Courses - Spring 2026
AAAS
African American and Africana Studies
Open Seats as of
11/06/2025 at 10:30 PM
AAAS100
Introduction to African American and Africana Studies
Credit only granted for: AASP100 or AAAS100.
Formerly: 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.
AAAS100H
Introduction to African American and Africana Studies
Credit only granted for: AASP100 or AAAS100.
Formerly: 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.
Restricted to HONR students only.
AAAS101
Public Policy and the Black Community
Credit only granted for: AASP101 or AAAS101.
Formerly: AASP101.
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.
AAAS187
The New Jim Crow: African-Americans, Mass Incarceration and the Prison Industrial Complex
Recommended: AASP100.
Credit only granted for: AASP187 or AAAS187.
Formerly: AASP187.
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.
AAAS200
African Civilization
Credit only granted for: AASP200 or AAAS200.
Formerly: AASP200.
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.
AAAS202
Credit only granted for: AASP202 or AAAS202.
Formerly: 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.
AAAS202H
Credit only granted for: AASP202 or AAAS202.
Formerly: 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.
AAAS211
Get Out: The Sunken Place of Race Relations in the Post-Racial Era
Credit only granted for: AASP211 or AAAS211.
Formerly: AASP211.
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.
AAAS234
Cross-listed with: ENGL234.
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.
AAAS265
Constructions of Manhood and Womanhood in the Black Community
Cross-listed with: WGSS265.
Credit only granted for: WMST265, AASP298B, AAAS265, WGSS265 or AASP265.
Formerly: WMST265.
Investigates the ways that African Americans are represented and constructed in public and private spheres and explores the social constructions and representations of Black manhood and womanhood from various disciplinary perspectives.
Cross-listed with WGSS265. Credit granted only for AAAS265 or WGSS265.
AAAS320
Poverty and African American Children
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Cross-listed with: SOCY320.
Credit only granted for: AASP320, AAAS320, AASP298P or SOCY320.
Formerly: AASP298P.
The United States has high levels of child poverty compared to other industrialized nations. Poverty rates are particularly high among African American children. This course focuses on how poverty and race intersect to influence the development of children and youth. Specific topics that we will consider include definitions of poverty, theories about the causes of poverty, racial disparities in child poverty, family functioning in the context of poverty, neighborhood influences, risk and protective processes, and social policies and programs designed to mitigate the impact of poverty.
Cross-listed with SOCY320. Credit granted only for AAAS320 or SOCY320.
AAAS386
Experiential Learning
Credits:
3 - 6
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F
Restriction: Permission of BSOS-African American and Africana Studies department; and junior standing or higher.
Credit only granted for: AASP386 or AAAS386.
Formerly: AASP386.
Updating course code to align with department name change
AAAS398G
Selected Topics in the African Diaspora; Gender, Labor and Racial Identities in Diaspora Communities
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Cross-listed with AAAS398G. Credit will be only granted for AAAS398G, AASP398G, or AMST328K.
This course will expose students to a range of interdisciplinary perspectives, theories, and methodologies for exploring the intersectionality of gender, ethnicity, sexuality, and racial identitiesin multiple post-emancipation and modern African/Black diaspora communities. The class readings and discussions will examine the interactions and linkages between and among various African diaspora/descendant and native-born African American/Black peoples, frommultiple vantage points, in different historical periods and movements in the U.S., Africa, the Caribbean, Latin American and Europe.
This course will expose students to a range of interdisciplinary perspectives, theories, and methodologies for exploring the intersectionality of gender, ethnicity, sexuality, and racial identitiesin multiple post-emancipation and modern African/Black diaspora communities. The class readings and discussions will examine the interactions and linkages between and among various African diaspora/descendant and native-born African American/Black peoples, frommultiple vantage points, in different historical periods and movements in the U.S., Africa, the Caribbean, Latin American and Europe.
AAAS398J
Selected Topics in the African Diaspora; The Civil Rights Movement
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Cross-listed with HIST338A and AMST328Z. Credit only granted for HIST338A, AAAS398J, or AMST328Z.
From the anti-lynching movement and streetcar boycotts of the early 20th century to the mass movement of the 1960s, this course takes up issues that have engaged social movement theorists and activists alike: developing and sustaining social commitment, confronting the strengths and weaknesses of formal organization, raising money, maximizing political influence, and securing long-range objectives. While primarily focused on the U.S. Black Civil Rights Movement, the course considers its impact on other rights struggles (e.g., environmental justice and reproductive justice) and makes connections to the civil rights struggles of other people of color in the U.S.
From the anti-lynching movement and streetcar boycotts of the early 20th century to the mass movement of the 1960s, this course takes up issues that have engaged social movement theorists and activists alike: developing and sustaining social commitment, confronting the strengths and weaknesses of formal organization, raising money, maximizing political influence, and securing long-range objectives. While primarily focused on the U.S. Black Civil Rights Movement, the course considers its impact on other rights struggles (e.g., environmental justice and reproductive justice) and makes connections to the civil rights struggles of other people of color in the U.S.
AAAS398U
Selected Topics in the African Diaspora; Angela Davis
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
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.
Cross-listed with AMST328B, ENGL368F, and WGSS379U. Credit only granted for AAAS398U, AASP398U, AMST328B, ENGL368F, and WGSS379U.
Cross-listed with AMST328B, ENGL368F, and WGSS379U. Credit only granted for AAAS398U, AASP398U, AMST328B, ENGL368F, and WGSS379U.
AAAS399
Research in African-American and Africana Studies
Credits:
1 - 3
Grad Meth:
Reg
AAAS400
Directed Readings in African American and Africana Studies
Prerequisite: AAAS202 or AAAS100.
Credit only granted for: AASP400 or AAAS400.
Formerly: AASP400.
The readings will be directed by the faculty of African American Studies. Topics to be covered will be chosen to meet the needs and interests of individual students.
AAAS400H
Directed Readings in African American and Africana Studies
Prerequisite: AAAS202 or AAAS100.
Credit only granted for: AASP400 or AAAS400.
Formerly: AASP400.
The readings will be directed by the faculty of African American Studies. Topics to be covered will be chosen to meet the needs and interests of individual students.
AAAS480
Advanced Field Research in African American
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Recommended: AAAS101 and/or AAAS301.
Cross-listed with: GVPT368Q.
Credit only granted for: AAAS480, AASP479A, or GVPT368Q.
Formerly: AASP479A.
This course is designed to guide students through the process of conducting advanced research on political and societal phenomena that impact the Black community. Students will receive hands-on experience conducting field experiments, deploying in-person and virtual surveys, conducting interviews and focus groups, and analyzing data.
AAAS498B
Special Topics in Black Culture; Black Women's Art and Culture
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Cross-listed with WGSS498Z and AMST498Z. Credit only granted for WGSS498Z, AAAS498B, or AMST498Z.
AAAS498X
Special Topics in Black Culture
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Cross-listed with PSYC489Q. Credit will be only granted for AASP498X or PSYC489Q.
AAAS499M
Advanced Topics in Public Policy and the Black Community
Credits:
3
Grad Meth:
Reg, P-F, Aud
Crosslisted with JOUR459Z Credit only granted for: JOUR459Z or AASP499M
Flagship Institution of the University System of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
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301.405.1000
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