Africana Studies
The Intercollegiate Department of Africana Studies offers a multidisciplinary curriculum that examines the experiences of African, African American and Caribbean people from the liberal arts perspective. Courses accommodate the needs of majors and non-majors, providing significant preparation for careers in education, social work, public policy, law, medicine, business, international relations and advanced research.
Pitzer Advisers : Dipa Basu, Halford Fairchild, Laura Harris
Requirements for the Major in Africana Studies
Major requirements ensure that students are thoroughly exposed to the broad range of research and scholarship in the discipline. Africana Studies majors must complete at least 11 courses from the following list, plus a senior exercise (project, thesis, or comprehensive examination). While six of these courses are expected to be at the upper-division level, credit will be given, where appropriate, to courses numbered lower than 100. Students elect to focus on one of the following areas of concentration within the major: Arts, Humanities, or Social Sciences.
- AFRI/AS10A&B. Introduction to Africana Studies; two courses. This is a two-semester course that should be completed by the end of the student's sophomore year.
- Literature (African, African American, or Caribbean); one course.
- History (African, African American, or Caribbean); one course.
- Social Science (e.g., Economics, Politics, Psychology, or Sociology); one course from the list of approved Africana Studies courses.
- Art, Music, or Religion: one course from the list of approved Africana Studies courses.
- 4 courses which represent Africa and its Diaspora in the student's area of concentration within the major, e.g. Arts, Humanities or Social Sciences.
- Senior Seminar. Required of all majors; and 191 (thesis), 192 (project), or 193 (comprehensive exam).
Upon approval by the department Chair, substitutions in the major requirements can be adjusted to respond to an individual student's interests and needs.
Students majoring in Africana Studies are strongly encouraged to spend a semester or a year abroad, preferably in countries in Brazil or Africa or the Caribbean.
In addition, the department strongly recommends that students take 4 semesters of a language spoken in the African Diaspora (e.g., Arabic, French, Portuguese, Spanish, or an African language).
Requirements for the Minor in Africana Studies
Minor: For the Africana Studies minor, students are required to complete seven courses in African Studies, two of which must be the two-semester AFRI/AS 10A&B course, and five other Africana Studies courses that represent at least three disciplines.