Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular semester. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

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  • CAS AA 310: Civil Rights History
    This course examines the U.S. Civil Rights and the struggle for black freedom movements. From the late nineteenth century through the twenty-first century, we consider events, organizations, "leaders" and organizers, legal campaigns, and political protests to answer the questions: What were the race, class, and gender dynamics within the movements? What were the changing definitions of freedom? The course treats the movement's roots, goals, ideologies, and cultures, and includes a comparison of the struggles for equal rights of Mexican Americans, Native Americans, LGBT folks, and other groups. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Historical Consciousness, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • The Individual in Community
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS AA 311: African American Religious History
    This course offers a historical survey of religions practiced by people of African descent living in North America. Students explore the diverse terrain of African American religiosity, which includes Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Spiritualism, and African-derived religions.
  • CAS AA 313: The Politics and Policy of HBO's The Wire
    HBO's television series The Wire is used to explore politics and policy. A number of interdisciplinary topics are covered, including the war on drugs, urban elections, bureaucracy, rational choice theory, and the decline of American cities. Also offered as CAS PO 313. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, Ethical Reasoning, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Social Inquiry II
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS AA 316: African Diaspora Arts in the Americas
    Study of the transmission of African artistry in the Caribbean, South America, and the United States from the period of slavery to the present. Topics include Kongo and Yoruba arts and their influence on the arts of Santeria, Vodun, and carnival. Also offered as CAS AH 316.
  • CAS AA 319: Race and the Politics of Criminal Justice Policy
    How many people are affected by the criminal justice system? What is the relationship between crime and race? What criminal justice policies, if any, should change? In this course, students will grapple with these questions. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking.
    • Social Inquiry I
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Critical Thinking
  • CAS AA 335: Sociology of Race, Class & Gender
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: At least one prior 100- or 200-level sociology course, or CAS WS 101/102.
    No one of us is one thing, one identity, nor motivated by one singular interest, nor privileged or subjugated by one singular form of power, but how do those multiple forms of ourselves affect how we are advantaged, disadvantaged, viewed, and understood by the social world? Our social world, is, by default, a vast web of social intersections between and across groups with shared, overlapping, and conflicting identities. Race, class and gender affect nearly all of our lived experiences and greatly complicate and nuance concepts of diversity and difference. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression , The Individual in Community, Historical Consciousness.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • The Individual in Community
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
  • CAS AA 350: Resistance, Revolution, and Slavery in African American Literature
    Focuses on African American literature before the Thirteenth Amendment, paying particular attention to the practices, institutions, and ideologies of abolitionism and slavery as domestic and global systems. We read novels, autobiographies, poems, speeches, and essays that resisted slavery in various registers--political, religious, philosophical, and artistic.
  • CAS AA 356: Religion in the Digital Age
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First-Year Writing Seminar (CAS WR 120 or equivalent)
    How has technology impacted religion? This hands-on course explores how digital technologies like the Internet, social media, gaming, and artificial intelligence have changed the way that people think about religion. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Writing-Intensive Course, Creativity/Innovation.
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
    • Creativity/Innovation
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS AA 363: Race and the Development of the American Economy: A Global Perspective
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS EC 101; or consent of instructor.
    Surveys the economic history of African Americans within the context of the development of the American and global economies. Topics include the economics of slavery; race and industrialization; the Great Migration; anti- discrimination legislation; and the historical origins of contemporary racial inequalities. Also offered as CAS EC 363. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry II.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Social Inquiry II
  • CAS AA 371: African American History
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: sophomore standing.
    Surveys the history of African Americans from their African origins to the present, investigating their critical role in shaping the meaning of race, rights, freedom, and democracy during slavery, reconstruction, Jim Crow, the civil rights/Black Power era, and Black Lives Matter movement. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Historical Consciousness, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS AA 380: European Dimensions of the Black Diaspora
    Explores writings about the Black experience in Europe since the 1800s through examinations of historical and literary works, artistic and folkloric depictions, as well as politics and sports in England, France, Germany, Russia, and the Netherlands. Also offered as CAS HI 360.
  • CAS AA 382: History of Religion in Pre-Colonial Africa
    The study of the development of religious traditions in Africa during the period prior to European colonialism. An emphasis on both indigenous religions and the growth and spread of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in the continent as a whole. Also offered as CAS HI 349 and CAS RN 382. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Historical Consciousness.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • CAS AA 383: African Diaspora Religions
    This course introduces students to religions of the African Diaspora, with a specific focus on the Caribbean and the Americas. Religious traditions such as Africanized Christianity, Cuban Santer?a, Haitian Vodou, Brazilian Candombl? and African American Spiritualism will be explored. Effective Fall 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Historical Consciousness, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • The Individual in Community
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS AA 385: Atlantic History
    Examines the various interactions that shaped the Atlantic World, connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas between 1400 and 1820. Begins by defining the political interaction, then emphasizes cultural exchange, religious conversion, and the revolutionary era.
  • CAS AA 388: Transnational Black Radicalism from the 19th Century to the Present
    Explores black cultural and political movements and examines how they interacted in ways that establish ideas crucial to our contemporary moment through readings in literature and history, film and popular culture productions. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Critical Thinking
  • CAS AA 390: Special Topics in Cinema and Media Studies
    May be repeated for credit as topics change. Topic for Spring 2022: Black Religion in Film. An exploration of Black religious representation in American film from classical Hollywood cinema to contemporary religious film. Includes focus on Christianity, Islam, and Spiritualism in the work of Oscar Micheaux, Spencer Williams, Kasi Lemmons, Tyler Perry, and more.
  • CAS AA 395: Power, Leadership, and Governance in Africa and the Caribbean
    Haitian Revolution; British Caribbean, leadership, governance, and power in Africa during the period of legitimate trade; visionaries, dictators, and nationalist politics in the Caribbean; chiefs, western elites, and nationalism in colonial Africa; road to governance in post-colonial Caribbean and Africa. Also offered as CAS HI 352 and IR 394.
  • CAS AA 400: Topics in African American Studies
    Topics and pre-requisites vary. May be repeated for credit as topics vary. One topic arise offered Fall 2023. Section A1: Archaeology of the African Diaspora. Introduction to the archaeology of the African diaspora, the global displacement of African people and their descendants. Reviews findings, methodology, and theory around key burial contexts. Emphasis on shifting dialogues, such as human remains stewardship, community engagement, and reburial.
  • CAS AA 404: Seminar on Sociology of Families
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior or senior standing and at least two previous Sociology courses; or consent of instructor. First-Year Writing Seminar (WR 120 or equivalent)
    Explores the rise of "modern" families and the plurality of contemporary family forms and processes in global contexts. Particular attention to intersections of race, class, and gender inequalities and their implications for family life. Effective Fall 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS AA 408: Seminar: Ethnic, Race, and Minority Relations
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS AA 207 or CAS SO 207; or consent of instructor.
    Formation and position of ethnic minorities in the United States, including cross-group comparisons from England, Africa, and other parts of the world. Readings and field experience.