African & African-American Studies

The interdisciplinary minor in African and African American Studies offers students the opportunity to explore the experiences of Africans and African Americans from a variety of methodological viewpoints. The curriculum allows students to examine theories of race and how race intersects with gender, sexuality, class, and other factors in a variety of historical and contemporary settings.

Beyond the Classroom

While the minor in African and African American Studies provides students with a wealth of opportunities for intellectual stimulation within the classroom setting, students also engage in hands-on projects that expand their cultural and academic horizons well beyond the classroom.

• Interview an African woman about childbirth practices in West Africa as part of a sociology course on African and African American women.
• Dig for artifacts at the site of a New Jersey settlement established by freed African slaves (Summer 2010).
• Travel to New Orleans: listen to jazz at Preservation Hall, learn to cook New Orleans-style, visit the national voodoo museum, and help rebuild the local music scene with Habitat for Humanity's Musician's Village (May 2011).
• Explore some of the most extensive African art collections int he country at area museums as part of a course on African art.