Minor in African Studies

The Minor in African Studies focuses on the history, culture, politics, and economics of the peoples who populate the continent of Africa. As an interdisciplinary field of study, the minor will provide students with an understanding of the historical and cultural contexts that have, and continue, to shape political, economic, and social development in Africa.

The minor enables students to gain expertise in a region that is becoming increasingly more prominent in world politics and economics. The program acknowledges rising student interest in Africa and the diaspora and aims to prepare students for employment in fields such as foreign policy and international development.

Overview of Program Requirements | 15-18 credits

The minor program consists of 15 required credits and 3 optional credits for students who choose to advance their studies by taking an optional capstone course. The sequence of the minor is as follows:

*AASP200: African Civilization

  • Choose 2 courses from each of the following concentrations
    • History, Culture, and Language - 6 credits 
    • Politics, Society, and Development - 6 credits
  • Of the 12 credits, 9 credits must be upper-level (300/400) courses
  • A list of approved Concentration Courses will be made available from the program advisor during the early registration period
  • See sample approved courses further below; see testudo.umd.edu for course availability by term/semester
  • Students may advance their studies by choosing one additional course:
    • AASP400: Directed Readings in African American Studies
    • AASP401: Research Directions in African-American Studies
    • AASP468Y/AASP468Z - South Africa Study Abroad - 6 credits
Sample Concentration Courses for Minor in African Studies
  • AASP398G: Gender, Labor, and Racial Identity in Diasporic Communities
  • AASP398G: Gender, Labor, and Racial Identity in Diasporic Communities
  • AASP398Z: African Contributions
  • CMLT235 Black Diaspora Literature and Culture
  • HIST254: African-American History to 1865
  • AASP398D: Issues in African Development
  • AASP499C: Race and Reproduction
  • AREC365: World Hunger, Population, and Food Supplies
  • ECON315: Economic Development of Underdeveloped Areas
  • GEOG130: Developing Countries

AFST Courses 

History, Culture, and Language courses:

  • AASP310: African Slave Trade
  • AASP398B: Black Immigrants: Challenges and Impacts (x-list w/ IMMR319D)
  • ARTH389M: Special Topics in Art History and Archaeology; Afrofuturism
  • CMLT235: Black Diaspora Literature and Culture (DSHU, DVUP)
  • HIST310: History of South Africa
  • HIST319F: Modern African History through Film, Literature, and Music

Politics, Society, and Development courses:

  • AREC345: Global Poverty and Economic Development
  • AREC365: World Hunger, Population, and Food Supplies
  • PLCY388V: Public Policy Challenges in Africa

History, Culture, and language courses:

  • AASP398B: Black Immigrants: Challenges and Impacts (x-list IMMR319D)
  • ARAB499J: Islam in Africa and the African Diaspora (x-list AASP498U)
  • ARTH376: Living Art of Africa
  • CMLT235: Black Diaspora Literature and Culture
  • ENGL368J: Contemporary Black Literature
  • HIST419W: The African Side of the Black Diasporic Atlantic: People, Politics, and Faiths (x-list AASP468A)
  • HIST428B: Seven Revolutions in Postwar Africa
  • ISRL329Z: Blackness in Israeli Popular Culture and Contemporary Art (x-list AASP398F, SOCY398Z)

Politics, Society, and Development courses: 

  • AASP398P: Introduction to Pan-Africanism
  • AREC345: Global Poverty and Economic Development
  • AREC365: World Hunger, Population, and Food Supplies
  • GEOG422: Changing Geographies of Sub-Saharan Africa

History, Culture, and Language courses:

  • AASP350: Cinema of the Black Atlantic
  • AASP398G: Gender, Labor, and Racial Identity in Diaspora Communities
  • AASP398Z: Black Contributions to History
  • ANTH433: Archaeology of Slavery: Classical, Caribbean and North American Contexts
  • CMLT235: Black Diaspora Literature and Culture
  • ENGL368C: Black Internationalism in Contemporary Literature
  • ENGL368D: African American Folklore and Literature
  • FREN242: Francophone Writers of Africa and the African Diaspora
  • HIST310: History of South Africa
  • HIST319M: Slavery in Latin America
  • HIST339C: War, Genocide, and Resilience in Africa's Great Lakes Region
  • HIST412: History of Women and Gender in Africa
  • HIST417: Colonial Encounters: Natives, Spaniards, and Africans in the New World
  • ISRL249F: Selected Topics in Israel Studies; Africa and Israel
  • PHIL344: Philosophy of Race

Politics, Society, and Development courses:

  • AREC365: World Hunger, Population, and Food Supplies
  • GVPT484: Government and Politics of Africa (Must be in GVPT program)
  • PLCY388V: Public Policy Challenges in Africa
No course with a grade less than “C-” may be used to satisfy requirements for the minor program, and an overall GPA of 2.0 is required for graduation. 
*Course fulfills GenEd requirement, see testudo.umd.edu for details
For more information about the Minor in African Studies or to declare the program contact the academic advisor, lahsram9 [at] umd.edu
Schedule a virtual “general advising” appointment here.