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 Student Link for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

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  • CAS AA 100: Topics in African American Studies
    May be repeated for credit as topic varies.
  • CAS AA 103: Introduction to African American Literature
    What is the African American literary tradition? How does it change over time? This course is to introduce you to the cultural, political, and historical contexts of the African American experience through readings of literature. We will read poetry, slave narratives, essays and speeches, tales, short stories, and novels, and as we examine these texts, we will consider how culture, politics, and history shape African American literature. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. In the 18-19 Academic Year, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Critical Thinking
  • CAS AA 200: Topics in African American Studies
    May be repeated for credit as topic varies. Topic for Spring 2020: Warfare in Africa: Antiquity, the Slave Trade, Imperialism, and Insurgency. How Africans have waged war through history, beginning with ancient Egypt and proceeding through the course of the building of states and Empires, to the military culture that underlay the slave trade.
  • CAS AA 207: Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
    This course examines the fundamental theoretical and empirical approaches regarding race/ethnicity and the current state of race relations in the U.S. that explore both contemporary social problems and the deep historical roots of those problems through a sociological lens. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS. Also offered as CAS SO 207. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, The Individual in Community, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • The Individual in Community
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS AA 215: Arts of Africa and Its Diaspora
    Exploration of a diversity of visual and performing arts from Africa, including royal regalia, masquerades, and contemporary painting. Examines how the dispersal of Africans, due to the transatlantic slave trade and immigration, contributed to the cultural richness of the Americas. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Critical Thinking
  • CAS AA 225: Topics in Religion and Music
    May be repeated for credit as topics change. Topic for Fall 2019: Religion and Hip Hop Culture. Considers an often overlooked element in the study of hip hop culture, religion. Specifically, the course offers students the opportunity to examine the variety of ways that religion finds expression in the dynamic cultural medium of hip hop.
  • CAS AA 297: African American Women's History
    Survey of African American women's history from the slave trade to the present, investigating its critical role in shaping the meaning of race, gender, and sexuality during slavery, Jim Crow, and the civil rights era. Also offered as CAS HI 297 and CAS WS 297.
  • CAS AA 300: Topics in African American Studies
    May be repeated for credit as topic varies.
  • CAS AA 303: African Americans and the Humanities
    Examines political, cultural, and historical roots of the African American experience through readings in African American literature. Topic for Fall 2019: African Americans in Popular Culture: Commodifying the Black Image. Explores the history of black people's images in American popular culture. Attention to how blacks have represented themselves and how those representations reflect historical periods as well as specific political and cultural events.
  • CAS AA 304: Introduction to African American Women Writers
    This course studies the cultural contexts and the ongoing relevance of significant works by African American Women Writers. Works by Jacobs, Butler, Harper, Hurston, Brooks, Kincaid, Morrison and Marshall complemented by critical articles lay out this rich tradition. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Critical Thinking
  • CAS AA 305: Toni Morrison's American Times
    Using historical and literary sources to make visible the interactions between the world of the novel and that of American history, the course examines how Morrison's Song of Solomon, Beloved, Jazz, and Love depict crucial times in American history. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Critical Thinking
  • CAS AA 306: Experiencing Cuba: History, Culture, and Politics
    Expeditionary course, team taught by BU and local faculty in Havana, Cuba. Firsthand study of the island's history, culture, and politics, toward understanding of the local, international, and transnational processes that shaped and continue to shape this unique society. Also offered as CAS HI 395 E and CAS IR 246 E.
  • CAS AA 308: Race and Politics
    Combining research from history, political science, sociology, and economics, this course examines the role of race and ethnicity in shaping American politics and policy. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking.
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Social Inquiry II
    • Critical Thinking
  • CAS AA 309: African American History in Global and Comparative Perspective
    In-depth study of selected topics in African American history from the seventeenth century to the present. Topic for Fall 2019: Slavery and the Making of Race. Study of the processes of racialization in the making of the New-World. Asks how do contemporary constructions of race, from social tensions to political movements draw on histories of the past?
  • CAS AA 310: History of the Civil Rights Movement
    Through historical scholarship, oral history, documentary film, and excursions to local historic sites, this course explores how African Americans created a dynamic and multifaceted movement for civil and human rights from the 1950s to the present. Also offered as CAS HI 299.
  • 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
    Examines race, class, gender, and sexuality as intersecting axes of stratification, identity, and experience. Draws heavily from feminist theories in both sociology and history in order to analyze how these intersections can be applied to understanding social problems and structures. Also offered as CAS SO 335 and CAS WS 335.

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