Black Lives Matter demonstration event

In 2020, the confluence of a devastating global health pandemic and the grotesque killings of Black civilians catalyzed a national movement and resurgent demands to protect Black life.

Within the School of Arts and Sciences, the Department of Africana Studies has, since 1969, been devoted to close interdisciplinary analysis of black experience to support the work of social justice both nationally and internationally. Our courses examine the precise issues underpinning these inter-connected manifestations of the ways that the treatment of Black life is an indicator of the ways that inequality and oppression is structured, but they also help us understand the ways those oppressions have been challenged and dismantled.

The world stands poised to make a definitive break with the legacy of oppression, and Africana Studies stands ready to prepare a new generation to usher in that new world. As we strive together to realize the transformative potential contained within the pain of the present moment, Africana Studies is today more than ever a vital part of education for all people, not just Black people.

We encourage all students to engage with this work through the undergraduate courses offered by the Department of Africana Studies.

 

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01:014:347 Health Issues in the African American Community

Health Issues in the African American Community focuses on the combination of sciences, skills, and beliefs that are directed to the maintenance and improvement of the health of an entire population. This course examines critical health issues impacting the African American Community, which has often suffered from disparities in health care. In addition, it presents the basic knowledge needed to comprehend and interact with the information that continues to be published in this field.  The course exposes the student to the interaction between the citizen, the problems as related to healthcare, and the solution. Attention to practical solutions is an integral part of the process. Students will have the opportunity to shadow ODASIS alumni who are currently practicing physicians, and to teach what they have learned within the class setting. 01:014:347 Syllabus

01:014:380 Blacks in Science

Pre-or corequisite: 01:014:274 or 321.

This course is a broad survey of the contributions of Africans (past and present) to science and technology, and of the roles of science and technology in African communities in the African continent and in the African diaspora. There will be discussions on scientific thinking, the general history of science, the sociology of science, the rise of civilizations, the roles played by Africans in discoveries and technologies, and the influence of science on human values.

Current SyllabusSpring 2024

Past Syllabi Fall 2023Spring 2023