Minor in Africana Studies

Africana Studies
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About

The Africana Studies Minor teaches you to become an independent researcher and collaborative problem-solver with a focus on analyzing and interpreting the experience of African Americans. Our program appeals to students considering admission to graduate or professional schools and careers in education, business, law, politics, the media and publishing, international relations, arts and performance, development or humanitarian aid and global health as well as social work.

The Africana Studies Minor consists of four courses: two core courses and two electives (20 credits).

This minor can be completed entirely online, entirely in-person, or a mixture of the two.

If you’re considering this minor, please contact the director of Africana Studies.

What You'll Learn

The following information comes from the official EWU catalog, which outlines all degree requirements and serves as the guide to earning a degree. Courses are designed to provide a well-rounded and versatile degree, covering a wide range of subject areas.

Africana Studies Minor

Note: 

  • AAST 214, 215 and 220 each fulfill the undergraduate diversity requirement.
  • AAST 315 fulfills the global studies requirement.
Required Courses
AAST/HUMN 214AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE AND EXPRESSIONS5
AAST/HIST 215EARLY AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY: ANCIENT AFRICA TO THE END OF THE RECONSTRUCTION 18775
or AAST 220 AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY: POST CIVIL WAR TO PRESENT
Required Electives–choose upper-division courses in consultation with the AAST program director.10
Total Credits20

Sample Courses

AAST 214. AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE AND EXPRESSIONS. 5 Credits.

Cross-listed: HUMN 214.
Satisfies: a university graduation requirement–diversity.
An interdisciplinary survey of African American culture beginning with ancient African history and traditions through contemporary issues in the African American experience. Attention given to basic principles of history, sociology, political science, economics and the arts in the study of the dynamics of the African American culture.

Catalog Listing

AAST 375. AFRICAN AMERICAN CINEMA: THE CREATION, POWER, & MEANING OF BLACK INDEPENDENT FILM. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: AAST 214 or AAST 215 or AAST 220.
This course explores the history of African Americans in relation to mainstream films. The course not only examines the depictions of African Americans in Hollywood films from the silent period to the modern era, but discusses the importance of the emergence of independent black filmmaking and the role of filmmakers in providing a unique voice and alternative images to combat the negative stereotypes and depictions of Blacks in films and to express Black cultural themes.

Catalog Listing

AAST 322. THE RISE OF MASS INCARCERATION. 5 Credits.

Notes: requirement for the Africana/Interdisciplinary Studies Major, Minor and/or Diversity and Inclusion Certificate.
Pre-requisites: ENGL 101 equivalent.
This course provides a critical analysis of the racial disparities within the American institution of criminal incarceration through the disciplines of criminal justice, sociology, psychology, history, economics and political science. Through the examination of government policies and Jim Crow segregation within the intersection of classism and racism, the content of this course explore the dynamics of social control afforded through a racially biased judicial system's use of incarceration.

Catalog Listing

AAST 319. BLACK PSYCHOLOGY. 5 Credits.

Cross-listed: PSYC 319.
Pre-requisites: junior standing or permission of the instructor.
This is an emerging discipline that recognizes the observance of African centered approaches, practices, and methodologies to understand the experiences and treat the needs of Black people. Students will explore how Afrocentric approaches provide a basis for knowing and understanding the Black self and a resultant state of Black consciousness and positive identity. Students will cultivate an awareness of the progress and formation of positive Black identity.

Catalog Listing

Africana Studies Electives

For a full list of the Africana Studies elective courses offered, head over to the catalog.

Africana Studies Course Catalog

Africana Studies

Africana Studies Program
204 Monroe Hall
Cheney, WA 99004
P: 509.359.2847
E: africanastudies@ewu.edu

ewu.edu/africana

EWU Land Acknowledgement

Eastern Washington University resides within the traditional homelands of the Spokane People and other tribes who are connected through their shared history of this region.

This land holds their cultural DNA and it is their Ancestors who are here and bring forth the knowledge of this place—the knowledge that comes from the land.

Learn more at our Office of Native American Affairs.