African and African Diaspora Studies

  • AADS

    What are African and African Diaspora Studies?

    The Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in African and African Diaspora Studies offers students an interdisciplinary educational experience that fosters an understanding of the transnational experiences of African and African-descended peoples in  the US, Caribbean, South Americana, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. Students will gain an appreciation for the diverse character of humanity, explore the complex historical and cultural relations between Africans on the continent and African-descended peoples in the Diaspora, and engage in a comparative study of issues affecting Africans in the continent and the Diasporas.

    Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences

    Learn more about African and African Diaspora Studies

    Admission Requirements

    None.

    Any student admitted to KSU as a degree-seeking undergraduate may declare this major directly in Owl Express.

    Related Minors or Certificates Available

    Sample Classes

    • This course offers an introduction to Black Political Thought. It analyzes traditions and trajectories of Black intellectual discourse during the 20th Century. Emphasis is placed on foundational texts in the field of Black Studies, yet students will engage with a range of works representing the diversity of Black thought in the 20th Century. This course examines the goals, viewpoints, and strategies of various intellectuals, social movements, and other political voices from the African Diaspora.

    • This course examines technology as a factor in historical change, emphasizing the role of tools, machines, and systems in revolutions, culture, politics, and economics in Africa and the African diaspora. Students engage historiographical debates and readings on the relationship between race and technology in the recent and distant past. More broadly, students develop a critical understanding of the role of race inquiry in technological knowledge through biographies, case studies, and primary source documents.

    • This course is a comparative study of literature by Black women writers from the U.S., the Caribbean, Africa, and/or any region in the African diaspora. Readings for the course may include poetry, short fictions, novels, drama, biography, and autobiography. Topics include narrative strategies, modes of representation, and textual depictions of the intersections of race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, class, nationality, and/or generation.

    • This course is required for students pursuing an ISD Certificate. The course introduces students to global theories and practices of diversity and social justice with a focus on 20th century social movements in the US. It addresses the roots of interdisciplinarity through prominent scholars concerned with diversity and social justice. Students learn about social movements that have had a significant impact on our own time, including women’s liberation and anti-globalization.

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