Web Opens New Window

African and African American Studies

University Park, College of the Liberal Arts (AASBA)

PROFESSOR GRACE HAMPTON, Head

This interdisciplinary major is designed to give students an integrated and critical understanding of the experiences and contributions of peoples of African descent. Students are encouraged to do research and evaluate the relationship between the political, social, and economic developments in Africa and the African Diaspora. Two options are available within the major and are described here.

AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES OPTION:
This option provides students with the opportunity to explore the experiences of African Americans using theories and methods originating in the field along with those adopted from the various disciplines. Students are also made aware of the potential to apply knowledge to discern better approaches for solving social, political, and economic problems. The curriculum also promotes greater understanding of the relationship between African American and other ethnic groups in the shaping of American society and culture.

Focus Areas: The African American Studies Option has three focus areas, which are described below.

  1. History Perspective: While stressing the interdisciplinary nature of the field, this focus allows students to concentrate on the historical experience of the African Americans, including their political, social, and economic relations with other ethnic groups, as well as the shifting historical contexts in which they have contested and shaped the evolution of American society.
  2. Social Sciences and Community Development: This focus area allows students to concentrate on contemporary political and economic experiences of African Americans as well as on public policy issues that pertain to the economic, political, and social engagement of African Americans in the search for equality in American society.
  3. Cultural and Gender Perspective: This focus area allows students to concentrate on culture and gender in historical and contemporary terms.

AFRICAN STUDIES OPTION:
This option provides students with the opportunity to examine the geographical, cultural, historical, political, and economic aspects of Africa. This option has two focus areas as described below.

  1. Humanities Perspective: This focus area enables students to concentrate on the history and culture of African societies and the evolution of Africa in world history.
  2. Social Science Perspective: This focus area enables students to concentrate on political and economic developments, including state building and ethnic relations, development strategies, and Africa's position in the global system.

LAW AND SOCIAL JUSTICE OPTION:
This multi-disciplinary program would provide students with the opportunity to study the politics, culture, economics, and history of African Americans in our society and link this understanding with an in depth study of criminal justice and the legal system. Issues that students will focus on will be areas such as, Are African Americans discriminated against in criminal justice decision-making? What is the historic connection between race and punishment in the US legal system? How do issues of class, race and gender impact policy decisions about crime and punishment? What is the socioeconomic impact of high incarceration rates on the African American community? The program is designed to encourage students to think systematically about the relationship among public policy, the criminal justice system, and shifting notions of social justice that have characterized debates over the workings and goals of the prison system in American life and thought.

For the B.A. degree in African and African American Studies, a minimum of 123 credits is required.

Scheduling Recommendation by Semester Standing given like (Sem: 1-2)

GENERAL EDUCATION: 45 credits
(0-9 credits of these 45 credits are included in the REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR)
(See description of General Education in this bulletin)

FIRST-YEAR SEMINAR:
(Included in ELECTIVES or GENERAL EDUCATION course selection)

UNITED STATES CULTURES AND INTERNATIONAL CULTURES:
(Included in REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR)

WRITING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM:
(Included in ELECTIVES or GENERAL EDUCATION course selection)

ELECTIVES: 9-18 credits

BACHELOR OF ARTS DEGREE REQUIREMENTS: 24 credits
(3 of these 24 credits are included in the REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR, GENERAL EDUCATION, or ELECTIVES and 0-12 credits are included in ELECTIVES if foreign language proficiency is demonstrated by examination.)
(See description of Bachelor of Arts Degree Requirements in this bulletin.)

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR: 45 credits[1]
(This includes 0-9 credits of General Education courses: African American Studies Option -- 0-3 credits of GA courses; 0-3 credits of GH courses; 0-3 credits of GS courses. African Studies Option -- 0-3 credits of GH courses; 0-3 credits of GS courses. Law and Scoial Justice Option -- 0-3 credits of GS courses.)

COMMON REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR (ALL OPTIONS): 12 credits

PRESCRIBED COURSES (12 credits)
AAA S 100 GS;US(3), AAA S 110 GS;IL(3), AAA S/HIST 211 GH/US;IL(3), SOC 207(3) (Sem: 1-4)

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE OPTION: 33 credits

AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES OPTION: (33 credits)

PRESCRIBED COURSES (9 credits)
AAA S/WMNST 101 GH;US(3), AAA S/SOC/WMNST 103 US(3) (Sem: 1-4)
AAA S 401(3) (Sem: 5-8)

ADDITIONAL COURSES (24 credits)
Select 24 credits from one of the following three areas of concentration.
A minimum of 12 credits should be AAA S courses, and at least 12 of these credits must be at the 400 level or above.

  1. History Perspective:
    AAA S/RL ST 146 GH;US(3), AAA S/RL ST 147 GH;US(3), AAA S/HIST 210 GH;US(3), SOC 119 GS;US(4) (Sem: 1-4)
    AAA S/SOC 409 US(3), AAA S 431 US;IL(3), AAA S/HIST 465 US(3), ENGL 461 US(3), ENGL 469 US(3), HIST 152 GH;US;IL(3), PL SC 474(3) (Sem: 5-8)
  2. Social Sciences and Community Development:
    AAA S/WMNST 102 GH;IL(3), AAA S/RL ST 146 GH;US(3), AAA S/RL ST 147 GH;US(3), AAA S/HIST 210 GH;US(3), SOC 119 GS;US(4) (Sem: 1-4)
    CRIMJ 451 US(3), AAA S/SOC 409 US(3), AAA S 431 US;IL(3), AAA S/HIST 465 US(3), ECON 304 GS(3), ECON 436W US(3), EDTHP 411(3), PL SC 490(3) (Sem: 5-8)
  3. Cultural and Gender Perspective:
    AAA S/WMNST 102 GH;IL(3), AAA S/RL ST 145 GH;US;IL(3), AAA S 200(3), AAA S/THEA 208 GA;US;IL(3), COMM/WMNST 205 US(3), ENGL 139 GH;US(3), ENGL 235 US;IL(3), MUSIC 007 GA;US(3), SOC 119 GS;US(4) (Sem: 1-4)
    AAA S/WMNST 410(3), AAA S/THEA 412 US;IL(3), AAA S/CAS 422 US(3), COMM 411(3), EDTHP 411(3), ENGL/WMNST 462 US(3), ENGL 463 US(3), ENGL 467 US(3), ENGL 469 US(3) (Sem: 5-8)

AFRICAN STUDIES OPTION: (33 credits)

PRESCRIBED COURSES (12 credits)
AAA S/HIST 191 GH;IL(3), AAA S/HIST 192 GH;IL(3) (Sem: 1-4)
AAA S 400(3), AAA S/PL SC 454 IL(3) (Sem: 5-8)

ADDITIONAL COURSES (21 credits)
Select 21 credits from one of the following two areas of concentration.
A minimum of 12 credits should be AAA S courses, and at least 12 of these credits must be at the 400 level or above.

  1. Humanities Perspective:
    AAA S 202 GS;IL(3), CMLIT 003 GH;IL(3), SWA 001(4), SWA 002(4) (Sem: 1-4)
    AAA S 404(3), AAA S 431US;IL(3), AAA S/HIST 465 US(3), ANTH 447 IL(3), CMLIT 422 IL(3), CMLIT 423 IL(3), FR 458 IL(3), HIST 479 IL(3), R SOC/WMNST 420 US;IL(3) (Sem: 5-8)
  2. Social Science Perspective:
    AAA S 202 GS;IL(3), SWA 001(4), SWA 002(4) (Sem: 1-4)
    AAA S 403(3), AAA S 404(3), AAA S 431US;IL(3), AAA S/HIST 465 US(3), ECON 304 GS(3), ECON 471(3), GEOG 444(3), PL SC 453 IL(3) (Sem: 5-8)

LAW AND SOCIAL JUSTICE OPTION: (33 credits)

PRESCRIBED COURSES (18 credits)
AAA S/HIST 210 GH;US(3), CRIMJ/CRIM/SOC 012 GS(3), CRIM 100(3), CRIMJ/CRIM 113(3) (Sem: 1-4)
AAA S 401(3), CRIM 451 US(3) (Sem: 5-8)

ADDITIONAL COURSES (15 credits)
AAA S/HIST 431 US;IL(3), AAA S/SOC 409 US(3), AAA S 440 US;IL(3), AAA S/LER/PL SC 445W, AAA S 465 US(3), CRIM 430(3), CRIM 433(3), CRIM 435(3), CRIM 441(3), CRIMJ/WMNST 453 US(3), CRIM/SOC 467(3), CRIM 490(3), ECON 436W US(3) (Sem: 5-8)

[1] A student enrolled in this major must receive a grade of C or better, as specified in Senate Policy 82-44.

Last Revised by the Department: Fall Semester 2004

Blue Sheet Item #: 33-01-130

Review Date: 08/31/04

UCA Revision #2: 7/26/07

Dept head updated by Publications: 1/26/09

LA