Undergraduate Program
Director of Undergraduate Studies:
Emilie Townes
203.432.1170
Description
The African American Studies major examines, from numerous
disciplinary perspectives, the experiences of people of African
descent in Black Atlantic societies, including the United
States, the Caribbean, and Latin America. 
Courses
in the program explore the innovative, complex, and distinctively
African American social structures and cultural traditions
that Africans in the Diaspora have created. Students in the
department explore the historical, cultural, political, economic,
and social development of Black Atlantic societies. Emphasizing
a diasporic framework of analysis, the major demands that
students acquire both an analytic ability rooted in a traditional
discipline and interdisciplinary skills of investigation and
research.
African American Studies offers training of special interest
to those considering admission to graduate or professional
schools and careers in education, journalism, law, business
management, city planning, international relations, politics,
psychology, publishing, or social work. The interdisciplinary
structure of the program offers students an opportunity to
satisfy the increasingly rigorous expectations of admissions
committees and prospective employers for a broad liberal arts
perspective that complements specialized knowledge of a field.
African American Studies can be taken either as a primary
major or as one of two majors, in consultation with the director
of undergraduate studies. Appropriate majors to combine with
African American Studies might include, but are not limited
to, American Studies, Anthropology, Economics, English, History,
History of Art, Political Science, Sociology, Theater Studies,
and foreign languages. Regulations concerning the completion
of two majors can be found in chapter III, section K, of the
Yale College Programs of Study Bulletin for 2004-2005.
Requirements of the Major*
The major in African American Studies requires twelve terms
of course work including a yearlong history sequence (African
American Studies 161a, 162b), one course in the humanities
relevant to African American Studies (e.g., African American
Studies 112a, 178b, 242b, 294a, 367b, 408a, 414b, 419b, or
424a), one course in the social sciences relevant to African
American Studies (e.g., African American Studies 243a, 250b,
280a, 317a, 323a, 347a, or 425b), the junior seminar (African
American Studies 410b), the senior colloquium (African American
Studies 480a), and the senior essay (African American Studies
491a or b). These courses examine ideas and problems that
may originate in many fields but that have a common concern
- the black experience. The distribution of requirements is
intended to provide students with a broad interdisciplinary
learning experience. Students are strongly encouraged to complete
the history sequence by the end of their sophomore year.
Prerequisite: None
Number of courses: Twelve term courses (including junior
and senior requirements)
Specific courses required: AfAmSt 161a and 162b, 410b
Distribution of courses: At least five courses in area
of concentration; one relevant humanities course and one relevant
social science course, both approved by the Director of Undergraduate
Studies.
Substitution permitted: Relevant course with permission
of Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Junior requirement: AfAmSt 410b
Senior requirement: Senior colloquium (AfAmSt 480a),
senior essay (AfAmSt 491a or b).
* Official Yale College program information is found in the
online version of the Yale
College Programs of Study.
Area of Concentration
Students majoring in African American Studies are required
to choose an area of concentration, comprised of five courses.
This cluster of interrelated courses is intended to ground
the student's learning experience in one area of investigation.
Often students will choose an area of concentration in a traditional
discipline such as political science, sociology, American
studies, history, or English language and literature. (This
strategy is especially helpful for students planning to pursue
a double major.) Students can also construct interdisciplinary
areas of concentration that span traditional departments and
encompass broader theoretical frameworks such as race and
ethnicity, cultural studies, or feminism and gender studies.
All majors are encouraged to take upper-level courses as part
of their concentration, especially those courses centering
on research and methodology. None of the seven required courses
in African American Studies may be counted among the five
electives in the area of concentration.
Junior Requirement
In their junior year students take the junior seminar (African
American Studies 410b, Interdisciplinary Approaches to African
American Studies). This course provides majors with theoretical
and methodological bases for the work they will do during
their research-oriented senior year.
Senior Requirement
As seniors, students participate in a colloquium (African
American Studies 480a) that gives them an opportunity to exchange
ideas with each other and with more advanced scholars; students
submit a prospectus, compile a working bibliography, begin
or continue research, and write the first eight to ten pages
of the senior essay. After completing the colloquium, each
student carries out the remaining research and writing of
a senior essay (African American Studies 491b or, in exceptional
cases, 491a) under the guidance of a faculty member in the
chosen discipline or area of concentration.
Students are strongly encouraged to use the summer between
the junior and senior years for research directly related
to the senior essay. For example, field or documentary research
might be undertaken in urban or rural African American communities
throughout the Black Atlantic diaspora. The particular research
problem and design are to be worked out in each case with
a faculty advisor.
Procedures: Students planning a program of study in African
American Studies should consult with the Director of Undergraduate
Studies as early as possible. Areas of concentration and schedules
for majors must be approved by the Director of Undergraduate
Studies.
Next: Graduate
Program
