African and African American Studies Minor
The critical scholarly inquiry, mentored research, outward-facing programming, communication skills, global perspective, and commitment to justice long associated with African and African American Studies both draws on and enriches (often through deeply engaged criticism) the best of the liberal arts tradition.
The African and African American Studies minor is an interdisciplinary course of study drawing on disciplines from the Humanities and Social Sciences. Students focus on issues concerning (but not limited to) the origins of humankind; histories of race, slavery and empire; studies of African and African American culture, religion and philosophy; and race, anti-blackness and racialization. Race as a general social-cultural category informs and influences the dynamics of our social world. From national politics and foreign policy, to economic developments, to community sustainability and environmental issues, to cultural clashes and claims and more, race and its implications are critically important. Consequently, formal attention to studying race and racialization holds tremendous value. Grasping the history and various dynamics of race/racialization as well as how they operate in the present enhances a Rice education, and helps to prepare students across a broad range of fields, interests, commitments and professions.
Goal of the Minor
The African and African American Studies minor provides students with resources and opportunity to think about key issues and themes within African and African American Studies in ways that enrich their overall education. The minor also provides key competencies that will enhance students' subsequent professional and community life. Upon completion of the minor, students will be able to:
- Understand and appreciate the complexity of African and African American history and culture;
- Compare and contrast the experiences of African peoples in different regions of the continent;
- Understand the role of Africa and African peoples in the diaspora in global histories and networks;
- Understand and employ key concepts and frameworks utilized in African and African American Studies.
Requirements for the Minor
- Students must take at least six courses (18 credit hours);
- Students must take the interdisciplinary core course;
- At least three courses must be at the 300 level or higher;
- Students must take at least two List A courses from two different departments and two List B courses from two different departments;
- Students must complete elective courses from at least three different subject codes, reflecting coursework taken from both the School of Humanities and the School of Social Sciences;
- No more than two courses (6 credit hours) can apply from transfer credits.
COURSES
For information about courses, check with your undergraduate advisor and see the General Announcements, Rice University's official catalog of courses, degrees, policies and curricular requirements.
Core Course
AAAS 200 KNOWING BLACKNESS: INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN AND AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES
Elective Courses
Choose at least two from List A from two different departments and two from list B from two different departments.
LIST A
ANTH 312 / MDEM 311 AFRICAN PREHISTORY
ANTH 343 NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS IN AFRICA
ANTH 360 TOPICS IN AFRICAN CULTURE AND ETHNOGRAPHY
ANTH 364 AFRICAN ARCHAEOLOGY FIELD TECHNIQUES
ANTH 394 ARCHAEOLOGY OF SLAVERY AND AFRICAN DIASPORA
ANTH 423 AFRICAN MYTHS AND RITUALS
ANTH 462 BLACK ANTHROPOLOGY
FREN 324 / POLI 324 / RELI 476 FROM DECOLONIZATION TO GLOBALIZATION
HIST 204 THE IDEA OF AFRICA
HIST 222 HISTORY OF EARLY AFRICA
HIST 223 HISTORY OF MODERN AFRICA
HIST 229 HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA
HIST 323 HISTORY OF ATLANTIC AFRICA
HIST 330 TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE AND THE ORIGINS OF AFRO AMERICA
HIST 343 HISTORY OF AFRICA IN THE MUSEUM
RELI 111 INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN RELIGIONS
RELI 113 INTRODUCTION TO CHRISTIANITY IN AFRICA
RELI 328 RELIGION AND GLOBAL POVERTY
RELI 338 THE CHURCH OF AFRICA
RELI 340 THEOLOGY IN AFRICA
RELI 342 NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS IN AFRICA
RELI 348 CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM IN AFRICA
RELI 423 AFRICAN MYTHS AND RITUALS
RELI 424 RELIGION AND POLITICS IN AFRICA
RELI 426 RELIGION AND LITERATURE IN AFRICA
LIST B
AAAS 300 WRITING BLACK LIVES: CONTEMPORARY BLACK FICTION
ANTH 316 BLACK DECOLONIAL FEMINISMS
ANTH 419 BLACK FEMINIST SCIENCE STUDIES
ANTH 443 ANTHROPOLOGY OF RACE, ETHNICITY AND HEALTH
ANTH 462 BLACK ANTHROPOLOGY
EDUC 304 RACE, CLASS, GENDER IN EDUCATION
ENGL 266 GRAPHIC NOVELS IN THE AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERARY TRADITION
ENGL 267 INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE
ENGL 279 BLACK SCI-FI & SPECULATIVE FICTIONS
ENGL 370 / SWGS 370 AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE
ENGL 393 BLACK MANHATTAN: 1915-1940
ENGL 398 SLAVERY IN 20TH CENTURY FILM AND FICTION
ENGL 399 THE BLACK IMAGINARY: 1775 TO PRESENT
ENGL 466 FAULKNER & MORRISON
ENGL 470 / SWGS 453 STUDIES IN AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE
FREN 413 BLACK VENUS/VÉNUS NOIRE: REPRESENTATIONS OF BLACK WOMEN IN THE LONG 19TH CENTURY
FREN 414 SEX AND RACE - FRENCH ATLANTIC
FREN 478 / ARCR 478 THE CARIBBEAN IN FRENCH
FWIS 113 RACE, POLICY AND RACIAL CHANGE IN AMERICA
FWIS 132 SLAVERY ON FILM
FWIS 181 AFRICAN AMERICAN GRAPHIC NOVEL
HART 204 BLACK ART IN AMERICA
HART 306 BLACK CITATIONAL PRACTICES
HART 366 RADICAL BLACK THOUGHT IN ART
HIST 111 RED, WHITE AND BLACK IN EARLY AMERICA: CREATING RACIAL IDENTITIES IN THE ERA OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
HIST 188 THE ATLANTIC WORLD: ORIGINS TO THE AGE OF REVOLUTION
HIST 208 RACE AND MEDICINE IN AMERICA HISTORY
HIST 209 AMERICAN URBAN HISTORY: 1609 TO TODAY
HIST 210 REMEMBERING PAINFUL PASTS: THE PRACTICE OF MEMORY AND PUBLIC HISTORY
HIST 215 BLACKS IN THE AMERICAS
HIST 216 BLACK LIFE IN THE 19TH CENTURY UNITED STATES
HIST 237 RADICALS IN THE AMERICAS
HIST 295 THE AMERICAN SOUTH
HIST 301 FIGHTING THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE
HIST 315 BLACKS IN THE AMERICA
HIST 330 TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE AND THE ORIGINS OF AFRO AMERICA
HIST 347 BLACK AMERICA: FROM NADIR THROUGH THE GREAT DEPRESSION
HIST 354 RACE AND ETHNICITY IN LATIN AMERICA
HIST 407 THE RISE AND FALL OF SLAVERY IN THE ATLANTIC WORLD: 1791-1888
HIST 421 RACE, EDUCATION AND SOCIETY IN THE URBAN SOUTH
HIST 427 HISTORY OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT: 1954 TO THE PRESENT
HIST 484 THE BLACK CITY: AFRICAN AMERICAN URBAN LIFE IN THE UNITED STATES
HIST 499 BLACK AT RICE
POLI 325 AFRICAN AMERICAN POLITICS
POLI 330 MINORITY POLITICS
POLI 341 RACE AND THE LAW IN THE U.S.
POLI 350 URBAN LAB HOUSTON
POLI 438 RACE AND PUBLIC POLICY
RELI 157 RELIGION AND HIP HOP CULTURE IN AMERICA
RELI 216 RELIGION AND BLACK LIVES MATTER
RELI 270 INTRODUCTION TO THE BLACK CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES
RELI 312 THE RELIGIOUS THOUGHT OF MARTIN L. KING, JR., AND MALCOLM X
RELI 328 RELIGION AND GLOBAL POVERTY
RELI 357 WHAT'S RELIGIOUS ABOUT BLACK RELIGION?
RELI 393 MUTANTS AND MYSTICS: RACE, SEXUALITY, AND THE FUTURE OF THE HUMANITIES
SOCI 305 RACE, SPACE, PLACE
SOCI 307 INTERSECTIONALITY
SOCI 308 HOUSTON: THE SOCIOLOGY OF A CITY
SOCI 309 RACE AND ETHNIC RELATIONS
SOCI 329 MULTIRACIAL AMERICA
SOCI 343 RACE, SOCIETY AND POPULATION CHANGE
SOCI 363 AFRICAN AMERICAN-JEWISH RELATIONS: RACE, RELIGION, POLITICS AND POPULAR CULTURE
SOCI 374 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF PREJUDICE
SOCI 389 RACE, GENDER, CLASS ON FILM
SOCI 402 RACE AND FAMILY SEMINAR
SOCI 414 CRITICAL RACE THEORY
SOCI 424 RACE AND ETHNICITY SEMINAR
SOCI 436 RESEARCH SEMINAR: THE HOUSTON AREA SURVEY
SOCI 453 RACE, MIGRATION, AND HEALTH SEMINAR
SOCI 470 INEQUALITY AND URBAN LIFE
SOCI 485 IDENTITIES IN A DIVERSE WORLD
SWGS 247 SEX, RACE, AND THE CITY
SWGS 374 / LASR 374 FEMINIST AND QUEER THEORY IN THE AFRICAN DIASPORA
SWGS 377 RACE, POWER AND THE POLITICS OF PLACE