Graduate Courses

The faculty has approval to offer the following courses in the academic years 2019–2020 and 2020–2021; however, not all courses are taught each semester or summer session. Students should consult the Course Schedule to determine which courses and topics will be offered during a particular semester or summer session. The Course Schedule may also reflect changes made to the course inventory after the publication of this catalog.

African and African Diaspora Studies: AFR

AFR 380. Introduction to Policy Research.

Introduction to the tools needed to understand policy issues and analysis with respect to contemporary case examples. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

AFR 380C. Marginalized Communities and Policy Development.

An exploration of how different racial groups in the United States have been historically and are presently marginalized through larger political and social systems, and how these systems have allowed groups to attain and maintain power and privilege in the United States. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only.

AFR 380D. Race, Ethnicity, and Gender Policies.

An exploration of the development of race, ethnicity, and gender theories and their application to social issues, policy development, and policy implementation. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

AFR 380P. Topics in Race, Gender, and Policy.

Explores policy-related issues related to race and gender in the African diaspora, from both qualitative and quantitative perspectives. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

AFR 381. Topics in Theorizing Diaspora.

Topics focusing on the academic literature in the humanities, social sciences, and fine arts relating to various theories of the African diaspora. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

AFR 382. Race and the Urban Crisis.

Examines the roots of the urban crisis, or the decline of U.S. and global cities in the post-World War II era, and begins with the premise that the story of the urban crisis is simultaneously the story of racial crisis. Explores how the origins of themes such as urban unrest, concentrated poverty, the housing crisis, the drug epidemic, and welfare dependency are rooted in race, class, and spatial inequities. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

AFR 385. Topics in Race and Political Economy.

An exploration of the role of race in political processes, and the distribution of resources and power. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

AFR 387D. Topics in Black Expressive Culture.

Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

AFR 388. Topics in Black Feminisms and Black Queer Theory.

Explores the methodological, conceptual, aesthetic, and political gains emerging from various strands of black feminist and black queer studies perspectives. Special attention is given to the advantages and limitations of key concepts within these bodies of work, including experience, standpoint theory, and intersectionality. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

AFR 390. Black Studies Theory I.

An exploration of the innovative, complex, and distinctive African diaspora social structures and cultural traditions, as well as the historical, cultural, political, economic, and social development of people of African descent. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

AFR 391. Black Studies Methods.

A survey of seminal black studies texts and methods that have transformed the social sciences, humanities, and fine arts in producing a distinct black studies epistemology. Explores what black studies scholars have done to transform traditional methods and disciplines in pursuit of a distinct black studies methodology. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. African and African Diaspora Studies 381 (Topic: Black Studies: Theory and Methods) and 391 may not both be counted. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

AFR 392. Black Studies Theory II.

An in-depth exploration of the innovative, complex, and distinctively African diaspora social structures and cultural traditions, as well as the historical, cultural, political, economic, and social development of people of African descent. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the letter-grade basis only. Prerequisite: Graduate standing, and African and African Diaspora Studies 390.

AFR 393. Topics in Anthropology of Education.

Applies the tools of socio-cultural anthropology to the exploration of issues facing students of African descent in different learning settings. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

AFR 394. Topics in Race and Urban Life.

An examination of the impact of urban space on racial processes, and how racialized processes affect the experiences associated with urban space, such as income and wealth dynamics, health, and educational experiences. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. African and African Diaspora Studies 387 and 394 may not both be counted unless the topics vary. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

AFR 195P, 395P. Special Subjects in Professionalization in African and African Diaspora Studies.

Advanced seminar designed to introduce students to African and African diaspora studies and the skills needed in this field; including writing and revision, competitive and successful applications for grants and fellowships, and development and preparation of a dissertation proposal. For each semester hour of credit earned, one lecture hour a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing, consent of instructor, and consent of the graduate adviser.

AFR 395Q. Qualifying Examination Preparation.

The equivalent of three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit. Offered on the credit/no credit basis only. Prerequisite: Graduate standing and consent of the graduate adviser.

AFR 396. Conference Course in Black Studies.

Individual instruction in specialized problems of advanced research in black studies. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing and consent of instructor and the department.

AFR 397R. Literature Review.

Preparation of a report to be counted toward the requirement for the master's degree under the report option. The equivalent of three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the credit/no credit basis only. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in African and African diaspora studies and consent of the supervising instructor and the graduate adviser.

AFR 698. Thesis.

The equivalent of three lecture hours a week for two semesters. Offered on the credit/no credit basis only. Prerequisite: For 698A, graduate standing in African and African diaspora studies; for 698B, African and African Diaspora Studies 698A.

AFR 398R. Master's Report.

Preparation of a report to fulfill the requirement for the master's degree under the report option. The equivalent of three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the credit/no credit basis only. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in African and African diaspora studies, African and African Diaspora Studies 397R, and consent of the supervising instructor and the graduate adviser.

AFR 398T. Supervised Teaching in African and African Diaspora Studies.

Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the credit/no credit basis only. Prerequisite: Graduate standing and consent of the graduate adviser.

AFR 399W, 699W, 999W. Dissertation.

May be repeated for credit. Offered on the credit/no credit basis only. Prerequisite: Admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree.

Yoruba: YOR

YOR 382. Yoruba Language Studies.

Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.