African and African Diaspora Studies
The African and African Diaspora Studies Program (AADS) considers the history, culture, and politics of Africans on the continent and African-descended peoples in the U.S., the Caribbean, South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Covering vast historical periods and geographies, AADS acquaints students with the multiplicity and diversity of the African Diaspora and the world in which we all live. Using interdisciplinary and comparative approaches, the program draws on a broad range of methodologies in English, history, art history, sociology, philosophy, theology, communication, political science, and music.
Central Themes
To get the most out of an AADS minor, students are encouraged to organize their courses around the central themes of globalization, intersectionality, or social justice.
Globalization
Globalization is as old as the trade in African slaves. Patterns of resource extraction, labor, trade, commerce, and travel have shaped the experiences of African-descended peoples and the peoples they have encountered. Selected courses explore the connections between various geographic regions, cultural traditions, and historical developments that have defined globalization.
Intersectionality
Race is defined by various identity categories and social locations such as gender, class, color, ethnicity, region, nation, age, sexuality, political ideals, and spiritual beliefs. Intersectionality reminds us that race is not a monolithic or homogenous category of human experience.
Social Justice
The history of African and African-descended peoples has been defined by the struggle for social justice: the fight for human equality and the fight against racism, sexism, homophobia, and class exploitation. In resisting enslavement, segregation, patriarchy, imperialism, and colonialism, and by striving to overturn discrimination in education, housing, healthcare, employment, and religious institutions, African and African Diasporic peoples have undertaken drives for social emancipation that have expanded the meaning of democratic ideals.
Major Requirements—31 Credits (or More)
The African and African Diaspora Studies (AADS) major consists of a minimum of 31 credits, equivalent to at least 10 full-semester courses. AADS majors can have a second major as long as the student stays in compliance with the University’s regulation that, in order to earn a major, a student must have at least 27 credits in the major program that are not used to fulfill requirements for another major or minor. In addition to taking AADS1110 Introduction to African Diaspora Studies (3 credits) and AADS6600 Senior Seminar (4 credits), students pursuing an AADS major need to take 8 additional elective courses, and only two of which can be a 1000-level course. Four of those elective courses must be Black Atlantic courses. Black Atlantic courses are those that have a global framework that puts different geographical regions of the world in conversation with one another within the African Diaspora.
There are two tracks in which AADS majors can concentrate: (1) Intellectual Traditions and Cultural Production or (2) Politics and Social Inquiry. Students in the Intellectual Traditions and Cultural Production track examine Black intellectual traditions, expressive forms, and modes of cultural analysis and cultural criticism primarily (but not exclusively) based on textual analyses. In the Politics and Social Inquiry track students examine the development of institutions, measure inequality, and identify societal patterns utilizing primarily (but not exclusively) historical and social science techniques. While both tracks are rooted in the interdisciplinary study of the African Diaspora, the Intellectual Traditions and Cultural Production track will be for those students most interested in pursuing careers and graduate studies typically associated with the humanities, while the Politics and Social Inquiry track will attract students with more social science interests.
AADS majors must take six of their eight elective courses in one track and their remaining two in the other. Students’ elective courses may not fall exclusively in Social Science (Communication, History, Political Science, or Sociology) or Humanities (Art History, English, Music, Philosophy, Romance Languages and Literatures, Theatre, or Theology) departments.
Sample Schedule for Intellectual Traditions and Cultural Production
First Year
- AADS1110 Introduction to African Diaspora Studies (3 credits)
- AADS2204 Music and Social Justice (3 credits)
Sophomore Year
- AADS1114/THEO2114 When Gods Begin: Introduction to African and African Diaspora Religions (3 credits)
- AADS/ENGL2470 Black and Popular: Speculative Fictions by Black Writers (3 credits)
- AADS2306/MUSA2306 Music of Africa (3 credits)
Junior Year
- AADS/ENGL4538 Visual Culture in Black America: Seeing and Being Seen (3 credits)
- AADS/THEO3000 Black Church, Black Protest (3 credits)
Senior Year
- AADS/ENGL3326 Blackness, Performance, and Freedom (3 credits)
- AADS5597/SOCY5597 Contemporary Race Theory (3 credits)
- AADS6600 Senior Seminar (4 credits)
Sample Schedule for Politics and Social Inquiry
First Year
- AADS1110 Introduction to African Diaspora Studies (3 credits)
- AADS1155/SOCY1043 Introduction to African American Society (3 credits)
Sophomore Year
- AADS/COMM2182 Black Popular Culture (3 credits)
- AADS2442/POLI2442 African Politics (3 credits)
- AADS/HIST2800 From Slave Patrols to the War on Crime: Policing Blacks Across American History (3 credits)
Junior Year
- AADS/ART2250 Introduction to African Art and Visual Culture (credits) (3 credits)
- AADS/SOCY3400 Food Justice Across the African Diaspora (3 credits)
Senior Year
- AADS/SOCY4400 Racialized Medicine (3 credits)
- AADS3310 Studies in Race, Law and Resistance (3 credits)
- AADS6600 Senior Seminar (4 credits)
Minor Requirements—18 Credits (or More)
AADS introduces histories, cultures, and experiences of African descended peoples to the broadest range of students; supports serious academic research on Africa and the African Diaspora; gives students opportunities to examine the depth and breadth of African legacies on the continent and in all parts of the world; links local Black communities more closely to Boston College; projects the significance of realities of people of African descent to the intellectual life of Boston College and larger communities; and prepares students to succeed in college and their post-graduate careers.
An AADS minor will consist of a minimum of 19 credits (6 full-semester courses)
Requirements
- AADS1110 Intro to African Diaspora Studies (3 credits)
- AADS6600 Senior Seminar (4 credits)
- 4 electives (12 credits)
- 2 electives must be Black Atlantic Courses
A Black Atlantic course has a global perspective that puts different geographical regions of the world in conversation with one another within the African Diaspora
AADS1110 Introduction to African Diaspora Studies familiarizes students with the major issues and methodologies involved in studying the African Diaspora. AADS6600 Senior Seminar is an intensive reading and writing course designed to assist students in synthesizing their minor experience. Minors must pass AADS1100 prior to enrolling in AADS6600.
To affirm and specify our minors’ selected Central Theme, we suggest that their four additional courses reflect a particular thematic focus. Some possible themes are:
- Cities and Urban Life
- Economics of Inequality
- Gender and Sexuality
- Globalization and Development
- Intellectual and Philosophical Traditions
- Migration and Immigration
- Music and the Performing Arts
- Political Systems and Grassroots Protest
- Popular Culture and New Media
- Spirituality and Social Protest
Though suggested, these themes are not required; additionally, students may devise their own thematic focus, in consultation with the AADS Director or their AADS Advisor.
Contact us at 617-552-3238 or visit our website at bc.edu/aads.
Core Offerings
The Program offers several courses that satisfy the Core requirement in Cultural Diversity and one course that satisfies the requirement in Social Sciences.