Course Descriptions

*Unless otherwise noted, all courses are 3 credits

AACS 100 Introduction to African, African-American and Caribbean Studies

Introduces students to the global nature of African, African-American and Caribbean Studies as an academic discipline. Deals with the history and theory of the field, its institutionalization and its various dimensions and intellectual traditions. Attention is given both to its relationship with the academy and its relevance and involvement with world communities of color. Exposes students to major texts, scholars and thinkers representing issues in the field and prepares AACS majors for an informed choice of academic program and career options.

AACS 101 African, African-American and African-Caribbean Dance (same as PEEL 212)

Preparation of the body through conditioning exercises and dance sequences to perform ethnic dance forms from Africa, the Caribbean and the United States. Students may choose a field trip to a professional performance or examine dance forms more closely by composing a dance sequence, using ethnic materials from class.

AACS 115 Gospel Choir

Discusses gospel music in America from its origins to the present, and its relevance and role in the community. Focus is on gospel concepts, melodic development, memorization, improvisation and analysis. A companion (practice side) of this course is The Gospel Ensemble.

AACS 116 African Music I

Introduces students to African music by systematically focusing on its diverse geographical areas, its various forms, styles and musical instruments. The African musical experience will be explored within the context of the ecological and environmental paradigm as major factors that impact on traditional musical instrument utilization, particularly in the four major musicological groupings i.e. (1) idiophones, (2) membranophones, (3) chordophones and (4) aerophones. Within a sociocultural and historical context, the customs, traditions, role and function of music will be examined in various geographical areas and in African society in general.

AACS 117 African Music II

Introduces students to the music of Morocco otherwise known as Moorish music. Sociocultural, historical and musicological approaches will be incorporated to explore the music, its origins, evolution and development in North Africa, the various processes and outgrowth of crosscultural synthesis and transmutation of core North African musical traditions in Al-Andalus (Spain 711-1492 A.D.) The course provides a systematic study of the Andalusian Metric System in Spain, musicians, musical instruments, form, structure, style, cultural and technical aspects of the correlations between music and core literary North African traditions and their contributions to world culture.

AACS 150 Racism and Sexism in the United States

A study of the historical, philosophical, social and political treatments and interpretation of blacks and women in the United States. Selected topics include media stereotypes of blacks and women, definitions and rationalizations of racism and sexism, the role that blacks and women have played in U.S. history, the relationship between the nineteenth-century abolitionist movement and the early feminist movement, the relationship between the 1960s civil rights movement and the women's liberation movement.

AACS 151 Introduction to African World Literature

This course introduces students to a culture-sensitive reading and appreciation of literature. Using the global literatures of African peoples as primary core traditions, the course provides critical, technical and historical approaches to a crosscultural exploration of literature and the intertextual relationships between African-world texts and literary works from non-African traditions. Selected texts cover various genres, time periods, racial-ethnic categories and geographical areas of the world.

AACS 155 Perspectives on Justice and Racism: The African-American Experience

Analysis of racism in the formulation and implementation of the law, in the courts, in penal institutions and in the police department. Attention is also given to the historical and sociocultural problems associated with the attainment of social justice for African-Americans.

AACS 206 Elementary Swahili

Presents the fundamentals of Kiswahili. Simple grammatical construction and forms, building of broad and commonly used vocabulary and idiomatic expression, developing reading, writing and conversational skills with emphasis on the grammatical principles and their application to the language.

AACS 207 Racism and the Mass Media

Examines the history and roles of blacks and other racial-ethnic groups in the American media, focusing, in particular, on the role of racism and ethnocentrism in their experiences, as well as on how they are portrayed.

AACS 211 Blues to Rap and Hip Hop: Exploring African- American Cultural Art Forms

Explores the African-American oral-cultural tradition from the Blues:(Delta, Texas, Memphis, Piedmont); Urban Blues:(Classic, Kansas City, Rhythm and Blues), Funk, Soul, Disco, New Jack Swing to Rap and Hip-Hop. Focus will be on its evolution and development as a cultural art form. Within this context, its relevance and impact will be examined relative to the African-American experience and how this music has helped to shape and define African-American culture in particular and American culture in general.

AACS 212 African-American Music

The music of Africa and that of African-Americans has become interwoven with that of the Americas. This course provides students with a better knowledge and understanding of the evolution and development of African-American music and its various forms and styles from African Roots to Spirituals, Work Songs, Blues, Gospel, Jazz, Rhythm and Blues (Funk, Soul etc.), Latin (Afro-Cuban, Samba, Meringue etc.), Reggae, Fusion, Rap/Hip-Hop, within a socio-cultural and historical context.

AACS 213 African, African-American and Caribbean Theatre

An exploration of the African, African-American and Caribbean experience through the medium of theatre.

AACS 214 African-American Family Life

An introduction to the sociocultural and historical traditions that have survived and aided in the survival of the African-American family, as well as those various forces that have continuously eroded its social fabric and stability. It offers theoretical exposition of the nature and features of the black family with comparative concepts and practices of love, marriage, divorce, illegitimacy, homosexuality and other aspects of the black family.

AACS 215 African History I

Survey of social and political changes in precolonial Africa. Focuses on ancient civilizations, precolonial states, internal markets and the Atlantic trade.

AACS 216 African History II

This course is designed to provide a survey of the major social and political changes in Africa during and after the colonial period.

AACS 233 Introduction to the Art of Africa

An introductory course designed to explore and examine the origin, evolvement and meaning of African art. In addition to highlighting the forms, styles and expressions of African art, the course examines the role of art in African life.

AACS 241 African-American History to 1865

After a survey of the African heritage, including slavery, a study is made of the history of people of African descent in their New World environment. The role of African-Americans in the development of the United States to the Civil War is examined.

AACS 242 African-American History Since 1865

Beginning with an examination of the period of Reconstruction, the course explores the various survival tactics of African-Americans and the effects of governmental and societal action or inaction on their lives up to the present.

AACS 244 African-American Politics

An examination and analysis of the political power structure and relationships in the black community. Emphasis is on those factors that make black communities relatively powerless and how this state of powerlessness can be ameliorated. Particular attention is paid to black political interaction in New Jersey (Same course as POL 228).

AACS 255 The Black Woman Experience

Examines what it is to be a black woman in contemporary society. The achievements of black women, their relationship to the feminist movement and their response to the triple oppression that can come from race, class and gender are highlighted.

AACS 261 African, African-American and Caribbean Religions

Course describes and analyzes the character of the African, African-American and Caribbean religious life, both institu-tionalized and informal. Focus is on the origins, connectedness and divergences of various religious traditions and practices in Africa and in the diaspora (e.g., Santeria, Candomble, Vodun). Attention is also given to the role of religion in the survival and struggles of peoples of African origin.

AACS 262 Caribbean Women: Their Culture and Society in the Caribbean

An anthropological exploration of women in Caribbean society, using mainly ethnographic source materials. The source focuses on the similarities and differences in the social, economic and political experiences of various Caribbean women, from slavery through the 20th c. Particular attention is given to the experiences of Haitian, Cuban, Jamaican, Dominican and Puerto Rican women.

AACS 280 Minority Enterprises

Analysis and evaluation of the structure, patterns and problems of minority-owned or operated enterprises. Emphasis is on ways and means by which these businesses can be improved both quantitatively and qualitatively.

AACS 298 Student Community Service

Students have the opportunity to complement and coordinate their academic work with community service, encompassing internships, training or short-term assignments in student teaching, social work, teaching, and recreational and cultural enrichment programs. The course involves working with selected agencies and organized urban groups.

AACS 303 African Family Life

Traces and examines the origin and development of the African family system, marriage, sex and child rearing. Focus is also on the primacy of the family in African traditional life. AACS 304 African-Caribbean History Examines the history of the Caribbean, starting with slavery, colonization and the evolution of distinctly African Caribbean society, culture and personality.

AACS 305 African-American Community Development

Analyzes the nature of African-American communities, their origins, institutional structures and cultural characteristics and evaluates their role in community development or underdevelopment. Emphasis is on how local communities can increase their capacity to plan and effect social, political and economic change to improve the quality of life for African-American peoples. Focus is on communities both in New Jersey (Paterson, Newark) and elsewhere.

AACS 307 Intermediate Swahili

Emphasizes primarily conversation and basic grammar. The class meets formally twice a week. In addition, students work with tapes in the language lab. The approach is concentrated on phonology, morphology and vocabulary.

AACS 310 Recent Interpretations in African-American Studies

Presentation and analysis of differing points of view on current topics in African-American Studies and scholarship.

AACS 311 Studies in African-World Literature

A variable content course designed to provide detailed historical and theoretical studies of African-world literary traditions from the Old Kingdom to the present. Using the methods of comparative literature, the course focuses on one or more selected topics such as postcolonial literature, aesthetic ideology, influence, gender, genre formation, literary periods, literary movements, literature and the other arts and oral traditions.

AACS 312 Major Author(s) of African Descent

In-depth study of one or more outstanding black authors from Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas or masterpieces by such authors. Emphasis is on the distinguishing aesthetic and ideological qualities of the texts and their defining contributions to the traditions in which they belong. Authors include Nobel Prize winners such as Toni Morrison, Wole Soyinka, Derek Walcott and other promiment writers like Wilson Harris, Chinua Achebe, L. S. Senghor, Simon Schwartz-Bart and Ralph Ellison.

AACS 315 African-American Backgrounds for Teachers

A general course for prospective teachers. Introduces various current and historical precepts for analysis, which enable the student to identify the roots of the black American experience. Students visit areas of cultural interest to African-Americans in the metropolitan New York/New Jersey area.

AACS 321 Haiti: Its History, Peoples and Culture

Analysis of Haitian society and culture, both before and after the Revolution, to ascertain the nature and level of social transformation during the period of sovereignty and an examination of the impact of United States intervention on Haitian independence and development. In addition, the particular features of Haitian culture and its connectedness with its African cultural past are analyzed in light of the folk-elite and color-class contradiction that continue to characterize Haitian society and politics.

AACS 322 Caribbean Literary Experience I

A selected survey of major twentieth-century writers from the English-speaking Caribbean, such as V.S. Naipul, George Lamming, Derek Walcott, Edgar Mittelholzer, Samuel Selvon, Jamaica Kincaid and others. The works of these authors are explored for the light they throw on Caribbean society and culture, as well as for the unique features, if any, of Caribbean literature: essays, drama, poetry and fiction.

AACS 323 Caribbean Literary Experience II

The course is concerned with literature from the non-English speaking Caribbean. Works of major authors are analyzed for major themes and elucidation of the Caribbean experience.

AACS 324 African Communities and Cultures in the New World

Survey of the African diaspora in the New World, including an examination of the survival, retention and development of vital and enduring cultural forms and social organization, created by peoples of African origin. A diachronic approach to understanding the African and New World cultural interaction as dynamic and creative response to forced migration and labor exploitation.

AACS 328 The African-American Literary Experience I

The African-American experience as depicted in literature by and about African-Americans. Focuses on biographies, autobiographies and fiction.

AACS 329 The African-American Literary Experience II

Focuses mainly on African-American drama, poetry and essays.

AACS 338 African Politics

Deals with post-independence governmental political parties and ideological inclinations among African states. Emphasis is on the origin and evolution of political institutions and their function within contemporary Africa.

AACS 341 Contemporary Caribbean Societies

Examines the major problems facing the Caribbean today. The focus is on the present factors affecting the development of Caribbean societies and the difficulties confronting national and regional efforts to transform their economies. The basic economic, political and cultural features of the Caribbean are defined and analyzed. Attention is also given to initiatives at regional integration as well as changing United States-Caribbean relations.

AACS 358 Psychology of African-Americans

Examines traditional schools of psychology as they pertain to the psychological experience of African-Americans. Alternative psychological considerations relative to the African-American experience, including those advanced by noted African-American psychologists, are also explored.

AACS 380 Research Methods on the African, African-American and Caribbean Experience

Introduces students to methodological approaches and strategies of research, including field work, on the African, African-American and Caribbean experience.

AACS 385 Gender, Ethnic and Class Conflicts in the New Millenium

Provides a cross-cultural comparative and historical analysis of selected cases of tensions or conflicts surrounding issues of gender, ethnicity and class that are likely to persist in the new millenium. Selected cases of international and/or intranational conflicts are analyzed and compared to ascertain the interconnections of factors of gender, ethnicity and class in these processes. The course also seeks to expose students to possible modalities of conflict mediation, consensus building and change in relations between conflicting parties.

ACS 399 Selected Topics

A topic not covered by an existing course is offered as recommended by the department and approved by the dean. Prerequisite: Permission of the department chairperson 1-6 credits

AACS 400 The Black Experience in the Film Medium

An anthropological and historical exploration of the film industry in America as one of the primary avenues used to create derogatory images of African-Americans. Attention is given to possible correlations between the depiction of African-Americans in film and their changing social, economic and political status.

AACS 401 African-American Social Thought

The development of African-American social thought in the nineteenth century regarding the nature of being and the circumstances and fortunes of peoples of African descent. Includes the ideas of David Walker, Martin Delaney, Frederick Douglas, W.E. Dubois, Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Stokely Carmichael, Bayard Rustin, Amiri Baraka and Molefi Asante.

AACS 402 Pan-Africanism and the Black Experience

An analysis of Pan-Africanism as a social movement, its origins, objectives, strategies, leadership and followers. Concern is with the philosophy of the movement as a bridging or integrating framework for bringing together continental Africans and Africans in the diaspora in a common and collective exercise.

AACS 412 Fundamentals of Social Work

Deals with the basic concepts and practices of social work as they relate to the social problems of urban neighborhoods. Particularly useful for students planning to pursue a career or graduate study in social work.

AACS 420 Economic Structure of the Black Community

Beginning with an introduction to economics, the course focuses on the economic relations between the inner city and the rest of the economy.

AACS 480 Internship in African, African-American and Caribbean Studies

Provides a culture sensitive and intensive practical and capstone experience in work settings, primarily concerned with activities bearing on the lives of racial and ethnic Aminorities. Through supervised work assignments with sponsoring agencies, students observe and participate in the day to day tasks of these organizations, keep organized and detailed journals of their experience for analysis and a final report. Major student outcomes include: application of data collection and analysis techniques; improved ability to think critically; enhanced writing and oral skills; strengthening of interpersonal skills; and sharpened theoretical and practical understanding of human service delivery systems. Pre-requisite: Junior or Senior status and permission of the instructor. (3-6 credits).

AACS 498 Seminar in African, African-American and Caribbean Studies

A comprehensive analysis of a specialized topic in African, African-American and Caribbean Studies. The objective is to provide an opportunity for a capstone experience for Junior and Senior students to focus on a major problem in the discipline, work cooperatively with others, sharpen their analytical and critical thinking and enhance their writing and oral abilities. At least one seminar is offered each academic year. Students may take more than one seminar. Pre-requisite: Junior or Senior status or permission of the instructor.

AACS 499 Independent Study

As approved and to be arranged. 1-6 credits

AACS 506 National Building and Modernization in Africa

The course deals with the various problems affecting the African states in their struggles for independence, the obstacles to nation building and development.

AACS 599 Selected Topics
A topic not covered by an existing course is offered as recommended by the department and approved by the Dean.
Prerequisite: Permission of the Chairperson
1- 6 credits

AACS 606 Peoples and Cultures Africa
A survey of the various peoples and cultures of Africa, their societies, value systems, religions, governments and economies. Attention is also given to the interaction of demographic and ecological factors in these societies.

AACS 618 Third World Social and Political Thought
Examines the origin and subsequent development of those social and political forces that have tended to influence the course of events in Third World countries. Emphasis is how the varying ideological tendencies affect the stability of the social and political processes and on the conduct of government affairs.

AACS 621 History of Black in America
Covers such topics as the origins of the African presence in America, the slave trade, plantation slavery and the legacy of the Civil War. Focus is not simply on the experience of slavery but also on efforts of African-Americans to reconstruct their freedom since emancipation.

AACS 622 Contemporary Black America
A survey of the evolution of black social political thought in America during the period beginning with the civil rights movement of the 1950's and 1960's up to the present time. The main object is to identify the principal motivating factors in the movement of African- Americans toward advancement, to distinguish between the different currents within that movement and to attempt a synthesis of its various currents.

AACS 624 Social Organization of Justice
Focuses on how the criminal justice system is organized, how functions and its impact on poor communities, Attention is given to the role of class, ethnicity and gender in the construction of crime, arrests, and prosecution and sentencing of criminals.

AACS 700 Independent Study
As approved and to be arranged.
1 - 6 credits