HAFR 100 - The African American Experience: An Interdisciplinary Approach

Credit Hours: 3

This FYE course introduces the multifaceted study of the African experience in Diaspora with particular focus on Blacks of the United States of America. The course begins with an introduction to the interdisciplinary nature of Africana Studies and the transdisciplinary research and reading skills required to render meaning from the African Diasporic experience. Then, the course surveys key turning points in precolonial African history, continent-wide transformations leading to the three slave trades-the Trans-Saharan, Indian Ocean, and Trans-Atlantic Slave Trades. Turning to the Diaspora, the course provides the student with a concise understanding of the social forces that impact African life during and after enslavement. To strengthen this understanding, the course involves a service-learning experience, which provides a direct experience of conditions facing African Americans and immigrant African communities.