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Each graduate of the program will be expected to demonstrate knowldge of African American Studies as a dynamic field of interdisciplinary inquiry and research.
All majors will possess a general knowledge of African American Studies through reading and analyzing a variety of texts and examining and writing about the complexities of racial construction and human interaction through interdisciplinary inquiry and research. All majors must successfully complete AFRO 201 and 202. These gateway lecture courses provide an introduction to the area of study and expose students to the critical perpectives and approaches employed by scholars in the field. In addition to studying interdisciplinary readings, students will also be exposed to guest lectures from core and affiliate faculty who will discuss their research and its contribution to African American Studies.
The program expects students to gain and to demonstrate an awareness of race and the African American experience by using tools of analysis to help them identify and interpret the canonical works and major secondary sources in the field of African American Studies.
Critical written and verbal scholarship is a significant component of cutting edge contemporary research and this feature is particularly important in an interdisciplinary area of study. In addition, consistent with African American intellectual traditions, some of this scholarship may be community based, some may be collaborative, both of which require expanded, yet rigorous methodologies to which students will be introduced throughout 300 and 400 topical courses.
Topical 300 and 400 level courses in the African American Studies Program afford students an opportunity to explore particular topics and issues more deeply critically. These discussion-oriented and writing intensive courses encourage effective written and oral communication and promote collaborative learning. In addition to writing assignments in the seminars, students will likely engage in group projects and make class presentations and experiment with new media.
Students will prepare and orally present research papers that are interdisciplinary in research methodology and that evidence their ability to synthesize major ideas and produce well-written arguments or analyses.
Beginning in Spring 2009, new students majoring in African American Studies will annually include samples of their written papers from various courses in their portfolios. Such portfolios will be housed in the offices of African American Studies and reviewed by the Program's core faculty before acceptance for graduation.
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