African American & Latin American Studies Major, African American Studies Emphasis

Coordinator Simmons

The African American experience in the United States has been the result of a complex history spanning almost four hundred years centered on enslavement, racial violence, segregation, and discrimination. This concentration not only focuses on African Americans’ resistance to those manifest injustices, but it also examines their significant contributions to the economy, society, and culture of the United States, as well as their achievements in politics, education, art, science, and in the economy. Some of the major themes studied are slavery and abolition; the politics of race and racism; black leadership, the civil rights movement, and the continuing struggle for social justice; as well as social and cultural phenomena like the Harlem Renaissance and the rise of a black middle class.

A student must complete major declaration procedures with the appropriate coordinator no later than the second term of the sophomore year, unless an exception is approved by the program director.

For more information about the program, honors/high honors, transfer credit, etc., visit the Africana and Latin American studies program  page.