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Mar 20, 2026
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[DRAFT] Course Catalog 2026-2027 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Africana Studies Major
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The major consists of a minimum of 10 full courses (or the equivalent).
Note: Students must earn minimum grades of C- or P for all courses that apply toward the major.
 View the catalog page for the Africana studies department.
The requirements for the major in Africana studies are consistent with our view of the field as a multidisciplinary and area studies program. Major prerequisites are designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the African diasporan experience, as well as a firm grounding in a single field of study.
Both breadth and depth in the field are to be obtained by majors. In consultation with their major advisor, students are expected to develop a balanced program of study and to supplement their work with courses in fields related to their special needs and interests.
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Transfer of Credit Toward the Major
The Africana studies department will accept up to the equivalent of three full courses of transfer credit to count toward the Africana studies major requirements. Two types of approval are needed. (1) Approval from the Office of the Registrar that the transfer course meets Oberlin’s transfer-of-credit eligibility standards and (2) approval from the department/program chair that the course(s) may count to the major. Current students taking post-matriculation credit must secure this approval before registering for course(s). Students who enter Oberlin as transfer students will have their pre-matriculation credit evaluated by the Office of the Registrar for elective credit, and they can later seek approval from the department/program for applying coursework to major requirements. Advanced Placement and/or International Baccalaureate Credit
Transferred credit for AAST XXX counts toward the major as XYZ REQUIREMENT. Transfer Students
Individual cases for students who transfer into the college after their sophomore year will be reviewed by the department. Detailed Major Requirements
Africana Studies Major Course Lists
African American Region Courses
Return to the summary of requirements. - AAST 102 - A Dark History: Race, Ethics, and Human Medical Experimentation on Black Bodies in the US
- AAST 108 - Preserving Cultural and Institutional Memory: Archival Research in Africana Studies
- AAST 126 - Archives ReImagined
- AAST 138 - From Slavery to Freedom: African American History From 1619-1865
- AAST 140 - From Reconstruction to the Information Age: African American History 1865-2000
- AAST 171 - Introduction to African American Music I ⇒ cross-listed with JAZZ 290, MUSY 290
- AAST 172 - Introduction to African American Music II ⇒ cross-listed with JAZZ 291, MUSY 291
- AAST 173 - Introduction to Sequential Illustration: Serial Comic Strips ⇒ cross-listed with ARST 173
- AAST 199 - Dance Forms of the African Diaspora ⇒ cross-listed with DANC 199
- AAST 200 - Empires of Gold: Imperial Development in West Africa, 700 CE-1591CE
- AAST 201 - From Reconstruction to the Information Age: African American History 1865 - 2000
- AAST 202 - African American History Since 1865
- AAST 218 - M4BL: History and Practice of An Idea
- AAST 224 - Beginning Choreography in Cultural Traditions ⇒ cross-listed with DANC 224
- AAST 231 - African American Politics
- AAST 232 - Africana Philosophy
- AAST 250 - From Reconstruction to the Information Age: African American History 1865 - 2000
- AAST 251 - How Black Women Made Modern America
- AAST 257 - African American History Through Film
- AAST 261 - Framing Blackness: African Americans and Film in The United States, 1915 to the Present
- AAST 263 - Black English and Voice: An Introduction to Sociolinguistics ⇒ cross-listed with ENGL 263
- AAST 264 - African American Drama ⇒ cross-listed with THEA 264
- AAST 268 - Black Arts Workshop ⇒ cross-listed with THEA 268
- AAST 280 - Africana Philosophies of Education
- AAST 283 - African American Business History
- AAST 289 - Black Wall Streets: African American Urban Experience from Progressive Era to the Great Depression
- AAST 301 - Exploring The Works of Bell Hooks
- AAST 306 - African American Business History
- AAST 376 - Shakespeare and the Black Aesthetic ⇒ cross-listed with THEA 376
- ARST 173 - Introduction to Sequential Illustration: Serial Comic Strips ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 173
- ARST 174 - Intro Aesthetics of Hip Hop: Graffiti from Boxcar to Basel
- ENGL 263 - Black English and Voice: An Introduction to Sociolinguistics ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 263
- EVSS 209 - Black Ecologies and Environmental Justice
- JAZZ 290 - Introduction to African American Music I ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 171, MUSY 290
- JAZZ 291 - Introduction to African American Music II ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 172, MUSY 291
- MUSY 290 - Introduction to African American Music I ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 171, JAZZ 290
- MUSY 291 - Introduction to African American Music II ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 172, JAZZ 291
- THEA 264 - African American Drama ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 264
- THEA 268 - Black Arts Workshop ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 268
- THEA 376 - Shakespeare and the Black Aesthetic ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 376
Caribbean Region Courses
Return to the summary of requirements. - AAST 122 - Caribbean Survey: Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic: Indigenous to 1898
- AAST 123 - Caribbean Survey: Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic: 1898-1986
- AAST 126 - Archives ReImagined
- AAST 144 - History of African and Caribbean Dance ⇒ cross-listed with DANC 144
- AAST 161 - Capoeira Angola I ⇒ cross-listed with DANC 161
- AAST 229 - Radical Thinkers and Movements in the Caribbean
- AAST 241 - Rhythms of Resistance: Carnival, Dance, and the Fight for Social Justice ⇒ cross-listed with DANC 241
- AAST 262 - Capoeira Angola II ⇒ cross-listed with DANC 262
- AAST 347 - Culture, History, and Identity: Caribbean Literature and the Politics of Survival
- AAST 357 - Empire and Resistance in the Caribbean
- DANC 144 - History of African and Caribbean Dance ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 144
- DANC 161 - Capoeira Angola I ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 161
- DANC 241 - Rhythms of Resistance: Carnival, Dance, and the Fight for Social Justice ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 241
Specialization Courses
Return to the summary of requirements. An additional three full courses or the equivalent, including the Senior Seminar, are to be taken in a single field of specialization in one of the following areas: education, history, literature, politics, or fine arts (art, music, theater or dance). Students are required to show a balance between introductory and advanced courses in their specialization. Fine Arts Courses
Return to the top of the list of specialization courses. - AAST 144 - History of African and Caribbean Dance ⇒ cross-listed with DANC 144
- AAST 161 - Capoeira Angola I ⇒ cross-listed with DANC 161
- AAST 171 - Introduction to African American Music I ⇒ cross-listed with JAZZ 290, MUSY 290
- AAST 172 - Introduction to African American Music II ⇒ cross-listed with JAZZ 291, MUSY 291
- AAST 173 - Introduction to Sequential Illustration: Serial Comic Strips ⇒ cross-listed with ARST 173
- AAST 190 - West African Dance Forms I ⇒ cross-listed with DANC 190
- AAST 191 - West African Dance Forms II ⇒ cross-listed with DANC 191
- AAST 199 - Dance Forms of the African Diaspora ⇒ cross-listed with DANC 199
- AAST 199H - Dance Forms of the African Diaspora ⇒ cross-listed with DANC 199H
- AAST 224 - Beginning Choreography in Cultural Traditions ⇒ cross-listed with DANC 224
- AAST 225 - Social Justice in Dance ⇒ cross-listed with DANC 225
- AAST 241 - Rhythms of Resistance: Carnival, Dance, and the Fight for Social Justice ⇒ cross-listed with DANC 241
- AAST 261 - Framing Blackness: African Americans and Film in The United States, 1915 to the Present
- AAST 262 - Capoeira Angola II ⇒ cross-listed with DANC 262
- AAST 264 - African American Drama ⇒ cross-listed with THEA 264
- AAST 273 - Intermediate Trust the Process: The Art of the Study in Formal and Conceptual Design ⇒ cross-listed with ARST 273
- AAST 278 - Workshop: Playwrighting and Performance in the Time of the Black Lives Matter Movement ⇒ cross-listed with THEA 278
- AAST 284 - Somatics: AfriCognoSomatics ⇒ cross-listed with DANC 284
- AAST 286 - Intro to Africana Aesthetics and Aesthesis ⇒ cross-listed with DANC 286
- AAST 288F - Africana Dance: Talawa Technique ⇒ cross-listed with DANC 288F
- AAST 288H - Africana Dance: Talawa Technique ⇒ cross-listed with DANC 288H
- AAST 292 - Choreographic Practices for Black Dance, Social Dance, Street Dance, TV, and Social Media ⇒ cross-listed with DANC 292
- AAST 348 - The Evolution of Black Queer Performance and Storytelling: 1920’s-Now
- AAST 376 - Shakespeare and the Black Aesthetic ⇒ cross-listed with THEA 376
- AAST 382 - Seminar: James Baldwin
- APST 753 - Practicum in Djembe Orchestra Applications
- ARST 172 - Introduction to Narrative Art Seminar
- ARST 173 - Introduction to Sequential Illustration: Serial Comic Strips ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 173
- ARST 174 - Intro Aesthetics of Hip Hop: Graffiti from Boxcar to Basel
- ARST 273 - Intermediate Trust the Process: The Art of the Study in Formal and Conceptual Design ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 273
- DANC 144 - History of African and Caribbean Dance ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 144
- DANC 161 - Capoeira Angola I ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 161
- DANC 241 - Rhythms of Resistance: Carnival, Dance, and the Fight for Social Justice ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 241
- DANC 284 - Somatics: AfriCognoSomatics ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 284
- DANC 286 - Intro to Africana Aesthetics and Aesthesis ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 286
- DANC 288F - Africana Dance: Talawa Technique ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 288F
- DANC 288H - Africana Dance: Talawa Technique ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 288H
- DANC 292 - Choreographic Practices for Black Dance, Social Dance, Street Dance, TV, and Social Media ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 292
- JAZZ 290 - Introduction to African American Music I ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 171, MUSY 290
- JAZZ 291 - Introduction to African American Music II ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 172, MUSY 291
- MUSY 290 - Introduction to African American Music I ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 171, JAZZ 290
- MUSY 291 - Introduction to African American Music II ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 172, JAZZ 291
- THEA 264 - African American Drama ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 264
- THEA 278 - Workshop: Playwrighting and Performance in the Time of the Black Lives Matter Movement ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 278
- THEA 309 - Theater of the Millennium
- THEA 376 - Shakespeare and the Black Aesthetic ⇒ cross-listed with AAST 376
Multidisciplinary Distribution Requirement
Return to the summary of requirements. All majors are required to take courses within the department that total not less than two full courses or the equivalent in the humanities and two full courses or the equivalent in the social science divisions of the major, as multidisciplinary training. The divisional attribute a course carries is identified in its course description in the catalog. Students must also ensure that these courses are drawn from at least three of the five core fields (Education, History, Literature, Politics, and Fine Arts), with a minimum of one full course or the equivalent in each chosen field. |
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