African Studies
African
Studies courses
Kiswahili courses
Yorùbá courses
isiZulu courses
Council on African Studies home page
Director of undergraduate studies: Ann Biersteker, 142 LUCE, 432-9902, ann.biersteker@yale.edu; director of the Program in African Languages: Kiarie Wa'Njogu, 493 College St., 432-0110, john.wanjogu@yale.edu
FACULTY ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROGRAM OF AFRICAN STUDIES
Professors
Roberta Brilmayer (Law School), Owen Fiss (Law School), William Foltz (Emeritus) (Political Science), Sara Suleri Goodyear (English), Robert Harms (History), Andrew Hill (Anthropology), John Middleton (Emeritus) (Anthropology), Christopher L. Miller (French), Lamin Sanneh (History, Divinity School), Ian Shapiro (Political Science), Robert Thompson (History of Art), Christopher Udry (Economics), David Watts (Anthropology), Elisabeth Wood (Political Science)
Associate Professors
Ann Biersteker (Adjunct) (Linguistics), Kamari Clarke (Anthropology), Lawrence King (Sociology), Michael R. Mahoney (History), Michael Veal (Music)
Assistant Professors
Keith Darden (Political Science), Michael McGovern (Anthropology)
Lecturers
Maxwell Amoh (African Studies), Anne-Marie Foltz (Epidemiology & Public Health), Peter Marris (Sociology), David Simon (Political Science)
Senior Lector II
Sandra Sanneh
Senior Lector
Kiarie Wa'Njogu
Lector
Oluseye Adesola
The program in African Studies enables students to undertake interdisciplinary study of the arts, history, cultures, politics, and development of Africa. As a foundation, students in the program gain a cross-disciplinary exposure to Africa. In the junior and senior years, students develop analytical ability and focus their studies on research in a particular discipline such as anthropology, art history, economics, history, languages and literatures, political science, or sociology.
African Studies offers training of special interest to those considering admission to graduate or professional schools, or careers in education, journalism, law, business management, city planning, politics, psychology, international relations, creative writing, 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.
Requirements of the major. The program in African Studies consists of thirteen term courses including (1) a course in African history and one in anthropology; (2) two years of an African language (Arabic, Kiswahili, Yorùbá, or isiZulu), unless waived by examination; (3) four term courses in one of the following disciplines: anthropology; art history; economics; history; languages and literatures; political science; sociology; or an interdisciplinary program such as African American Studies, Ethnicity, Race, and Migration, or Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; and (4) the junior seminar on research methods, AFST 401a. Students are expected to focus their studies on research in a particular discipline.
The required courses represent the core of the program and are intended to expose the student both to the interdisciplinary nature of African studies and to the methodologies currently being brought to bear on the study of African cultures and societies. Students are encouraged to include upper-level courses, especially those centering on research and methodology.
Senior requirement. Students have the option of writing a senior essay, AFST 491a or b, under the guidance of a faculty member in the discipline of concentration and taking the senior seminar, AFST 464a, or taking the senior seminar and an additional senior seminar in another department in lieu of writing a senior essay.
Language requirement. African Studies majors are required to complete two years of college-level study of an African language or the equivalent, and they are encouraged to continue beyond this level. For the language requirement to be waived, a student must pass a placement test for admission into an advanced-level course or, for languages not regularly offered at Yale, an equivalent test of speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills administered through the Center for Language Study. Students should begin their language study as early as possible.
Program in African Languages. The language program offers instruction in three major languages from sub-Saharan Africa: Kiswahili (eastern and central Africa), Yorùbá (West Africa), and isiZulu (southern Africa). African language courses emphasize communicative competence, using multimedia materials that focus on the contemporary African context. Course sequences are designed to enable students to achieve advanced competence in all skill areas by the end of the third year, and students are encouraged to spend one summer or term in Africa during their language study.
Courses in Arabic are offered through the department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. Noncredit instruction in other African languages is available by application through the Directed Independent Language Study program at the Center for Language Study. Contact the director of the Program in African Languages for information.
Procedure. Students planning to major in African Studies should consult the director of undergraduate studies as soon as possible.
M.A. program. The African Studies program does not offer the simultaneous award of the B.A. and M.A. degrees. However, students in Yale College are eligible to complete the M.A. in African Studies in one year of graduate work if they begin the program in the third and fourth undergraduate years. Students interested in this option must complete eight graduate courses in the area by the time of the completion of the bachelor's degree. Only two courses may be counted toward both graduate and undergraduate degrees. Successful completion of graduate courses while still an undergraduate does not guarantee admission into the M.A. program.
REQUIREMENTS OF THE MAJOR
Prerequisites: None
Number of courses: 13 term courses (incl senior req)
Distribution of courses: 1 course in African hist; 1 course in anthropology; 2 years of an African lang; 4 term courses in area of concentration
Specific course required: AFST 401a
Senior requirement: Senior sem (AFST 464a); senior essay (AFST 491a or b) or addtl senior sem in another dept
