Undergraduate Study

African American Studies, a cross-disciplinary program in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, offers an opportunity to explore African Americans’ contributions to American culture. Analysis of the African American experience—in history, literature, art, religion, and society—provides students with skills, sensitivities, and information to help them function more effectively in today’s diverse society.

African American Studies at Iowa State University is an expanding program. Most of the courses in the program satisfy general education requirements in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the human relations requirement for teachers, and the university’s diversity requirement. At present students can minor or even design their own Interdisciplinary Studies major with an emphasis in African American Studies.

A minor in African American Studies requires six courses in the program with a minimum of 18 credits, including Introduction to African American Studies (Af Am 201) and Seminar in African American Culture (Af Am 460). The remaining credits must come from at least two departments, with at least two courses taken at the junior level or above. Independent study and internship opportunities are available for credit, but do not count in the minimum requirements for the minor.

Graduate Study

Courses open for nonmajor graduate credit: 334, 347, 348, 349, 350, 460, 475.

Courses Primarily for Undergraduate Students

Af Am 201. Introduction to African American Studies
(3-0) Cr. 3. F. S. An interdisciplinary introduction to the study of African American culture. Includes history, the social sciences, literature, religion, and the arts, as well as conceptual frameworks for investigation and analysis of the African American experience.

Af Am 252. African American Theatre Production (Same as Thtre 252.)
See Theatre.

Af Am 310. Introduction to African History I (Same as Hist 310.)
See History.

Af Am 311. Introduction to African History II (Same as Hist 311.)
See History.

Af Am 325. Peoples and Cultures of Africa (Same as Anthr 325.)
See Anthropology.

Af Am 330. Ethnic and Race Relations (Same as Soc 330)
See Sociology.

Af Am 333. African American Ethnology (Same as Anthr 333.)
See Anthropology.

Af Am 334. African American Religious Experience (Same as Relig 334.)
See Religious Studies. Nonmajor graduate credit.

Af Am 347. Survey of African American Literature (Same as Engl 347.)
See English. Nonmajor graduate credit.

Af Am 348. Contemporary African American Literature (Same as Engl 348.)
See English. Nonmajor graduate credit.

Af Am 350. African American Women (Same as W S 350.)
See Women’s Studies. Nonmajor graduate credit.

Af Am 353. History of African Americans I (Same as Hist 353.)
See History.

Af Am 354. History of African Americans II (Same as Hist 354.)
See History.

Af Am 460. Seminar in African American Culture
(3-0) Cr. 3. S. Intensive study of a selected topic in African-American Studies in one or more disciplines. Selected readings of various authors, movements, eras, or genres. Primary and secondary source materials. Nonmajor graduate credit.

Af Am 490. Independent Study
Cr. 1 to 3 each time taken, maximum of 3. Prereq: 6 credits in African American Studies, and permission of instructor and of the chair of the African American Studies Program.

Courses Offered by Other Departments

Engl 349. Selected Topics in Multicultural Literatures of the United States
See English. Available only when offered as a course in African American literature. Nonmajor graduate credit.