African American studies at The University of Montana-Missoula offers a broad historical link of African and African American (including Latin America and the Caribbean) experiences and perspectives into the 21st century. The goal of the African-American Studies curriculum is to develop basic knowledge of, and appreciation for, the diverse experiences of the African diaspora, and their contributions to the nations into which they were incorporated. The interdisciplinary curriculum of African-American Studies includes course offerings from the following academic disciplines: anthropology, history, fine and performing arts, economics, geography, international studies, political science, Native American studies, Asian studies, psychology and sociology. Some topics of study include: African heritage and cultural continuity among African-Americans; African-American identity issues and cultural variation; the history of African-American protest and resistance, including the abolitionist,anti-lynching, and civil rights movements; the Harlem Renaissance; the social dynamics of integration and segregation; and the various circumstances of, and prospects for, African-Americans in the 21st century.
Requirements for a Minor
The African-American studies minor is an interdisciplinary program requiring twenty-seven (27) credits drawn from a combination of disciplines-history, anthropology, English, sociology, geography, economics, and political science.
- African-American Core Courses
- 12 credits required from the following:
- AAS 195: Special Topics, Introduction to African American Studies
- AAS 208H Discovering Africa
- AAS 378H African American History to 1865
- AAS 379H African American History Since 1865
- 6 credits required from the following electives:
- AAS 195 Special Topics
- AAS 278H African American Institutions and Perspectives
- AAS 295 Special Topics: Abolitionism
- AAS 395 Special Topics
- AAS 408 Africa and the Black Diaspora
- AAS 478 Martin, Malcolm and the Civil Rights Movement
- AAS 493 Omnibus
- AAS 495 Special Topics
- Electives
- 9 credits required from at least two of the following fields:
- Geography
- 277S Africa
- History
- 283H Islamic Civilization: The Classical Age
- 359 Topics in 20th Century U.S. History
- 361H The American South: From Slavery to Civil Rights
- 362 African American Struggle for Equality
- 363H History of American Law
- 388H Africa to 1880
- 389H African since 1880
- 409 History of Southern Africa
- 470 Women and Slavery
- 471 Southern Women in Black and White
- Sociology
- 200 Social Stratification
- 220S Race, Gender and Class
- 322 Sociology of Poverty
- Political Science
- 326H Politics of Africa
- Economics
- 350 Economic Development
- English
- 337 African-American Literature
- Anthropology
- 180S Race and Minorities
- 329S Social Change in Non-Western Societies
- 385S Indigenous Peoples and Global Development
Courses
U = for undergraduate credit only, UG = for undergraduate or graduate credit, G = for graduate credit. R after the credit indicates the course may be repeated for credit to the maximum indicated after the R. Credits beyond this maximum do not count toward a degree.
African-American Studies (AAS)
U 195 Special Topics Variable cr. (R 6) Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one time offerings of current topics.
U 208H Discovering Africa 3 cr. Offered intermittently. Same as HIST 208H. Interdisciplinary study of the history of pre-colonial Africa, focusing on social, economic, political and cultural institutions and traditions including the wealth, diversity and complexity of ancient and classical African civilizations and cultures.
U 278H African American Institutions and Perspectives 3 cr.Offered intermittently. Study of social, political, economic and cultural institutions that Blacks developed and utilized in their struggles from slavery to freedom, and the ideological schools of thoughts and perspectives that have defined, and continue to define and shape, the Black experience and struggle.
U 295 Special Topics Variable cr.(R-6) Offered intermittently. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one-time offerings of current topics.
U 368E Gandhi and King: Ethics of Nonviolence 3 cr. Prereq., lower-division course in Perspective 5 or consent of instr. An examination of the writings of Gandhi and King in search of the ethical basis for their struggles for justice.
U 378H African American History to 1865 3 cr. Offered intermittently. Same as HIST 378H. Survey of the African American experience from the African background to the end of the Civil War. Focus on Black American quest for the American Dream, and how Blacks attempted to deal with the challenges of enslavement and racism.
U 379H African American History Since 1865 3 cr. Offered intermittently. Same as HIST 379H. Study of the African American experience since the Civil War. Change and continuity in the African American experience, the fight against Jim Crow, the struggle for civil rights, and post-civil rights economic, political, social and cultural developments and challenges.
U 388H Africa to 1880 3 cr. Offered intermittently. Same as HIST 388H. History of Africa from the earliest of times. Evolution of African societies and states, social, economic, political, and cultural developments; the dynamics, nature and consequences of Africa=s interaction with Europe up to 1880.
U 389H Africa Since 1880 3 cr. Offered intermittently. Same as HIST 389H. Historical development in Africa since the imposition of colonial rule. Analysis of colonialism and emergence of nationalism.
U 395 Special Topics Variable cr. (R 9) Prereq., consent of instr. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one time offerings of current topics.
U 396 Independent Study Variable cr. (R 9) Prereq., consent of instr.
UG 408 Africa and the Black Diaspora 3 cr. Offered intermittently. History of Blacks in the diaspora. Focus on comparative examination of experiences in the United States, Latin America, South America, Africa and the Caribbean.
UG 409 History of Southern Africa 3 cr. Offered intermittently. Same as HIST 409. Historical survey of developments in southern Africa from the earliest of times to the present. Focus on the evolution and growth of societies and states; economic, social and political developments; external interventions and impacts on race relations.
UG 478 Martin, Malcolm and the Civil Rights Movement 3 cr. Offered intermittently. Same as HIST 478. Examination of two leading and dominant leaders of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Backgrounds, ideological orientations, idiosyncracies, and dynamics of change, continuity, conflict and consensus in their respective programs; lasting impacts and legacies.
U 493 Omnibus Variable cr. (R 6) Prereq., consent of instr.
UG 495 Special Topics Variable cr. (R 9) Prereq., consent of instr. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one time offerings of current topics.
U 496 Independent Study Variable cr. Prereq., consent of instr.
Faculty
Professor
Tunde Adeleke, Ph.D., Western Ontario, 1985
Instructors
Jim Hogan, M.A., 1984
George Price, M.A., The University of Montana, 1996
Emeritus Professor
Ulysses S. Doss, Ph.D., The Union Institute, 1974