哥伦比亚大学

The Department of Africana Studies at Barnard was founded in 1992 as the site for the multidisciplinary study of Africa and the Black Diaspora. Through our course offerings and extra-curricular programming, Africana Studies offers the Barnard community exposure to the experiences of black peoples across the globe and the analytical tools necessary for rigorous and culturally sensitive analyses of these experiences. Faculty who teach in Africana Studies have research and teaching interests in the history of Africa and African descended peoples as well as on the impact of slavery, colonialism, and race and ethnicity in the modern world.

Major

The Africana Studies major requires ten courses, to be distributed as follows:

I. Introductory Courses:

Two-semester sequence (preferably to be taken before the junior year)

AFRS BC 2004x Introduction to African Studies: An interdisciplinary and thematic approach to the study of Africa, moving from pre-colonial through colonial and post-colonial periods to contemporary Africa. Focus will be on its history, societal relations, politics and the arts. The objective is to provide a critical survey of the history as well as the continuing debates in African studies.
- 3 points.

AFRS BC 2006y Introduction to the African Diaspora: An interdisciplinary and thematic approach to the African diaspora in the Americas: its motivations, dimensions, consequences, and the importance and stakes of its study. Beginning with the contacts between Africans and the Portuguese in the 15th century, this class will open up diverse paths of inquiry as students attempt to answer questions, clear up misconceptions, and challenge assumptions about the presence of Africans in the New World.
- 3 points.

II. Language:

Each student must demonstrate proficiency in any of the languages of Africa or the diaspora (including Arabic, Dutch, English, French, Hausa, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swahili) by completing at least the fourth semester of that language, or its equivalent. This requirement is not in addition to the general foreign language requirement.

III. Harlem:

Each student will take a course on Harlem, chosen in consultation with her advisor, from among the offerings at Barnard or Columbia.

IV. Electives:

Each student will, with the approval of her advisor, select five electives. Of these five, one must be on Africa and one must concern issues of gender.

V. One Semester Colloquium in Africana Studies

AFRS BC3110 (Section 1) - Africana Colloquium: Critical Race Theory or

AFRS BC3110 (Section 2) - Africana Colloquium: Diasporas of the Indian Ocean

VI. Senior Seminar:

Students will complete a one-semester program of interdisciplinary research in preparation of a senior essay.