Africana Studies/English Joint Major


The joint major in Africana Studies and English offers students opportunities for intensive study of the interactions among the literatures of Africa and the African diaspora (Black literature written in the United States, Africa, Canada, Great Britain, and the Caribbean). It is designed to encourage a comparative study of different literary traditions and practices, and to stimulate dialogue, among students and faculty alike, across several areas of study (e.g. Film Studies, Cultural Studies, and Children's Literature). It should be especially useful for students preparing for careers in elementary and secondary education who would be intere sted in developing and teaching a curriculum that includes the literature of the African diaspora in conventional English and American Studies courses. It fulfills most of the School of Education's undergraduate requirements for its certification program in the teaching of English, in the normal process of doing the joint major.

All African Studies/English joint majors must fulfill a 45-credit requirement: four Core courses, four Africana literature courses, three English literature courses, and four Electives. No more than two upper division courses can count toward a major before enrolling for the introductory courses. Three of the courses in each of the four required areas must be completed before enrolling in the senior seminar. Most importantly, students are advised to take the introductory courses as early as possible.
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Core Courses (12 credits):

AFRCNA 0031 Introduction to Africana Studies
ENGLIT 0500 Introduction to Critical Reading (W-course)
ENGLIT 1900 Junior Seminar (W-course)
either
  
AFRCNA 1068 Africana Senior Research Seminar (W-course)
or
  
ENGLIT 1909/10 Senior Seminar (W-course)
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Required Africana Courses (12 credits): four of the following seven courses:

AFRCNA 0016 Introduction to African American Theatre (W-course)
AFRCNA 0022 Introduction to African Literature (1st level Literature)
AFRCNA 0050 Introduction to African American Literature
AFRCNA 1004 Africana World Literature (Foreign Culture/Sub-Sahara Africa)
AFRCNA 1020 African American Literary Criticism
AFRCNA 1044 The African Novel
AFRCNA 1049 Contemporary Caribbean Literature (Foreign Culture/Sub-Sahara Africa)
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Required English Courses (9 credits): three of the following seven courses:

ENGLIT 1125 Renaissance in England
ENGLIT 1150 Enlightenment to Revolution
ENGLIT 1175 Nineteenth Century British Literature
ENGLIT 1200 American Literature to 1860
ENGLIT 1220 Emergence of Modern America
ENGLIT 1325 Modernist Tradition
ENGLIT 1380 World Literature in English (cross-listed AFRCNA 1006 W-course)
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Electives (12 credits):

Students can elect any four courses from the regular English or Africana Studies literature course offerings.

One of the elective courses from Africana Studies ought to be from its history offerings. The history course is meant both to prepare students for and to accompany their reading of literary texts by providing social, cultural, and political contexts.

Students might also use electives to pursue more extensive work in particular areas of literary study in African, African American, American, British, or Caribbean literature, drawing on regularly scheduled courses from both departments.

Students interested in careers in education should pay particular attention to courses required for various School of Education certification programs, such as "Introduction to the Study of the English Language," "Children and Culture," "Adolescent Literature," and "Advanced Composition."

In light of the interdisciplinary and international character of this joint major, it would also be appropriate for students to petition to have a closely related course taught in a foreign language (for example, a course on francophone Caribbean literature in the French and Italian Department) count as one of the electives toward the joint major.
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Specially Designated Sections

Each semester the English Department will designate one or two sections of these [required] courses as fulfilling the English requirement of the Africana Studies/English major. These sections will retain their usual concentrations on specific literary periods, but they will also explicitly address issues and texts of special relevance to the joint major.

For Fall 2001, the designated course are:

ENGLIT 1200 American Literature to 1860 Jean Carr
ENGLIT 1900 Junior Seminar Nancy Glazener

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Faculty Members:

Susan Andrade
Brenda F. Berrian
Jean Carr
Toi Derricotte
Nancy Glazener
Vernell A. Lillie
Shalini Puri
Stefan Wheelock


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