Department of Afro-American Studies

Click here for syllabi and course descriptions from past semesters.

Courses offered: Fall 2007

151 Introduction to Contemporary Afro-American Society
This is an introductory course about the state of Black America since the 1990s that takes a sociological approach. Specific attention is given to how major institutions in American life, such as education, law and economics, affect the nature of life within this and other communities of color. Discussion will include affirmative action, classism, white privilege, racial profiling and sexual discrimination. Students are evaluated on 2-3 take home essay exams, a final paper and a journal. There is also a service-learning component in which students work with a local agency which serves less privileged members of the Madison community. That experience is incorporated into the journal and a final paper.

156 Black Music and American Cultural History
This class traces the relationship between black music and American cultural history from the 1950s to the present, with occasional references to earlier blues, jazz and gospel musicians. We will look at how music both reflects and shapes historical events. Among the issues to be considered are the place of gospel and soul music in the Freedom Movement; the musical energies of the Black Power Movement; the relationship between rock and various forms of black music; the resegregation of American music in the seventies; the origins of rap music; the development of house music out of disco; and the various forms of hip-hop that have developed during the last twenty years. Among the musicians who will receive major emphasis are Mahalia Jackson, Sam Cooke, Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Donna Summer, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, George Clinton, John Coltrane, Public Enemy, Goodie Mob, Angie Stone, R. Kelly and Kirk Franklin. Requirements include participation in discussion sections, midterm, final exam and several inclass writing assignments.

Texts:
Craig Werner, A Change Is Gonna Come: Music, Race and the Soul of America
David Irsay, Lloyd Newman and LeAlan Jones, Our America
Bakari Kitwana, The Hip Hop Generation.

199 Directed Study

225 Introduction to African American Dramatic Literature
This is a Freshman Interest Group (FIG) core course and is open only to FIG students. Beginning with Lorraine Hansberry’s landmark play, A Raisin in the Sun, we will read the work of African American playwrights who have strongly influenced the way issues of race, gender, and colonialism are dramatized in American Theater. We will also examine the impact of modernism and the avant-garde on African American playwrights of the latter half of the twentieth century. Our approach will be primarily thematic, although we will also take into account the formal structure of works by Amiri Baraka, Adrienne Kennedy, and Suzan-Lori Parks, among others.

This course meets once a week. Students are therefore required to attend all sessions and participate in classroom exercises and activities. Miss more than one class and your final grade may be lowered by a full grade.

Books for this course are available at the University Bookstore. Copies of Blues for Mr. Charlie also can be found at local used bookstores. (Please purchase your books before the sixth week of class, after which they
are returned to the publisher).
Baldwin, James. Blues for Mr. Charlie.
Bean, Annemarie. A Sourcebook of African-American Performance.
Hatch, James V. and Ted Shine, eds. Black Theatre U. S. A., Vol. 2.
Parks, Suzan-Lori. Topdog/Underdog.
Shange, Ntozake. For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide.
Wilson, August. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom; Fences

227 Masterpieces of Afro-American Literature
This course provides an introduction to classic works of African American autobiography, fiction, poetry and drama. Students will study both the literary qualities and the historical significance of the works. The first part of the course will focus on 19th century texts by authors such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs and Booker T. Washington. We will then study the authors of the Harlem Renaissance and the World War II era (Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Richard Wright). The final part of the class will focus on the late 20th century, including the Black Arts Movement and the emergence of African American women writers.

231 Introduction to Afro-American History
Afro-American Studies 231 is a basic "foundations" survey of black history from the middle ages of West Africa to the last decades of the 20th century. The course presupposes no previous exposure to the study of the black past. In fact, it is assumed that the prior, limited knowledge which many Americans have
of these important historical events can lead to oversimplified, incorrect estimations both of the nature of black history and of the character of the African-American people. Course 231 seeks to present this history in an orderly, largely chronological fashion and in the context of the larger national history. Although
broad-based, course 231 is not meant to be exhaustive -- or to take the place of other equally specialized Afro-American Studies courses in Sociology (151), Literature (155, 225), Art (242), and Music (156). Since we cover a fairly extensive series of events in less than four months, the course is, of necessity, lecture oriented. Videos, handouts and TA-led discussion sections will supplement the
lecture focus.

241 Introduction to African Art and Architecture
This course examines the rich heritage of African art and architecture as expressions of the history and cultural values (social, political, religious, philosophical, and aesthetic) of African peoples. Subjects covered on a weekly basis include looking at African art; outline history of African art (rock art, Nok, Sao, Jenne, Igbo-Ukwu, Ife, and Benin); artists and aesthetics; art and society; textile, decorative, and personal arts; architecture; case study -- arts of the Yoruba; and contemporary African art.

A course reader is the required text. Other recommended texts include:
F. Willett, African Art An Introduction (New York Norton)
H. Drewal, African Art A Brief Guide to the Collection (Cleveland The Cleveland Museum of Art)
Perani & Smith, The Visual Arts of Africa Gender, Power and Life Cycle Rituals
Visona et al., A History of Art in Africa

These texts are available at the University Bookstore. All other readings are in H.C. White Library Reserves listed under each author’s name. Reading assignments supplement class lectures and should be read before topics are presented and discussed in class. Films and/or videos on aspects of African art may be shown during the semester.

Requirements include one 3-page typed style analysis of a work of African art from an actual viewing of the object rather than from a reproduction of it; a field trip to either the Milwaukee Public Museum or The Art Institute of Chicago to view African art collections; and two exams -- a midterm and final. Students will be evaluated on the basis of their preparation, class and discussion section participation, paper, and exams. Exams will test both the material presented and discussed in class and discussion sections and the readings (texts and reserve packet). Extra credit projects (3 points maximum added to final average) are encouraged. These can be short papers (2-3 typed pages) or (5-10 minute) presentations such as slide lectures; demonstrations; masked, dance, and/or musical performances, etc. on any topic related to African art, to be determined after consultation with the instructor. They may be either group or individual projects that will be presented during the final class session(s).
Cross-listed with Art History.

277 Africa: An Introductory Survey
African society and culture, polity and economy in multidisciplinary perspectives from prehistory and ancient kingdoms through the colonial period to contemporary developments, including modern nationalism, economic development and changing social structure.
Cross-listed with African Studies, Anthropology, Geography, History, Political Science, and Sociology.

297 African and African-American Linkages: A Survey
Analysis of retention of African elements in African-American oral, written, and material culture. Social, cultural, and political issues regarding race, self-definition, and self-determination in both Africa and North America will be examined.
Cross-listed with African Languages and Literature.

308 Black Music (1920 to present): Rhythm Section and Combos
Introduction to history of jazz; traces black American music from African origins.

326 Race and Gender in Post-World War II US Society
This course will assess the ways in which race and gender (as well as other social variables) shaped the experiences and opportunities for African Americans, especially Black women, from World War II to the present. Topics/themes will include Black migration; labor force participation; anticommunism and the Cold War; emergence of civil rights protests; Black Power; the war on poverty; welfare rights; Black feminism; institutionalized racism; affirmative action; Black conservatism, etc.
Cross-listed with Women’s Studies.

467 Slavery in the American South
Afro-American Studies 467 is designed to provide students with an opportunity to focus their attention upon black American slavery as a sociocultural and economic institution of great historical importance. In addition to studying the origins of slavery and racism, the mechanisms and ideology of enslavement, the black response to slave status, the unique burdens of female slaves, and the institutional structure of plantation slavery, we will examine several major controversies involving historical interpretation and plantation reality which should concern all serious students of black history. These controversies, which include the current debate over reparations, serve to make the course materials highly relevant to the modern-day observer of the antebellum world. Readings are from antebellum plantation sources, from the oral accounts of ex-slaves, and from the works of contemporary writers such as Ira Berlin, David Roediger, Sterling Stuckey, and Brenda Stevenson. Moving beyond discussing the issues raised and events described in the readings, class members will conduct and discuss their own research into various personally-selected aspects of black bondage chosen from a list of some thirty topics. We also will examine popular cultural representations of slavery and screen several Hollywood films set in the Old South. By the end of the semester, it is hoped that all will have learned a good deal about the southern slave system, about modern interpretations of that system, and about how to go about formulating one's own interpretation of the African-American slave experience. A major exam and the research project constitute the graded component of the course. Graduate and Honors students must complete an additional paper assignment to receive credit.

521 African American Families
Historical background of the black family; variations in contemporary family patterns; courtship and marriage; reproduction and socialization; stresses on the family; a critical examination of “culture of poverty” theories; sources of stability and change in the family.
Cross-listed with Human Development and Family Studies and Social Work.

671 Topics in Afro-American History
Gender and the Civil Rights Movement

672 Selected Topics: Afro-American Literature
Jazz and Afro-American Embassy: Baldwin, Ellison, Jordon

677 Critical and Theoretical Perspectives in Black Women’s Writings
This advanced-level course examines the fiction of African American writers from the second half of the twentieth century to the present. We will examine the novels from a black feminist framework. That is, students will be required to develop methods of interpretation that take into account recent feminist critical and theoretical perspectives. Thematically, we will discuss how these novelists deal with issues such as work, leisure, and family choices. In addition to the required books listed below, you will have a reader with a collection of critical essays. The books are at the University Bookstore. There will be three guest writers during the semester, beginning with Pamela Samuels-Young. I encourage you to invite your friends and interested classmates to the readings.

Course Requirements:
This course meets once a week. I expect you to attend all sessions. Miss more than one class for any reason, and I will lower your final grade. If you feel you can't endure a two and a half hour class, then I suggest that you don't take this course. The course is designed for upper-level undergraduates and graduate students specializing in literature. I will not admit anyone into the class who doesn't have the prerequisites or who misses our first session. You will have two or three short written assignments, a take-home mid-term and a final research paper (undergraduates, 10 pages; graduates, 15 pages).

Required readings:
Bolton, Gwenyth. Sweet Sensations.
Jones, Gayl. The Healing
Lee, Andrea. Sarah Phillips.
Marshall, Paule. Praisesong for the Widow.
Morrison, Toni. Jazz.
Samuels-Young, Pamela. Every Reasonable Doubt.
Sharpley, T. Denan. Pimps Up, Ho's Down.
Petry, Ann. The Street.

Cross-listed with Women’s Studies.

678 Modern/Contemporary Art of Nigeria and the African Diaspora
This course is a seminar on the modern and contemporary art of Nigeria and the African Diaspora. It examines the history of modern and contemporary art in Nigeria and their dispersal in Europe and the Americas through migration, exile, and related population shifts. It proposes to answer the questions, when and what was modern art in Nigeria at the beginning of the 20th century, then subsequently examine contemporary trans-cultural manifestations of paintings, sculpture, and other media throughout the African Diaspora. By necessity, it will examine art in the processes of globalization, colonialism, primitivism, postmodernism, postcolonialism, and feminism. Though artists of Nigeria (Aina Onabolu) and Nigerian heritage (Chris Ofili – British artist of Nigerian parents) are the major focus, attention will be given to Euro-primitivist modernism, and prominent artists of other African countries.

679 Visual Culture, Gender, and Race Theory
The purpose of this course/seminar is to introduce students to postcolonial, postmodern developments and exchanges in contemporary art of Nigeria/African diaspora relative to transnational exchanges. The course is intended for graduate students and seniors. By focusing on art and artists in/from/connected to Nigeria and transnational artistic production, exhibition, dialogues, it will be possible to study in-depth art history and theory relative to contemporary developments. Nigerian art has received more attention in America than any other African country. It is not a coincidence that Nigerian art (indigenous or modern) is the most prominent of art of the continent, given its longevity (dating back to 900BC/500BC-Nok) and its contemporary globalization. Exemplars of contemporary art of the African diaspora are the paintings, postcolonial costumes, performances, and photographs of internationally-acclaimed artist, Yinka Shonabare, or that of British/Nigerian artist, Chris Ofili whose mixedmedia painting (Virgin - Mary) recently aroused emotionally-charged controversy in New York with its sexualized/ blackenized hip-hop, postmodernist style. Such artistic production takes the student into a contemporary area of African art, and expands to examine diaspora exchanges. New York artist David Hammonds' snow-ball selling, conceptual performance influenced Chris Ofili's elephant-dung selling, conceptual performance. But what is the purpose of such art or anti-art? How does such art defy nationalist agenda or expectations of ethnic folklore or identity-politics? How did Nigerian art influence the manifesto and art of Afro-Cobra in the late 1960s as the latter sought independence from European aesthetics, choosing Yoruba aesthetics, to produce an "art for the people"? How does Nigerian culture manifest in the vision of contemporary artists who assimilate Nigerian africanism in American culture? For example, Julie Dash's Daughter of the Dust interweaves motifs of a dire dying process, an ancestral "mask"/water motif that references Ijo water spirits and masquerades, etc. What purpose do such Nigerian references serve in the narrativation of Dash's film? How is such imagery in the film of this American/African-American artist related to similar imagery in the sculpture of Nigerian/British artist, Sokari Douglas Camp? These are some of the questions that we will examine in this course. The expectation is that students will critically read assigned materials, come to the seminar prepared to discuss, lead discussions, develop a major research paper/ project (ex. video) relative to the theme of the seminar, and present it at the end of the semester. The student project will be carefully monitored throughout its development, beginning with the research/project proposal.
Cross-listed with Art.

681 Senior Honors Thesis

682 Senior Honors Thesis

692 Senior Thesis

699 Directed Studies: Afro-American Studies

790 Research and Thesis

Department of Afro-American Studies
University of Wisconsin, Madison
4141 Helen C. White Hall, 600 N. Park St.
Madison, WI 53703
Phone: (608) 262-1642 Fax: (608) 263-7198