Follow the diaspora of African people, exploring both past and contemporary cultures. Including concepts ranging from slavery to contemporary art, African & African American studies highlights the creativity and resilience of a continent’s people while also asking us to reflect on the subject of race.

Why African & African American Studies at Sewanee?

Sewanee’s African & African American studies minor comprises courses from across the spectrum of humanities and social sciences. It will encourage you to consider race and its intersection with class, gender, ethnicity, religion, and sexuality—especially how these concepts have shaped the historical and contemporary experiences and contributions of people of African descent.

Pursuing this minor, you have the choice of two tracks: a) an Africa and the African diaspora track that focuses on the people of the African continent; and b) an African American studies track that encompasses the history and culture of black people in the United States.

A Sampling of Courses

Introduction to African and African American Studies
African and African-American Studies

An introduction to how historical and contemporary analyses of cultural, political, and social forces in America, the Atlantic world (Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean), and Africa have influenced the experiences of people of color. To illuminate those life experiences, the course employs the concept of race (as a theoretical, historical, and critical category), historiography, social analysis, and cultural critique.

AFST 150
Africa and the Diaspora: Texts and Contexts
African and African-American Studies

This comparative and interdisciplinary course investigates the social, economic, intellectual, cultural, and political achievements of people of African descent as well as the challenges faced by them. It considers the Black experience globally and analyzes the ways in which intersections of race, gender, class, and other markers of difference complicate that experience. The course examines concepts, theories, and themes central to the African Diaspora and engenders a critique of the ways in which knowledge is disseminated and produced. Through exploration of the seminal texts in the Black literary tradition, the course promotes a comprehensive knowledge of the discipline, its core concerns, and its methodologies.

AFST 450
African-American Literature
English

A study of the major traditions of African-American writing from the 19th century to the present, including Frederick Douglass, Linda Brent, Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, Ernest Gaines, Toni Morrison, and Rita Dove.

ENGL 395
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African & African American Studies

PROGRAMS OF STUDY & Related Courses

Requirements for the Minor in African & African American Studies

Contact

emmitt Y. Riley, iii.
associate professor, politics
associate professor, African & african American STudies

eyriley@sewanee.edu

Carnegie Hall, 318

Connecting the Dots

Study Abroad
Engaged citizens solving global problems

At Sewanee, we pledge to offer each student an opportunity to study abroad. And at Sewanee, we keep our promises. Travel, learn, and cultivate your knowledge by communicating across cultures and acquiring a sensitivity to other ways of life. Apply social scientific methodologies to various frameworks. Learn to formulate solutions to global problems and apply those theories at home in a local context.

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The Roberson Project
ON SLAVERY, RACE, AND RECONCILIATION

The Roberson Project on Slavery, Race, and Reconciliation at the University of the South is a six-year initiative investigating the university’s historical entanglements with slavery and slavery’s legacies. Our Project’s name memorializes the late Professor of History, Houston Bryan Roberson, who was the first tenured African American faculty member at Sewanee and the first to make African American history and culture the focus of their teaching and scholarship.

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Multicultural Center
There's beauty in diversity

The Ayres Multicultural Center is a setting where you and other members of your community from different backgrounds can come together for quality time, conversation, and events. A student body and a curriculum that reflect the diversity of our society are important features of any college experience.

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Bairnwick Women's Center
Fostering community, encouraging conversation

The Bairnwick Women’s Center is a student-led movement that seeks to educate and to empower the Sewanee community by promoting social justice, equality, and voice. Challenge notions of traditional understanding. Commit to open and honest dialogue. Provide a platform for many voices.

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