AFDS 108 The Crossroads Seminar

Credit: 0.5

The Crossroads seminar is a course designed specifically with first-year students in mind. Crossroads is taught by an interdisciplinary group of Kenyon faculty members who have interests in teaching, researching, and engaging with others in the discussion of issues and concerns pertaining to African and African diaspora studies. The specific topic to be addressed each year in the Crossroads seminar is developed by the Crossroads faculty at the end of the preceding spring semester. The Crossroads seminar will typically be taught as a colloquium where several Crossroads faculty offer a set of lectures serving as discrete modules of the course. Within this format, the course is intended to be an exploration of the cultures of the African diaspora and their influences on the global culture. Students will also focus on analytical writing, scientific investigation, and public vocal expression. This course will typically be offered every other academic year. The Crossroads seminar will satisfy .50 unit of diversification in AFDS or AMST.

AFDS 110 Introduction to African Diaspora Studies

Credit: 0.5

This discussion-based course introduces students to several of the most important approaches to the study of African diaspora experiences. Students taking this course will find themselves engaged with a variety of disciplines (e.g., anthropology, history, literary study, psychology, sociology, and visual and performing arts). Though some of the texts may change from year to year, the focus of this course will be to undertake a preliminary investigation into the connections and the relationship between Africa and other parts of the world. This course is typically offered each spring semester.

Instructor: Staff

AFDS 388 Black British Cultural Studies

Credit: 0.5

One of the more important intellectual movements of the last decade, black British cultural studies deserves attention because it offers us important intellectual tools that are used to think about race, ethnicity, gender, class, and nationality in a rapidly changing world. This course begins with a brief consideration of cultural studies as a general proposition, then turns to the specifics of black British cultural studies. One of the central threads of the course will be a consideration of how the various terms of analysis that were developed in the study of Great Britain and its former colonies might be usefully applied to the United States. Authors to be considered will include Hazel Carby, Paul Gilroy, Stuart Hall, and others. We will also read the work of thinkers who critically engage black British cultural studies, such as Aijaz Ahmad. English majors may count this course toward departmental major requirements. Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors only. This course is typically offered every two years.

Instructor: Mason

AFDS 410 Between Womanist and Feminist Theories

Credit: 0.5

The objective of this interdisciplinary upper-level seminar is to offer a clear understanding of what feminist theory is, what womanist theory is, and how the two often overlap in history, social commentary, and methodology. As such, the materials used in the course make explicit reference to the many academic and social contexts that have given rise to both feminist theory and womanist theory. During the course of the semester, we will trace several elements of the African American experience, predominantly pertaining to women, in order to understand how disparate voices have been informed by each theoretical paradigm. We will specifically discuss fictional and academic texts, films, audio-clips, and several other examples of womanist and feminist discourses to cement your understanding of these theoretical paradigms. Prerequisites: AFDS 110 and one mid-level course that may be counted toward the AFDS concentration or permission of the instructor.

Instructor: Kohlman

AFDS 490 Senior Seminar

Credit: 0.5

The senior seminar will be offered each year by a member of the AFDS faculty. Students should consult with the director to find out which courses are being taught in any given year that satisfy the AFDS Senior Seminar requirement.

AFDS 493 Individual Study

Credit: 0.5

The individual study option is a flexible concept to be negotiated between students and faculty members along with the director of the African Diaspora Studies Program. Typically, an individual-study course emerges from student initiative and depends on faculty interest and availability. Less frequently, individual study can be offered when students need to take a particular course in order to fulfill the requirements of the concentration and can draw on the expertise of a faculty member. Even in this circumstance, however, the option depends upon faculty availability. While we expect that students will broach the possibility of doing individual study, faculty will have the ultimate authority in determining how any individual study course is to be conducted. We view this option as an exceptional, not routine, opportunity. Given the interdisciplinary nature of the program, and the fact that aspects of the program change from year to year, the director has the right to decline requests for individual study. Individual study courses in African Diaspora Studies will typically run for one semester and carry .5 unit of credit. In those very rare cases where the course has to be halted mid-semester, .25 unit of credit will be awarded.