Courses
AFRS 1101. Introduction to African Studies. (4 Hours)
Uses a multidisciplinary approach to offer an introduction and overview of the geographical, demographic, socioeconomic, and political conditions of the African continent, emphasizing sub-Saharan Africa. Africa, “the cradle of humankind,” is a vast, complex continent of diverse peoples that has fascinated observers and evoked multiple images. Topical areas of interest range from ethnic relations, politics, colonial experience, and international relations to religion, environment, health, economic development, gender, culture, and literature. Course materials aim to provide contemporary African perspectives and analyses that offer students an opportunity to acquire and interpret broad knowledge about the continent.
Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions
AFRS 1270. Introduction to Global Health. (4 Hours)
Introduces global health in the context of an interdependent and globalized world focusing on four main areas of analysis: infrastructure of global health; diseases; populations; and terms, concepts, and theories. While the focus is on lower-income countries, the course examines issues in a broader global context, underscoring the interconnections between global health disparities and global health policy response. Applies case studies describing interventions to improve healthcare in resource-poor settings in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere to help illuminate the actors, diseases, populations, and principles and frameworks for the design of effective global health interventions. AFRS 1270 and PHTH 1270 are cross-listed.
Attribute(s): NUpath Societies/Institutions
AFRS 1990. Elective. (1-4 Hours)
Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.
AFRS 2307. Africa Today. (4 Hours)
Offers a basic survey of the latest innovations and cultural and socioeconomic trends of 21st-century Africa. Examines the political transformations of some of the 49 Sub-Saharan African nations. Focuses on a culturally and ethnically diverse continent of five regions with linguistic and religious diversity and tribal societies reflecting an ancient triple heritage—Indigenous, Arab, and European. Presents complex and critical perspectives on topics including governance and civil strife, gender empowerment, the impact of globalization, trade and investment developments, public health challenges, the visual and performing arts, identity formation among a rising youth demographic to pervasive mobile technology, food security, and the new "African" passport.
Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions
AFRS 2325. Black Feminist Studies. (4 Hours)
Invites students to study the history and contemporary landscape of Black feminist scholarship. Covers a range of disciplines and historical periods to introduce students to important texts and theoretical developments in this vast and interdisciplinary field.
Prerequisite(s): ENGW 1102 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1111 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1113 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1114 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of C
Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions
AFRS 2392. African Diaspora. (4 Hours)
Explores the creation and transformation of the African Diaspora—connections among communities of African descent in either Africa, the Americas, Europe, and/or Asia—from 1500 to the present. Emphasizes connections among themes of migration, identity, and popular culture with a special focus on 20th- and 21st-century contributions.
Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Interpreting Culture
AFRS 2410. Possession, Sacrifice, and Divination in African Diasporic Religions. (4 Hours)
Examines religious thought and rituals and the Diaspora in a comparative context. Topics include traditional religions, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism in Africa, and the Diaspora. Emphasizes the transformation of religions practiced in Africa when African captives were forced into the three slave trades affecting the continent of Africa: trans-Saharan, Indian Ocean, and transatlantic.
Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions
AFRS 2464. Natural Resources and Sustainable Development. (4 Hours)
Examines the social dimensions of resource extraction. Focusing mainly on developing nations, studies global issues, including developments in industrial nations, to assess their impact on resource extraction and living and working conditions in resource-rich regions. Uses case studies of key countries producing oil/gas, minerals, and forest/agricultural commodities to illustrate the past/current causes of resource mismanagement; their social consequences; and how public policies, legislation, and financial and human resource management with industrialization can be used to avert or reduce the adverse effects of resource extraction, especially in poor countries. Major theories examined include the resource curse and alternative approaches to problems faced by resource-bearing developing nations. AFRS 2464 and INTL 2464 are cross-listed.
Attribute(s): NUpath Societies/Institutions
AFRS 2900. Swahili, Culture, and Politics in Kenya. (4 Hours)
Introduces and immerses students in Kenyan African culture, the Swahili language and politics, and studies their impact on the everyday life of the local population. Offers students an opportunity to learn Swahili, which is the national language of Kenya; its use in a context of varied indigenous languages; and cultural dynamics. Exposes students to the major issues that characterize everyday life in rural and urban settings through visits to and stays in the rural areas and transect walks in villages and urban communities. Students visit projects run by community-based organizations, observing the everyday life of ordinary Kenyans and attending formal and informal classes and settings on Swahili language, culture, and the local politics.
Attribute(s): NUpath Integration Experience
AFRS 2990. Elective. (1-4 Hours)
Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.
AFRS 3305. Beyond the Binary: Race, Sex, and Science. (4 Hours)
Considers how gender, race, and sexuality have been treated in science, focusing primarily on the 19th and 20th centuries. Examines the history of ideas about gender, race, and sexuality as reflected in fields such as biology, psychology, endocrinology, and neuroscience. Discusses contraceptive and reproductive technologies, pharmaceutical trials, the gendering of scientific professions, and recent studies that use algorithmic predictions of sex or sexual orientation. Uses close reading techniques and discussions to advance student expertise.
Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions
AFRS 3424. Epidemiology of Pandemic Diseases and Health Disparities in the African Diaspora. (4 Hours)
Examines the epidemiology and determinants of diseases and the public health practice among continental African peoples and African-derived populations in the Americas and elsewhere in the African Diaspora. Emphasizes such epidemic diseases as malaria, yellow fever, tuberculosis, smallpox, the current AIDS pandemic, obesity, and cancer. The course also aims to critically address the breadth of factors behind these pandemics, such as socioeconomic, political, health system, behavioral, and genetic. A cross-cutting theme throughout the course is the entrenched health disparities in society.
Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions
AFRS 3460. Contemporary Government and Politics in Africa. (4 Hours)
Explores contemporary politics in African nations south of the Sahara. Studies South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Ethiopia, among others. Examines apartheid, colonialism, Afro-Marxism, chieftaincy, development, and Pan-Africanism.
Attribute(s): NUpath Societies/Institutions
AFRS 3900. Gender and Black World Literatures. (4 Hours)
Explores different aspects of the literary and cultural productions of black women throughout history. Examines writing by women in the United States—like Octavia Butler, Zora Neale Hurston, and Toni Morrison—in addition to writing by women across the global African diaspora—like Chimamanda Adichie and Jamaica Kincaid. Students may also engage with theories such as Black feminism, womanism, or intersectionality; consider issues of genre such as the novel, poetry, or science fiction; and explore key themes such as class, sexuality, and disability. AFRS 3900, WMNS 3900, and ENGL 3900 are cross-listed.
Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Interpreting Culture
AFRS 3990. Elective. (1-4 Hours)
Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.
AFRS 4939. Community Health, Culture, and Development in Kenya. (4 Hours)
Introduces the community health and development arena in Kenya. Community development has been presented as the panacea to many of Africa’s problems, including leadership, democracy, conflict, disease, and poverty. Through teaching, research, and action, the course seeks to expose and sensitize students to the global and local debate on poverty, primary healthcare, and community development. Offers students an opportunity to gain hands-on experiences in some of the major determinants and solutions to poverty and disease by interacting with community stakeholders and organizations in a variety of cultural, rural, and urban settings and through visits to, and participating in, projects run by community-based organizations.
Attribute(s): NUpath Integration Experience
AFRS 4990. Elective. (1-4 Hours)
Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.
AFRS 4992. Directed Study. (1-4 Hours)
Offers independent work under the direction of members of the department on a chosen topic. Course content depends on instructor. May be repeated without limit.
AFRS 6962. Elective. (1-4 Hours)
Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.