African and African American Studies

Najja Baptist
Program Director
230 Memorial Hall
nbaptist@uark.edu

African and African American Studies Website

Graduate Certificate offered (non-degree):
African and African American Studies

Program Description: The African and African American Studies program promotes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the history, culture, and identity of Africans and African Americans. Graduate students may pursue an African and African American Studies Graduate Certificate after making application to the African and African American Studies program and the Graduate School.

Graduate Certificate in African and African American Studies

Admission Requirements:

The following materials must be submitted to the Director of the AAST Program:

Application for Admission to the Certificate Program in African & African American Studies. The form is available from the Program Director and the program’s Web page.
Confirmation of admission to the University of Arkansas Graduate School.
Complete official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate work.
Three letters of recommendation from former teachers, employers, or supervisors.
Statement of purpose describing academic interests and professional goals and how the Graduate Certificate fits into them.

Requirements for Graduate Certificate in African and African American Studies

In order to complete the Graduate Certificate in African & African American Studies, students must complete a total of 15 hours of coursework, which must include AAST 50003 Graduate Seminar in African & African American Studies.

The remaining 12 hours of coursework must be approved by the Program Director and adhere to the following stipulations:

A maximum of 9 of the 12 may come from courses taken in a single department
A maximum of 3 hours may be earned through AAST 59103 Independent Study in African and African American Studies or AAST 51003 Graduate Readings in African & African American Studies

Possible Courses:

AAST 59103	Independent Study in African and African American Studies	3
AAST 59003	Special Topics in African & African American Studies	3
AAST 60203	Destabilizing Queer Theory	3
AAST 69603	Visualizing Critical Race Theory	3
ENGL 68503	Seminar in African American Literature and Culture	3
HIST 55603	The Old South, 1607-1865	3
HIST 58203	Black Freedom in the Age of Emancipation	3
PLSC 59903	African American Political Ideology	3
THTR 54103	African American Theatre History -- 1950 to Present	3
PLSC 52503	Politics of Race and Ethnicity	3
PLSC 69603	Visualizing Critical Race Theory	3

Additional courses numbered 5000 or higher may be approved by the Program Director for the Graduate Certificate if its subject matter focuses on the study of Africans or African Americans.

Courses

AAST 50003. Graduate Seminar in African & African American Studies. 3 Hours.

Introduction to graduate study of African & African American Studies through an interdisciplinary examination of the history of the discipline, research methods employed, and its relationship to other disciplines. (Typically offered: Irregular)

AAST 51003. Graduate Readings in African & African American Studies. 3 Hours.

An exploration of African & African American Studies topics independently with a faculty member. Topic variable with permission of faculty member. (Typically offered: Irregular) May be repeated for up to 6 hours of degree credit.

AAST 55703. Black in the City. 3 Hours.

Covers the history of Black people's relationship with the urban landscape. Students will use a wide array of primary sources to explore the ways in which Americans not only perceived the city but also sought to understand, master, and reimagine it and the uneven social and economic development that emerged as a consequence. (Typically offered: Fall and Spring Odd Years)

AAST 56703. Distant Relatives: The Global Black Diaspora. 3 Hours.

Examines the cultural, political, economic, and social experiences of different parts of the African diaspora in the Americas, with special attention to the Black Atlantic World, focusing on the making of the diaspora through slavery, the middle passage, and later coerced and voluntary migrations. (Typically offered: Spring Odd Years; Summer)

AAST 59003. Special Topics in African & African American Studies. 3 Hours.

Graduate level seminar with varied emphasis on topics relating to African & African American studies. (Typically offered: Irregular) May be repeated for up to 18 hours of degree credit.

AAST 59103. Independent Study in African and African American Studies. 3 Hours.

Graduate level independent study course with varied emphasis on topics relating to African and African American studies. (Typically offered: Irregular) May be repeated for up to 9 hours of degree credit.

AAST 60203. Destabilizing Queer Theory. 3 Hours.

Highlights constricted and racialized ways in which people generally visualize class, gender, race, and sexualities. Students will discuss the criticality of complex dynamics of visual politics in class, gender, race, and sexualities, and theoretical issues posed and negotiated by queer theory. (Typically offered: Irregular)
This course is cross-listed with ARED 60203.

AAST 68303. Race: History and Theory. 3 Hours.

This seminar-style course explores race through the lens of history and theory. It examines works that are in conversation with Marxist, feminist, legal, and poststructuralist theories and that explore concepts key to the study of race, such as class, gender, ideology, identity, culture, and discourse. (Typically offered: Irregular)
This course is cross-listed with HIST 68303.

AAST 69603. Visualizing Critical Race Theory. 3 Hours.

An examination of critical theoretical approaches to the concepts of race and racism. Students will examine the ways in which these constructs perform a critical function in the construction of race(s) and racism(s) and their relevance to visual culture. (Typically offered: Fall and Spring)
This course is cross-listed with PLSC 69603, ARED 69603.