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Africana Studies Courses

AFR 200. INTRODUCTION TO AFRICANA STUDIES (4) (GEN. ED. #10)

Rather than teaching the history and culture of Africa or communities in the African diaspora, "Introduction to Africana Studies" aims to provide students in the Africana studies minor with key theories, approaches, and critical lenses that they may use in ensuing coursework and research in the Africana minor program. This reading- and writing- intensive course covers such topics as: basic geographical and demographic information about the continent of Africa and the African diaspora; the history of Africana studies in academe; theories that embrace the view that there are many Black experiences, rather than one overarching worldview; approaches toward the examination of Black identities within the context of gender, race, sexuality, and class; and select, exemplary humanistic/social scientific research by pioneering scholars in Africana studies.

Spring semester.

100- AND 200-LEVEL COURSES BY THEME

History

HIS 259. AFRICA: PAST AND PRESENT (3) (PSC 259)
An examination of African politics and societies since 1800. Exploration of the influences of Islam and Christianity, the colonization of the continent by imperial European powers, an the liberation movements that brought the demise of colonization. Consideration of contemporary issues and trends. Prerequisites: Any one of: HIS 113, HIS 117, HIS 201, HIS 272Y (West Africa ICA), PSC 114.
Fall semester. Offered 2011-12 and alternating years. Singer.

HIS 260. CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION: 1850-1876 (3)
Conflict and change in 19th-century America, with attention to slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction. Prerequisite: HIS 110 or 111 or sophomore standing.
Fall semester. Offered 2010-11 and alternate years. Hale.

MUS 109. THE HISTORY OF JAZZ (3) (ARTS) (GEN. ED. #4 AND #10)
A historical and practical study of jazz, including consideration of the different styles of improvisation, arranging, and various concepts of jazz. Live demonstrations and opportunities for student participation.
Fall semester. Chappell.

Politics

IIS 220. Understanding Inequality

PCE 120. COMMUNITY SERVICE AGENCIES: BUILDING A JUST AND PEACEFUL WORLD (4)
This course will provide an intellectually stimulating perspective on the challenges of community service and the different types of service. Students will examine issues including justice, direct action, motivation, the role of service in higher education, and citizenship. Students will also enjoy weekly hand-on experiences in service while working with middle-school students.
Fall semester. Bess.

PCE 148. NONVIOLENCE IN AMERICA (4)
Survey of the history of nonviolent actions and principles in what is now the United States, including groups such as Native Americans; Quakers; abolitionists; pacifists; and those in the women's suffrage, labor and civil rights movements. Study of the philosophical principles of nonviolence in relation to historical events and policies; assessment of justification of the principles and success or failure of the policies. Service component in Baltimore City afterschool programs.
Fall semester, repeated spring semester. Donelan.

Cultural and Social Evidence

DAN 272Y. History and Performance of Brazilian Dance

DAN 272Y. HISTORY, SOCIETY, AND CULTURE IN WEST AFRICA (1.5-3-1.5) (HIS 272Y) (THE 272Y)
The course encompasses a pre-program course, an international field experience, and a postprogram course on arts, culture, and history in West Africa. The preparatory program will examine the social, economic, political, and cultural issues of Ghana, Togo, and Benin-three African countries with rich cultural heritages and successful, vibrant contemporary societies. The international field experience in these countries will include workshops, lectures, stays with host families, and field trips. Upon return, the students will complete a research paper and a service-learning component in the form of a lecture-demonstration for local elementary schools, presented during Black History Month, using skills and experiences acquired in West Africa. Second seven-week, pre-departure course in Fall 2010 (1.5 credits); three-week intensive course in January 2011 (3 credits); first seven-week, post-departure course in Spring 2011 (1.5 credits).
January intersession. Offered 2012-2013 and alternate years. Bagchi, Johnson.

ENG 275. LITERATURE OF THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE (3) (GEN. ED. #4 AND #10)(LER-TXT AND DIV)
Poetry and fiction conventionally assigned to the Harlem Renaissance. Authors include Hughes, Hurston, Cullen, McKay, and others. Discussion of the delineation of the movement's boundaries, both temporally and by subject, the construction and reconstruction of a racial identity, and the tension between a progressive literary movement and the "masses" it would represent. The approach will be interdisciplinary. Fulfills American studies elective. Prerequisite: college writing proficiency.
Fall semester. Robinson.

ENG 285. CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE FROM INDIA, AFRICA, AND AUSTRALIA (3) (GEN. ED. #9 AND #10) (LER-TXT AND DIV)
How do the time you spend abroad and the time you spend on campus fit together? What is the legacy of colonialism in the modern world? This contemporary literature course may allow you to find some answers by examining works from three very different locales (India, Africa and Australia).We will pursue our literary study of novels, plays and poetry while also considering the socio-cultural contexts that produce these works and the historical events and legacies that have made them what they are. Prerequisite: Frontiers or sophomore standing.
Fall semester. Rauwerda.

MUS 146. GOUCHER AFRICAN DRUM AND DANCE ENSEMBLE (1.5) (DAN 146)
Practical performance of selected percussive instruments from West Africa (Ghana, in particular), and the interpretation of the rhythms through body movement and gestures; explores the historical and cultural contexts of specific West African music and dance forms relative to the African diaspora. Students will be required to know the basic techniques of West African traditional music and dance expressions; includes master classes and formal concert. Repeatable.
Fall semester, repeated spring semester. Brew.

MUS 149. GOUCHER JAZZ ENSEMBLE (1.5)
Group performance designed to provide experience in reading charts and improvising in jazz qualified students. By audition or permission of the instructor. May be repeated for credit. Fall semester, repeated spring semester. Locke and Department.

MUS 152. JAZZ THEORY I (3) (GEN. ED. #8 AND #9)
A study of the elements of jazz theory and harmony through analysis, written exercises, and improvisation. Incorporates study of jazz within the broadest framework of musical comprehension, including aspects of sound, melody, rhythm structure, and expression. Different styles of jazz from different periods will be examined using listening examples in class. Prerequisite: ability to read music or permission of the instructor.
Spring semester. Offered 2011-12 and alternate years. Chappell.

PHL 201. Aesthetics

PSC 271. CIVIL RIGHTS IN THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM (3)
Analysis of U.S. Supreme Court cases in the following areas: the nature of citizenship and the equal protection of the laws; freedom of speech and the right of association; state-church issues; selected problems in criminal due process. Prerequisite: PSC 111 or 113, or permission of the instructor.
Spring semester. Not offered in 2012. Department.

RLG 207. ISLAMIC THOUGHT (3) (GEN. ED. #9) (LER-DIV)
This course provides an overview of Islam through the Koran and the teachings of the prophet Muhammad. Study of Islam's fundamental beliefs and practice. Focus on the history and expansion of Islam, as well as an examination of Islamic culture, science, and its contribution to world civilization. Other topics include Islamic resurgence, contemporary Islam in the Middle East and the world in general, political life, and the concept of Islamic fundamentalism.
Spring 2011 and every 3 years. Duncan.

RLG 209. African Religious Thought

RLG 218. RACE, SEX, AND GOD IN BLUES LITERATURE (3)
There are many ways in which one can enter a conversation with the Blues. This course will enter that conversation from a cultural/theological perspective. The focus of this conversation is to discern what the Blues tells us about the rich complexity of black lives and black faith. Special attention will be given to what the blues tells us about the meaning of race, sex, and God for and in the black church. This will be achieved by examining a diverse genre of Blues literature: music, poetry, fiction, documentary, interpretative discourse. The classic blues tradition will be highlighted. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.
Fall semester. Offered 2013 and every third year. Douglas.

RLG 236. WOMANIST THEOLOGY (3) (WS 236) (GEN. ED. #10) (LER-DIV)
What is the meaning of faith for black women as they struggle for life and freedom? This course attempts to answer this question as it explores black women's religious/theological experience from a Christian perspective. Attention is given to the nature of the social/historical struggle that informs black women's understandings of themselves in relationship to God, church, and community. Reflective of the womanist tradition, this course accesses various media forms to discern the womanist religious experience. Prerequisite: one course in women's studies or religion or sophomore standing.
Fall semester Offered 2012 and every third year. Douglas.

RLG 237. BLACK RELIGIOUS THOUGHT I (3) (LER-DIV AND TXT)
This course focuses on the historical roots of the black faith tradition. It seeks to explore the religious and theological tradition of the Black Church in America as this tradition emerged during slavery through the 20th-century Great Migrations. Primary literature from the enslaved and black religious thinkers are examined. Prerequisite: one course in religion or sophomore standing.
Fall semester. Offered 2011and every third year. Douglas.

RLG 274. LIBERATION THEOLOGY (3) (GEN. ED. #10)
Through delving into the writings of particular theologians of liberation such as Jon Sobrino, Gustavo Guieterrez, James Cone, and others, students examine the meaning, significance, and methods of liberation theology. Their exploration will include the following questions. Why is it called "liberation" theology? What vision of God, the world, and human beings does it proclaim? What does it criticize about the world and the church? Students meet and interview people in the community who are linked with the practice of liberation theology in various contexts. Prerequisite: one course in religion or sophomore standing.
Fall semester. Offered 2013andevery third year. Douglas.

SOC 220. COMPARATIVE RACE AND ETHNIC RELATIONS (4) (LER-DIV)
Race and ethnicity in comparative perspective. Origins, processes, and consequences of antagonistic relations between racial and ethnic majority and minority groups. Social causes of prejudice and discrimination. Prerequisite: SOC 106 or ANT 107.
Fall semester. Offered 2011-12 and alternate years. Mullaney and Burton.

WS 221. Representations of Female Identity: Post-Colonial Perspectives

WS 224. IS THERE LIFE BEYOND THE LOOKING GLASS? GENDER, IDENTITY, AND RACE IN CARIBBEAN CULTURE (3)
An interdisciplinary examination of women, their families, and society in Caribbean culture. Emphasis is given to the process of representation and self-portraiture of women in the works of contemporary Caribbean women writers, including Jean Rhys, Simone Schwarz-Bart, Ramabai Espinet, Ana Lydia Vega, Michelle Cliff, Edwidge Danticat, and Jamaica Kincaid, as well as to the themes of colonialism, resistance, migration, and exile. Prerequisite: WS 100, 150, or sophomore standing.
Spring semester. Offered 2012-13 and alternate years. François.

WS 226. WOMEN, PEACE, AND PROTEST: LATIN AMERICAN WOMEN AND THE SEARCH FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE (3) (LAM 226)
Examination of women's participation in the human rights, social, and economic movements. Focus on understanding if, why, and under what circumstances gender becomes a central force in the development of these movements. We will address three questions: Has the involvement of women helped to define the human rights movement in Latin America? To what extent have feminist theory and theories of the state accounted for the nature of women's protest? How and why were women instrumental in the political process that led from authoritarian to democratic rule in their countries? This course focuses primarily (but not exclusively) on women's movements in the southern cone countries: Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Brazil. Prerequisite: sophomore standing.
Fall semester. Offered 2011-12 and alternate years. François.

WS 230. CONTEMPORARY FEMINISMS: DIVERSE VOICES (3) (LER-DIV)
An examination of feminists' analyses of women's status in America since the 1960s. This course focuses on issues raised and analytic frameworks used by Latina, African American, Native American, Asian American, and European American women in seeking to improve women's status and in theorizing gender inequalities. Prerequisite: WS 100 or 150 or sophomore standing.
Spring semester. Offered 2011-12 and alternate years. Department.

300-LEVEL COURSES OR HIGHER

ANT 392. SEMINAR: SELECTED PROBLEMS IN ANTHROPOLOGY (4)
Topics selected according to current debates in the field and interests of instructor and students.Subject announced one semester in advance. Topics include ethnographic research methods. May be repeated if topic is different. Prerequisites: ANT 243 and junior standing. (On qualifies if the topic is Slavery, Insurrections, and Ideas Conspire in America: Haitian Revolution to Watts Resolution)
Variable semesters. Department.

ENG 372. SEMINAR IN AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE (3)
Topic: The African American Novel-an examination of thematic, structural, and stylistic characteristics of the African American novel from its rise in the 19th century through contemporary works. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing and a course in literature, or permission of the instructor.
Spring semester. Robinson.

ENG 400. INDEPENDENT WORK IN ENGLISH (1.5-4)
Fall and spring semesters. Department.

FR 351. TOPICS IN FRANCOPHONE AFRICAN LITERATURE & CINEMA (3) (GEN. ED. #9 AND #10)
Topics in Francophone African Literature and Cinema examines cultural texts from the 20th and 21st centuries, produced in French in Western and North Africa. Topics have included: Women's Francophone Literature; West-African Cinema; Violence and Reconciliation in Sub-Saharan Literature; The Cinema of the Maghreb. Repeatable if topic is different. Prerequisite: FR 235, 245, or 256.
Fall semester. Offered 2011-12 and alternate years. Martin.

HIS 320. SPECIAL TOPICS (4)
Topic for all: The Family, Gender, and Sexuality in European History. This seminar examines the emergence of the modern nuclear family and its relationship to modern notions of sexuality and gender. One of the main objectives is to historicize these concepts. Though assumed to be primeval institutions of human culture and civilization, modern normative sexualities, gender roles, and the "nuclear family" are all relatively recent inventions. Course readings include important theoretical works on gender and sexuality in European history, as well as several monographic studies.
Spring semester. Offered 2011-12 and alternate years. Beachy.

HIS 359. SEMINAR IN AFRICAN POLITICS (3) (PSC 359)
Examination of the internal and external dynamics that affect the domestic and foreign policies of sub-Saharan African states. Seminar participants are expected to develop a research topic and present their findings. Prerequisite: PSC 259 or permission of the instructor.
Variable semesters. Singer.

HIS 400. INDEPENDENT WORK IN HISTORY DEPARTMENT (1.5-4)
Department.

PCE 399. INDEPENDENT WORK (4)
Department.

RLG 355. BLACK RELIGIOUS THOUGHT II (3) (GEN. ED. #7 AND #10)
This course focuses on the development of the black faith tradition from the Great Migrations to the present. The social/historical/political context that shaped black religious thought during this period will be explored. Particular attention will be paid to the development of a systematic black theology with a close examination of thinkers such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and James Cone. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or one course in religion.
Offered Spring 2012 and every third year. Douglas.

RLG 399. ADVANCED INDEPENDENT WORK (3-4)
Variable semesters. Department.

SP 345. SP 345. SPECIAL TOPICS IN LATIN AMERICAN LITERATURE (3)
Literary themes and genres in 20th-century Latin American literature. The topic will vary from year to year. May be repeated for credit if topic is different. Topics may include the Latin American short story, theatre, or novel. Prerequisites: SP 254 or 294. Only qualifies when the topic is The African Experience in the Hispanic Americas.
Variable semesters. Murphy and Zavales Eggert.

WS 320. TRANSNATIONAL FEMINIST THEORY AND WOMEN'S ACTIVISM (3) (GEN. ED. #7 AND #10)
Crossing the boundaries of nationality, ethnicity, citizenship, sexuality, and genre, this course brings together a plurality of women's voices of the non-Western world that counter colonial, post-colonial, multinational, and masculine paradigms of "otherness." The central aims are to examine the extent to which their activism and theoretical thinking grew out of historical conditions, to establish a dialog that forms the wide-ranging spectrum of women's experiences across the globe, and to assess these social and political writings for national change in the 21st century. Prerequisite: junior standing.
Fall semester. François.