Courses - Fall 2024
AASP100
Significant aspects of the history of African Americans with particular emphasis on the evolution and development of black communities from slavery to the present. Interdisciplinary introduction to social, political, legal and economic roots of contemporary problems faced by blacks in the United States with applications to the lives of other racial and ethnic minorities in the Americas and in other societies.
AASP100H
Significant aspects of the history of African Americans with particular emphasis on the evolution and development of black communities from slavery to the present. Interdisciplinary introduction to social, political, legal and economic roots of contemporary problems faced by blacks in the United States with applications to the lives of other racial and ethnic minorities in the Americas and in other societies.
AASP101
Public Policy and the Black Community
Formerly: AASP300.
The impact of public policies on the black community and the role of the policy process in affecting the social, economic and political well-being of minorities. Particular attention given to the post-1960 to present era.
AASP187
The New Jim Crow: African-Americans, Mass Incarceration and the Prison Industrial Complex
Recommended: AASP100.
Students will examine the birth of the racial caste system following the abolition of slavery, the parallels between the racial hierarchy of the Jim Crow system and contemporary mass incarceration, and the rise of the prison industrial complex as a multi-billon business which thrives on the oppression of low-income populations and poor communities of color.
AASP200
African Civilization
A survey of African civilizations from 4500 B.C. to present. Analysis of traditional social systems. Discussion of the impact of European colonization on these civilizations. Analysis of the influence of traditional African social systems on modern African institutions as well as discussion of contemporary processes of Africanization.
AASP202
The course examines important aspects of African American life and thought which are reflected in African American literature, drama, music and art. Beginning with the cultural heritage of slavery, the course surveys the changing modes of black creative expression from the 19th-century to the present.
AASP210
Intro to Research Design and Analysis in African American Studies
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Introduces students to quantitative and qualitative research methods used in social science with a focus on Black populations and African American Studies Research. Uses practical exercises, such as class surveys and mock focus groups, to examine fundamental concepts of the research process from conceptualization of research questions to interpretation of data and research articles. The course is designed for undergraduate students with little or no background knowledge in social science research methods.
AASP211
Get Out: The Sunken Place of Race Relations in the Post-Racial Era
Credit only granted for: AASP298G or AASP211.
Formerly: AASP298G.
Prevailing thought suggests that we live in an era that is post-racial, particularly after the election of Barack Obama. Media often serves to drive our assessment of where our nation stands on issues like race, gender and sexuality. This course uses the film Get Out to delve into the production, evolution and significance of race in present day America. The course will engage multiple forms of media to investigate life in "Post-Racial" America, including but not limited to the role of stereotypes, interracial relationships, police-community relations, etc.
AASP230
Social (In)Justice and African-American Health and Well-Being
African Americans suffer worse outcomes than non-Hispanic whites on nearly every health measure and outcomes that link to overall well-being like depressive symptoms or homicides. Health disparities are experienced by other underrepresented minority groups, but because of the unique historic and current experiences of African Americans, the determinants and solutions to African American health disparities are unique. The premise of this course is that African American health disparities are due to social injustices perpetuated on the institutional level that have permeated the lived experiences of African Americans leading to racial disparities in health and well-being. As such, the solutions on the both policy, and community, level must have a social justice approach.
AASP298C
African-American History to 1865
Cross-listed with: AAAS254.
Credit only granted for: HIST254, AAAS254 or AASP298C.
Survey of the principal developments in the history and culture of the peoples of African descent in colonial North America and the United States to 1865. Examines the African past, the Atlantic slave trade, variation in slavery, the growth of free black communities, the transformations of families and cultural forms, and patterns of resistance.
AASP298L
Cross-listed with: AAAS234.
Credit only granted for: ENGL234, AAAS234 or AASP298L.
An exploration of the stories black authors tell about themselves, their communities, and the nation as informed by time and place, gender, sexuality, and class. African American perspective themes such as art, childhood, sexuality, marriage, alienation and mortality, as well as representations of slavery, Reconstruction, racial violence and the Nadir, legalized racism and segregation, black patriotism and black ex-patriots, the optimism of integration, and the prospects of a post-racial America.
Cross-listed with ENGL234. Credit granted for AASP298L or ENGL234.
AASP301
Applied Policy Analysis and the Black Community
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: AASP101.
Recommended: Completion of one semester of statistics is recommended.
Development and application of the tools needed for examining the effectiveness of alternative policy options confronting minority communities. Review policy research methods used in forming and evaluating policies. Examination of the policy process.
AASP310
African Slave Trade
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: AASP202 or AASP100; or permission of BSOS-African American Studies department.
Formerly: AASP311.
The relationship of the slave trade of Africans to the development of British capitalism and its industrial revolution; and to the economic and social development of the Americas.
AASP340
Black Existentialism
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Credit only granted for: AASP340, ENGL368O, PHIL338E, or PHPE308C .
Examines the critical transformation of European existentialist ideas through close readings of black existentialists Aime Cesaire, Frantz Fanon, George Lamming, and Wilson Harris, paired with key essays from Sartre, Camus, and Merleau-Ponty. As well, we will engage black existentialism not just as a series of claims, but also a method, which allows us to read works by African- American writers such as W.E.B. Du Bois, James Baldwin, and Ralph Ellison in an existentialist frame. Lastly, we will consider the matter of how and why existentialism continues to function so centrally in contemporary Africana philosophy.
Cross-listed with ENGL368O, PHIL338E, and PHPE308C. Credit only granted for ENGL368O, AASP340, PHIL338E, or PHPE308C.
AASP361
Caribbean Women
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Cross-listed with: AAAS361.
Credit only granted for: WGSS360, WMST360, AAAS361 or AASP361.
Formerly: WMST360.
An interdisciplinary analysis of the lives and experiences of women across the Caribbean region, through an examination of their roles in individual, national, social and cultural formations. Special emphasis on contemporary women's issues and organizations.
Additionally for Fall 2024: Cross-listed with WGSS360 and LACS348P. Credit only granted for WGSS360, AASP361, or LACS348P.
AASP386
Experiential Learning
Credits:
3 - 6
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F
Restriction: Permission of BSOS-African American Studies department; and junior standing or higher.
AASP397
Senior Thesis
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Restriction: Permission of BSOS-African American Studies department.
Directed research in African American Studies resulting in the completion and defense of a senior thesis.
AASP398B
Selected Topics in the African Diaspora; Black Immigrants: Challenges and Impacts
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Cross-listed with IMMR319D. Credit only granted for AASP398B or IMMR319D.
How does immigration affect Black communities in the United States? How are foreign Black affected by living in the United States? Students will learn about: US history of immigration policy; pull and push factors driving Black migration; comparisons in socioeconomic outcomes between foreign and native Blacks; and differences between 1st and 2nd generation Black immigrants.
How does immigration affect Black communities in the United States? How are foreign Black affected by living in the United States? Students will learn about: US history of immigration policy; pull and push factors driving Black migration; comparisons in socioeconomic outcomes between foreign and native Blacks; and differences between 1st and 2nd generation Black immigrants.
AASP398J
Selected Topics in the African Diaspora; Black Women in Twentieth Century America
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Cross-listed with HIST319X, WGSS379J, and AMST498D. Credit only granted for HIST319X, WGSS379J, AMST498D, or AASP398J.
Traces twentieth-century United States history from the perspective of Black women. We will center their diverse voices and experiences as we explore themes including family, work, activism, and cultural expression.
Traces twentieth-century United States history from the perspective of Black women. We will center their diverse voices and experiences as we explore themes including family, work, activism, and cultural expression.
AASP398N
Selected Topics in the African Diaspora; Race, Health and Narrative
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Cross-listed with ENGL368N. Credit only granted with ENGL368N or AASP398N.
AASP398Q
Selected Topics in the African Diaspora; Black Baltimore in the Post Racial U.S: African American Urban Culture in the Age of Obama
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Cross-listed with AMST328M. Credit only granted for AASP398Q or AMST328M.
Using the city of Baltimore as our case study and taking an interdisciplinary approach that draws from the scholarly fields of African American studies, sociology, geography, anthropology, history, and urban planning this course explores how both Blackness and anti-Blackness shape the city, its histories, its racial and cultural geography, its social movements, its political economy, and the competing visions for its future. This is an interactive course that will work to develop students capacity to understand and discuss major and minor moments in the history of Black Baltimore; understand and discuss the relationship between material conditions, racism, and urban policy; develop interdisciplinary frameworks through which to interpret and analyze the contemporary and historical conditions shaping the lived experiences of Black Baltimoreans; and analyze scholarship produced within the African American Studies tradition.
Using the city of Baltimore as our case study and taking an interdisciplinary approach that draws from the scholarly fields of African American studies, sociology, geography, anthropology, history, and urban planning this course explores how both Blackness and anti-Blackness shape the city, its histories, its racial and cultural geography, its social movements, its political economy, and the competing visions for its future. This is an interactive course that will work to develop students capacity to understand and discuss major and minor moments in the history of Black Baltimore; understand and discuss the relationship between material conditions, racism, and urban policy; develop interdisciplinary frameworks through which to interpret and analyze the contemporary and historical conditions shaping the lived experiences of Black Baltimoreans; and analyze scholarship produced within the African American Studies tradition.
AASP398U
Selected Topics in the African Diaspora; Angela Davis
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Cross-listed with AMST328B, ENGL368F, and WGSS379U. Credit only granted for AASP398U, AMST328B, ENGL368F, and WGSS379U.
This course explores the meaning and significance of Angela Davis work for thinking through issues of race, nation, class, gender, carceral culture, and transnational solidarity. Her life and work is set between theorizing histories of race, racism, class, and gender and political organizing and public intellectual work. We will examine all of these aspects by reading her work from its beginning and up through contemporary commentary on incarceration, Palestine, and related issues. The centerpiece of this course will be her study of African-American music in its Black feminist iteration, Blues Legacies and Black Feminism.
This course explores the meaning and significance of Angela Davis work for thinking through issues of race, nation, class, gender, carceral culture, and transnational solidarity. Her life and work is set between theorizing histories of race, racism, class, and gender and political organizing and public intellectual work. We will examine all of these aspects by reading her work from its beginning and up through contemporary commentary on incarceration, Palestine, and related issues. The centerpiece of this course will be her study of African-American music in its Black feminist iteration, Blues Legacies and Black Feminism.
AASP399
Research in African-American Studies
Credits:
1 - 3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F
AASP478E
Humanities Topics in African American Studies; Black Digitalities
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Cross-listed with ENGL438B. Credit only granted for ENGL438B or AASP478E.
In investigating a broad range of materials: essays, literature, film, VR, and video games, this class in digital study and practice explores the long history of Black Atlantic engagement with digital techniques and modalities. Over the course of the semester students will engage a variety of hands on experiences, creating or conceptualizing digital objects as entry points into learning how to read digital experiences from both cultural and computational perspectives. Writing assignments will especially focus on how play and interactivity impact narrative and representation. By combining close reading practice with digital treatments of canonical African American texts, this class will help students historicize important cross-fertilizations between Black expressive traditions and a range of contemporary media.
In investigating a broad range of materials: essays, literature, film, VR, and video games, this class in digital study and practice explores the long history of Black Atlantic engagement with digital techniques and modalities. Over the course of the semester students will engage a variety of hands on experiences, creating or conceptualizing digital objects as entry points into learning how to read digital experiences from both cultural and computational perspectives. Writing assignments will especially focus on how play and interactivity impact narrative and representation. By combining close reading practice with digital treatments of canonical African American texts, this class will help students historicize important cross-fertilizations between Black expressive traditions and a range of contemporary media.
AASP478G
Humanities Topics in African American Studies; Plants & Diaspora: Black and Indigenous Environmental History
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Cross-listed with HIST419O. Credit only granted for HIST419O or AASP478G.
Reading seminar investigating the African Diaspora in the Americas through several plants, such as mangroves, sesame, rice, oil palm, coconut palm, cassava, and peanuts. Students analyze environmental histories of slavery, colonialism, and rebellion and explore how Black and Indigenous experiences shaped landscapes of extraction, freedom, and justice.
Reading seminar investigating the African Diaspora in the Americas through several plants, such as mangroves, sesame, rice, oil palm, coconut palm, cassava, and peanuts. Students analyze environmental histories of slavery, colonialism, and rebellion and explore how Black and Indigenous experiences shaped landscapes of extraction, freedom, and justice.
AASP479
Special Research in African-American Studies
Credits:
1 - 9
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
AASP499L
Advanced Topics in Public Policy and the Black Community; Covering Social Justice
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Cross-listed with JOUR458J. Credit only granted for: JOUR458J or AASP499L.
The objective of this class is to expose students to the best journalistic practices in covering race and social justice issues. Students will explore how social justice is covered in the media through readings, discussions, guest lectures and research assignments to help students understand the history and background of social justice and how reporters cover these issues. Students will develop critical analytical skills through their research and will write a reported essay about a national or international social justice issue impacting society.
The objective of this class is to expose students to the best journalistic practices in covering race and social justice issues. Students will explore how social justice is covered in the media through readings, discussions, guest lectures and research assignments to help students understand the history and background of social justice and how reporters cover these issues. Students will develop critical analytical skills through their research and will write a reported essay about a national or international social justice issue impacting society.
AASP499N
Advanced Topics in Public Policy and the Black Community; News Coverage of Racial Issues
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Restriction: Junior standing or higher.
Flagship Institution of the University System of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
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