Department of African American Studies
John Murillo, Department Chair
3000 Humanities Gateway
949-824-2376
http://www.humanities.uci.edu/afam/
African American Studies is an interdisciplinary program which offers undergraduate students an opportunity to study those societies and cultures established by the people of the African diaspora. The Department’s curriculum encourages students to investigate the African American experience from a variety of disciplinary perspectives and theoretical approaches. Among the topics explored in the course offerings are the process of colonization and the forced migration of African people, the positionality of African people in the racialized symbolic and social orders of the western hemisphere, the rhetoric produced by and about African people, and the cultural and aesthetic values associated with “blackness” and “Africanness.” The Department offers a B.A. program in African American Studies and a minor.
Career Opportunities
UCI graduates with a B.A. in African American Studies enhance their chances of success in the job market and in the highly competitive arena of graduate and professional school admissions, especially in the fields of medicine and other health professions, law, and business. Employers and admissions officers understand that many of their employees and graduates will one day work in communities with significant African American populations, and for this reason they give due consideration to applicants who have in-depth knowledge of African American culture.
Faculty
Jay Carter, Ph.D. University of Virginia, Professor of African American Studies; Culture and Theory
Nahum D. Chandler, Ph.D. University of Chicago, Professor of African American Studies; Asian American Studies; Comparative Literature; English; European Languages and Studies (modern philosophy, intellectual history, history of the human sciences)
Bridget R. Cooks Cumbo, Ph.D. University of Rochester, Chancellor's Fellow and Professor of African American Studies; Art History; Culture and Theory; Visual Studies (African American art, museum studies, feminist and post-colonial theory)
Sandra Harvey, Ph.D. University of California, Santa Cruz, Assistant Professor of African American Studies; Comparative Literature; Culture and Theory (black diasporas, sovereignty, indigeneity, visual art and culture, Enlightenment philosophy, feminist and queer theories)
Douglas M. Haynes, Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley, Professor Emeritus of History; African American Studies (social and cultural history of modern Britain, social history of modern medicine)
Ulysses S. Jenkins, M.F.A. Otis Art Institute, Professor Emeritus of Art; African American Studies (video, performance art)
Victoria E. Johnson, Ph.D. University of Southern California, Professor of Film and Media Studies; African American Studies; Culture and Theory (U.S. television, history and theory, sports media and media industry studies, critical race theory, cultural geography, media law and policy)
Jessica Millward, Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles, Associate Professor of History; African American Studies; Culture and Theory (U.S., slavery, African diaspora, African American gender and women)
John Murillo III, Ph.D. Brown University, Department Chair and Associate Professor of African American Studies; Culture and Theory (Afro-pessimism, theoretical physics, radical black feminism, literary theory, 20th/21st century black literature, black speculative fiction)
Zachary Price, Ph.D. University of California, Santa Barbara, Associate Professor of Drama; African American Studies (African American drama and performance, Black cultural production, Afro Asian performance and aesthetics, performance and community, liberation studies)
Rajagopalan Radhakrishnan, Ph.D. Binghamton University, State University of New York, Distinguished Professor of English; African American Studies; Comparative Literature; Culture and Theory (critical theory, postcoloniality, nationalisms and diasporas, poststructuralism, postmodernism, democracy and minority discourse, cultural studies, globalization and transnationalism, African American thought)
Jared Sexton, Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley, Professor Emeritus of African American Studies (race and sexuality, policing and imprisonment, contemporary U.S. cinema and political culture, multiracial coalition, critical theory)
Darryl Taylor, D.M.A. University of Michigan, Professor of Music; African American Studies
Frank B. Wilderson III, Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley, Chancellor's Professor of African American Studies; Culture and Theory (Afropessimism, film theory, Marxism, narratology)
Affiliate Faculty
Alex Borucki, Ph.D. Emory University, Professor of History; African American Studies (African diaspora, early modern Atlantic world, slave trade, colonial Latin America)
Sohail Daulatzai, Ph.D. University of Southern California, Professor of Film and Media Studies; African American Studies (decolonization, Black studies, critical ethnic studies, Muslim studies, radical cinema, Imperial culture, aesthetics, short film/video production)
Kyle Grady, Ph.D. University of Michigan, Assistant Professor of English; African American Studies (early modern literature and culture, African American literature and culture, critical race theory)
Bambi Haggins, Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles, Associate Professor of Film and Media Studies; African American Studies (black [African American] comedy in film, television history, digital media and performance, television history, comedy as social and political discourse, African-American studies, American studies)
Yatta Kiazolu, Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles, Assistant Professor of Global and International Studies; African American Studies
Génesis Lara, Ph.D. University of California, Davis, Assistant Professor of Chicano/Latino Studies; African American Studies; History (African diaspora studies, Caribbean history and diaspora studies, postcolonial and revolutionary studies)
Mahaliah Little, Ph.D. The Ohio State University, Assistant Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies; African American Studies; Culture and Theory (black feminist theory, literary and cultural criticism, black sexuality studies, black feminist aesthetics, contemporary African American literature, trauma narratives)
Rudo Mudiwa, Ph.D. Indiana University, Bloomington, Assistant Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies; African American Studies; Culture and Theory (anti-colonial studies, African feminisms, urban space, rhetoric)
Philana Payton, Ph.D University of Southern California, Assistant Professor of Film and Media Studies; African American Studies (black film and television history, black popular culture, performance studies, classical Hollywood, stardom, woman and gender studies, black studies, queer studies)
S. Ama Wray, Ph.D. University of Surrey, Professor of Dance; African American Studies (jazz, choreography, decolonizing improvisation, wellness, social justice and contemplative pedagogy)
Courses
AFAM 40A. African American Studies I. 4 Units.
Discusses main contours of African American experience from the forced importation of Africans into the Americas in the late fifteenth century to the development of social movements in post-emancipation societies of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
((III or IV) and VII.)
AFAM 40B. African American Studies II. 4 Units.
Introduction to the history of modern racial thinking in Western society and its relationship to the material contexts of racial oppression, with emphasis on its development in British colonies and U.S.
((III or IV) and VII.)
AFAM 40C. African American Studies III. 4 Units.
Introduction to theories of racial blackness in the modern world, with emphasis on developments in British colonies and U.S. Traces emergence of blackness as term of collective identity, social organization, and political mobilization.
((III or IV) and VII.)
AFAM 50. Introductory Topics in African American Studies. 4 Units.
Introduction to a broad range of topics in African American studies, exploring history, literature, art, culture, politics, and contemporary social issues. Topical organization of courses addresses issues that have been of importance historically and are reshaping the African diaspora today.
Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary
AFAM 111A. Modern African American Art. 4 Units.
Investigates the history of modern African American art; emphasis on the politics of representation. Examines art in a variety of media from material culture and textiles to painting and photography. Issues of migration, nationalism, gender, sexuality, and hybridity are discussed.
Same as ART HIS 164A
AFAM 111B. Contemporary African American Art. 4 Units.
Investigates the history of contemporary African American art; emphasis on the politics of representation. Explores art in a variety of media: painting, sculpture, photography, installation, and new media. Cultural politics, appropriation, identity, gender, sexuality, hybridity and civil rights issues discussed.
Same as ART HIS 164B
AFAM 112A. Early African American Literature. 4 Units.
Examines the earliest forms of black literary practices, including the jeremiad, the slave narrative, the pamphlet, poetry, the short story, and how these literary forms are related to the historical experiences of enslavement and emancipation.
Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary
AFAM 112B. African American Literature 1900-Present. 4 Units.
Examines individual literary forms and/or authors, as well as movements such as the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts Movement. Explores how black literary practices represent the conditions of modern subjectivities and environments.
Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary
AFAM 113. African American Cinema and Media. 4 Units.
Explores the diversity of Black creative production and the historical, social, and economic forces that shaped their emergence. May include Black film, hip-hop culture, fine art, photography, and others.
Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary
AFAM 114. International Cultures. 4 Units.
Explores the various cultures of the African diaspora and their impacts on a global scale. Examines a diverse range of media, including music (reggae, hip-hop), literature, film, and others and the links between culture and social movements throughout the diaspora.
Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary
AFAM 115. Race and Visual Representation. 4 Units.
Examines film, documentary, fine art, photography, and other visual media to explore the multiple ways in which ideas about race are projected and woven through the visual landscape and the impacts this has on perpetuating social inequalities.
Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary
AFAM 118. Topics in African American Humanities. 4 Units.
Provides students with an opportunity to pursue advanced work in African American studies from one or more humanities approaches (literature, film and media studies, art history, and others).
Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary
AFAM 119. Black Latinidades. 4 Units.
Questions the parameters of Latinidad by centering the origins and
development of African descent communities in the Americas through a multidisciplinary, transnational, and diasporic approach to the study of Afro-Latinidad.
Same as CHC/LAT 132
(VII)
AFAM 125. African American Women in Art. 4 Units.
Examines depictions of and by African American women in art and popular culture through a variety of media including textiles, painting, sculpture, photography, and installation. Focuses on African American women's experiences, perspectives, and strategies for contemporary representation.
Same as ART HIS 164D
AFAM 128. Topics in Gender/Sexuality. 4 Units.
Expressions of genders and sexualities across the spectrum of African American experience and creativity.
Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary
AFAM 134A. Caribbean History: Colonization to Emancipation. 4 Units.
Exploration of the history of the archipelago from pre-Columbian times to the end of slavery; examining the impact of European colonization, decimation of the indigenous populations, African slavery, resistance, and emancipation; the unity and diversity of experience in region.
Same as HISTORY 164A
AFAM 134B. Caribbean History: Emancipation to Independence. 4 Units.
Post-emancipation and anti-colonial struggles ending with political independence for most of the region. Examines social, political, economic, cultural dimensions of post-emancipation period, including large-scale migration to Central America, the U.S., and Britain; the region's global cultural and political contribution.
Same as HISTORY 164B
AFAM 137. History of the African Diaspora. 4 Units.
Examines the causes and consequences of the multiple diasporas of African peoples since the sixteenth century in the Atlantic world, especially the Americas and Europe.
Same as HISTORY 134E
AFAM 138. Topics in African American History. 4 Units.
Studies in selected areas of African American history. Topics addressed vary each quarter.
Same as HISTORY 150
Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary
AFAM 143. Topics in African American Music. 4 Units.
Examines African American musical forms and traditions, such as blues, jazz, and reggae, in performance and/or critical and theoretical contexts.
Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary
AFAM 144. Topics in Expressive Forms. 4 Units.
Examines various forms of aesthetic expression in the African diaspora, including dance, music, and the plastic arts, as well as artistic visions of black cyberspace, digital activism, film, video, and aesthetic conceptions of the future.
Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary
AFAM 145. African Americans and Photography. 4 Units.
Explores depictions of and by African Americans through photography. Examines the history of photography in relationship to African American culture through a variety of media from early daguerreotype processes to digital imagery.
Same as ART HIS 164E
AFAM 146. Afro-Latin American Music. 4 Units.
Musical culture of Afro-Latin American peoples, emphasizing Spanish-speaking Caribbean. Topics include background in West Africa, the persistence of traditions in the Caribbean, the commercial music of the 20th century, the connections between musical culture, religion, and the economy.
Same as CHC/LAT 115C
(VIII)
AFAM 151. Comparative Minority Politics. 4 Units.
Examines the political experiences of Blacks, Latinos, and Asian Americans in the United States from roughly 1950 to the present. Focuses on how each group has pursued political empowerment via both conventional political channels and social movements.
Same as ASIANAM 132, CHC/LAT 147
AFAM 152. African American Politics. 4 Units.
Examines politics of African Americans in order to gain a broader perspective of the American political process. Major developments in African American politics (including the civil rights movement, Black presidential bids), continuing problem of racism, responsiveness of key governing institutions.
Same as POL SCI 124E
AFAM 153. African American Psychology. 4 Units.
Historical overview of the development of black psychology and the African American frame of reference. Topics include personality development, psychological assessment, issues in education, black mental health, and the role of the African American psychologist in the community.
Same as COGS 153
AFAM 154. African American Social Formations. 4 Units.
Topics which promote critical investigation into the historical, political, and social formations associated with the Black Diaspora.
Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary
AFAM 155. Intercultural Studies. 4 Units.
Studies relationships between various cultural formations within the Black Diaspora and the exchange, amalgamations, and tensions between Black Diasporic formations and non-Black formations. Examines expressions of racialization as representation, adaption, and resistance.
Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary
AFAM 156. African Societies and Politics. 4 Units.
Examines the violent incorporation of Africa within European modernity. Places the discourse of Pan-Africanism, African Nationalisms, Negritude, African Marxism, and/or African Socialism in juxtaposition to the forces of capitalism, colonialism, and imperialism that restructure African history.
Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary
AFAM 157. Critical Race Theory. 4 Units.
Introduction to Critical Race Theory and key American cases on racial inequality. Using this literature, examines the possibilities and pitfalls of legal claims of race, gender, and sexuality discrimination in the age of colorblindness.
Same as CRM/LAW C178
Restrictions: African-American Studies majors, Criminology, Law and Society majors, and Social Ecology majors have the first consideration for enrollment.
AFAM 159. Prisons and Public Education. 4 Units.
Looks at the connections between schools and prisons in the United States. Students learn about ideas that push beyond common trope of the “school to prison pipeline.”
Same as ANTHRO 138
AFAM 162W. The Black Protest Tradition. 4 Units.
History and discourses of the black protest tradition. Traces emergence of black protest against racial slavery and white supremacy from the early colonial period to present and the complex elaboration of identity politics within black communities in the twentieth century.
Prerequisite: Satisfactory completion of the Lower-Division Writing requirement.
(Ib)
AFAM 163. Seminar in African American Studies. 4 Units.
Explores theoretical and methodological issues in Black Studies via concentrated work on a specific ensemble of questions. Emphasis is on generating student responses to the material covered through oral and written reports.
Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary
AFAM 198. Directed Group Study. 1-4 Units.
Special topics through directed reading. Paper required.
Repeatability: May be taken for credit for 24 units
AFAM 199. Independent Study. 1-4 Units.
Investigation of special topics through directed reading. Paper required.
Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times
AFAM 399. University Teaching. 4 Units.
Limited to teaching assistants.
Grading Option: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory only
Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times