African and African American Studies
Division VI Chair: Althea Webb
Department Chair: A. Baskin
Faculty: A. Baskin, L. Leek, J. Pimienta-Bey, and A. Turley
Website: https://www.berea.edu/afr/
Courses: AFR Courses
Course Sequencing Table: African and African American Studies
Major/Minor Requirements: African and African American Studies B.A.; African and African American Studies Minor
The major in African and African American Studies provides students with an academically holistic understanding of the cultural contributions and historical struggles of peoples of predominantly African descent within U.S., Western, and World History. The interdisciplinary approach of African and African American Studies provides students with the opportunities to engage in critical thinking across the spectrum of various disciplines—history, literature, music, psychology, political science, economics, sociology, and women’s and gender studies. Students majoring in African and African American Studies are encouraged to critique the world from the perspectives and world views of Africana (“Black”) peoples, thereby learning to better evaluate the impact Africana peoples have had upon countless aspects of the human experience.
The African and African American Studies major teaches students how to:
- identify, study, and clarify contributions of African peoples to human history;
- analyze and describe/express the various conditions that have impacted and influenced both the individual and collective development of African peoples; and
- identify solutions, as well as actions, which free all peoples from any socialized notions of inherent inferiority predicated on the basis of their African ancestry.
In addition to supporting students' achievement of the Aims of General Education, the African and African American Studies Department seeks to assist students in meeting the following learning goals and associated learning outcomes:*:
African and African American Studies Student Learning Goals & Outcomes
Learning Goal 1: Demonstrate knowledge of the major developments in African and African American people’s experiences.
Learning Outcome 1.1: Describe the major social, cultural, and political movements throughout the history of African and African American people’s experiences;
Learning Outcome 1.2: Trace the development of African civilizations and examine their contributions to the development of the continent and major world civilizations;
Learning Outcome 1.3: Identify major figures in African and African American culture and explain their impact on their societies and beyond;
Learning Outcome 1.4: Describe and analyze the experiences of people of African descent in all parts of the world, but especially in the Americas, the Caribbean and Africa.
Learning Goal 2: Analyze information critically using African and African American studies’ theories and concepts
Learning Outcome 2.1: Collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data
Learning Outcome 2.2: Use data to explain the impact of societal, economic, and political factors on the experiences of people of African descent
Learning Outcome 2.3: Compare and contrast different theories and research methods that have been used to explain the experiences of persons of African descent.
Learning Goal 3: Communicate effectively in oral and written form about their knowledge of key concepts in African and African American Studies
Learning Outcome 3.1: Demonstrate knowledge of research techniques, evaluation of evidence, documentation, organization, style and mechanics of writing appropriate to the discipline
Learning Outcome 3.2: Write a cohesive argument demonstrating knowledge of research techniques, documentation, organization, and the mechanics of writing
Learning Outcome 3.3: Defend a cohesive argument before an audience of peers
Learning Goal 4: Acquire an appreciation of the interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, and global nature of African and African American Studies
Learning Outcome 4.1: Apply African and African American centered theories, approaches and concepts, and research to various disciplines such as history, sociology, etc.
Learning Outcome 4.2: Identify national and/or global forces that have shaped the perspective of others towards people of African descent
*Adopted, in whole, from Lehman College’s African and African American Studies Program (http://www.lehman.edu/academics/arts-humanities/african-american-studies/learning-goals.php)