Africana Studies Program at Vassar

III. Advanced

300a or b. Senior Essay or Project (1)

308b. Upper-Intermediate Arabic (1)

Advanced intermediate study of Arabic based on reading comprehension of authentic texts from the Arab multi- and print media, and accessible literary masterpieces; in addition to a review of basic grammar and introduction of more complex structures. Strong emphasis is placed on developing students' written and oral expression. Mr. Mhiri.

[ 310b. Politics and Religion: Tradition and Modernization in the Third World ] (1)

(Same as Religion 310) An examination of the central problem facing all Third World and developing countries, the confrontation between the process of modernization and religious tradition and custom. Along with the social, economic, and political aspects, the course focuses on the problems of cultural identity and crises of meaning raised by the modernizing process. Selected case studies are drawn from Africa and Asia. Mr. Mamiya.

Prerequisite: Sociology/Religion 261 or Africana Studies 268, or 2 units in Religion or Africana Studies at the 200-level, or by permission of instructor.

Not offered 2009/10.

313b. Politics in Africa: Case Studies (1)

(Same as African Studies 313b) This advanced intermediate course offers an intensive study of the politics of a selected African country. The course analyzes the political history of the country and its formal state structures before focusing on the most salient contemporary political issues, such as democratization, corruption, and political stability, human rights and transitional justice, gender, race, ethnicity and other aspects of identity politics, and economic development and inequality. The concentrated focus on a single case allows students to explore how the diverse themes and methodologies of comparative politics are applied in a real world setting. The country of focus varies annually. Mr. Longman.

[ 319b. Race and Its Metaphors ] (1)

(Same as English 319b) This course reexamines the canonical literature in order to discover how race is either explicitly addressed or implicitly enabling to the texts. Does racial difference, whether or not overtly expressed, prove a useful literary tool. The focus of this course varies from year to year. Ms. Dunbar.

Not offered in 2009/10.

320a. Up From Slavery: Schooling and Socialization of Blacks in America (1)

(Same as Education 320a) This course is devoted to both theoretical and empirical issues in the schooling of Black America from primary through post-secondary levels—eighteenth century to the present in the rural and urban environment. Students become familiar with major sociological themes in the study of education: socialization and learning; social and cultural determinants of academic performance; relationships between families and schools; inequality; the "culture'' of the school and problems of change; institutional racism; and politicalization and social policy. Ms. Bickerstaff.

Prerequisite: 2 units of Education or Africana Studies or by permission of instructor.

One 2-hour period.

[ 321. Cross-Cultural Studies in Education: Policy, Politics, Power ] (1)

(Same as Education 321) A comparative study of education and schooling in selected contemporary societies—United States, Africa, Asia, South America. Through the case-study method, this seminar examines formal educational institutions from preschool to post-secondary education. Educational ideology and practice as reflected in curriculum and school organization are reviewed. Within the United States, the schooling of culturally different populations is studied. Among them are: Appalachian, Native American, black urban (north and south), and elite white independent schools. Ms. Bickerstaff.

Prerequisite: 2 units of coursework from the social science division, Africana Studies, or by permission of instructor.

Not offered in 2009/10.

[ 330. Black Metropolis: Caste and Class in Urban America 1800 to Present ] (1)

The migration of African Americans from the rural south to the urban North in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century America was one of the most significant internal mass movements in modern urban history. This seminar traces the historical antecedents of the great migration and examines the social, cultural, economic, and political dynamics and consequences of this extraordinary demographic shift within black communities and the larger society. Using the case study method, selected cities are drawn from urban centers in the south and the north. Themes and locations vary from year to year. Ms. Bickerstaff.

Not offered 2009/10.

[ 345. African American Migrations: Movement, Creativity, Struggle, and Change ] (1)

(Same as Urban Studies 345) In this interdisciplinary seminar, we examine the Great Migration (1916-1930) and the second Great Migration (1940-1970), the twentieth-century search by millions of black southerners for opportunity, safety, and full citizenship in the cities of the Northeast, Midwest, and West. Focusing on the actions, expressions, and thoughts of migrants, we explore how migrants experienced their lives, expressed their desires, and understood society. By analyzing things such as the organizing of factory and domestic workers, the blues sung by black women, the creation of urban legends and lore, and the investigative journalism of African American newspapers and civil rights organizations, we study links between movement, creativity, struggle, and change. Ms. Collins.

Not offered in 2009/10.

[ 352b. Seminar on Multiculturalism in Comparative Politics ] (1)

(Same as Political Science 352b) This seminar explores the political significance of social diversity in comparative perspective. Drawing on a range of cases, the course investigates the sources of identity-based social and political conflicts, focusing in particular on racial, ethnic, and national identities. The course also studies possible means of accommodating diversity and promoting reconciliation through public policies such as affirmative action, economic development, constitutional reform, memorials and commemorations, truth commissions, and trials. After looking at theories of identity politics and accommodation of diversity, the course focuses on country case studies. Countries studied may include the United States, South Africa, Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia, Somalia, Brazil, and India. Mr. Longman.

Prerequisite: by permission of instructor.

One 2-hour period.

Not offered 2009/10.

[ 354a. Seminar in African Art ] (1)

(Same as Art 354a)

Topic for 2009/10: The Contemporary African Photography and Video. This seminar explores the development of contemporary photographic and video practices as they relate to Africa. Organized thematically, it focuses on the individual case studies, artists, and exhibitions that comprise the dynamic and international realm of contemporary photo and video by artists living inside and outside of the African continent. Emphasis is placed on the changing significance and role of photography within African and trans-African contexts. As a part of this process, we consider issues of representation; documentation, critiques, and re-framing of socio-political issues and global relations; the visual articulation of racial, ethnic, gendered and religious identities; as well as aesthetic ideas, performance and the role of varied audiences and reception. Ms. Brielmaier.

Prerequisite: permission of instructor.

One 2-hour period.

Not offered in 2009/10.

[ 365. Race and the History of Jim Crow Segregation ] (1)

(Same as History 365) Mr. Mills.

Not offered 2009/10.

366b. Seminar in African American Art and Cultural History (1)

(Same as Amcl 366b, and Art 366b)

Topic for 2009/10: Creativity and Politics During the Jazz Age and the Great Depression. Focusing on the relationships between visual culture and social movements in the U.S., this seminar examines the arts, institutions, and ideas of the Black Arts Movement and the Women's Art Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Analyzing paintings, photographs, posters, quilts, collages, murals, manifestos, mixed-media works, installations, films, performances, and various systems of creation, collaboration, and display, we explore connections between art, politics, and society. Ms. Collins.

Prerequisite: permission of instructor. One 2-hour period.

One 2-hour period.

[ 369. Major Third World Author ] (1)

Not offered 2009/10.

373a. Slavery and Abolition in Africa (1)

(Same as History 373a) The Trans-Saharan and the Atlantic slave trade transformed African communities, social structures, and cultures. The seminar explores the development, abolition, and impact of slavery in Africa from the earliest times to the twentieth century. The major conceptual and historiographical themes include indigenous servitude, female enslavement, family strategies, slave resistance, abolition, and culture. The seminar uses specific case studies as well as a comparative framework to understand slavery in Africa. Mr. Rashid.

[ 374b. The African Diaspora and the Making of the Pan-African Movement 1900-2000 ] (1)

(Same as History 374b) This seminar investigates the social origins, philosophical and cultural ideas, and the political forms of Pan-Africanism from the late nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth century. It explores how disaffection and resistance against slavery, racism and colonial domination in the Americas, Caribbean, Europe, and Africa led to the development of a global movement for the emancipation of peoples of African descent from 1900 onwards. The seminar examines the different ideological, cultural, and organizational manifestations of Pan-Africanism as well as the scholarly debates on development of the movement. Readings include the ideas and works of Edward Blyden, Alexander Crummell, W. E. B. Dubois, Marcus Garvey, Amy Garvey, C.L.R. James, and Kwame Nkmmah. Mr. Rashid.

Special permission.

Not offered 2009/10.

386a. Exodus and Revolution:Violence and Religious Narrative (1)

(Same as Religion 386) This seminar will explore the way a single biblical story, the story of the Israelite exodus from Egypt, has influenced politics, literature, and identity formation. Central to the class will be political philosopher Michael Walzer's claim that the Exodus provides a paradigm of social democratic politics. We will interrogate Walzer's claim by examining the story's in an array of contexts. We will consider the role that Exodus played in the construction of American political identity and Latin American liberation theology. Particular attention will be paid to the role of Exodus in African American political and religious traditions. Finally, the class will broach more theoretical questions about the role of violence and religion in creating conceptions of nation and peoplehood. Does the demand for a paradigm, particularly a paradigm like Exodus with its emphasis on chosenness and messianism, produce distasteful politics in the process?  Mr. Kahn.
Offered in 2009-10.

399a or b. Senior Independent Work (1/2 or 1)

Senior independent study program to be worked out in consultation with an instructor. The department.