African Studies courses
Kiswahili courses
Yorùbá courses
isiZulu courses
Director of undergraduate studies: Ann Biersteker, 309A LUCE, 432-9902, ann.biersteker@yale.edu; director of the Program in African Languages: Kiarie Wa'Njogu, 309B LUCE, 432-0110, john.wanjogu@yale.edu
FACULTY ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROGRAM OF AFRICAN STUDIES
Professors Lea Brilmayer (Law School), Kamari Clarke (Anthropology), John Darnell (Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations), Owen Fiss (Law School), Robert Harms (History), Andrew Hill (Anthropology), Roderick McIntosh (Anthropology), Christopher L. Miller (French), Nicoli Nattrass (Ethics, Politics, & Economics) (Visiting), Catherine Panter-Brick (Anthropology), Lamin Sanneh (History, Divinity School), Jeremy Seekings (Global Affairs) (Visiting), Ian Shapiro (Political Science), Robert Thompson (History of Art), Christopher Udry (Economics), Michael Veal (Music), David Watts (Anthropology), Elisabeth Wood (Political Science)
Associate Professor Ann Biersteker (Adjunct) (Linguistics)
Assistant Professors Christopher Blattman (Political Science), Daniel Magaziner (History), Michael McGovern (Anthropology), Ato Kwamena Onoma (Political Science), Edwige Tamalet-Talbayev (French), Jonathan Wyrtzen (Sociology)
Lecturers Elizabeth Carlson (MacMillan Center), Lacina Coulibaly (Theater Studies), Anne-Marie Foltz (Public Health), Kristin McKie (Political Science), David Simon (Political Science)
Senior Lectors II Sandra Sanneh, Kiarie Wa'Njogu
Senior Lectors Oluseye Adesola, Matuku Ngame
The program in African Studies enables students to undertake interdisciplinary study of the arts, history, cultures, politics, and development of Africa. As a foundation, students in the program gain a cross-disciplinary exposure to Africa. In the junior and senior years, students develop analytical ability and focus their studies on research in a particular discipline such as anthropology, art history, history, languages and literatures, political science, or sociology.
African Studies provides training of special interest to those considering admission to graduate or professional schools, or careers in education, journalism, law, management, medicine, politics, psychology, international relations, creative writing, or social work. The interdisciplinary structure of the program offers students an opportunity to satisfy the increasingly rigorous expectations of admissions committees and prospective employers for a broad liberal arts perspective that complements specialized knowledge of a field.
Requirements of the major The program in African Studies consists of thirteen term courses including (1) one African Studies course in the humanities and one in the social sciences; (2) two years of an African language (Arabic, Kiswahili, Yorùbá, isiZulu, or others with permission of the director of undergraduate studies), unless waived by examination; (3) the junior seminar on research methods, AFST 401; and (4) a concentration of four term courses in a discipline such as anthropology, art history, history, languages and literatures, political science, or sociology, or in an interdisciplinary program such as African American Studies, Ethnicity, Race, and Migration, or Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Other areas of concentration (e.g., diaspora studies, development studies) may be chosen in consultation with the director of undergraduate studies.
The required courses represent the core of the program and are intended to expose the student both to the interdisciplinary nature of African studies and to the methodologies currently being brought to bear on the study of African cultures and societies. Students are encouraged to include upper-level courses, especially those centering on research and methodology.
Senior requirement Senior majors enroll in AFST 490, a colloquium that gives them an opportunity to exchange ideas with each other and to give presentations on their research. In the course, students also prepare a prospectus, compile a bibliography, and write a draft chapter of the senior essay. After completing the colloquium, each student carries out the remaining research and writing of the senior essay in AFST 491 under the guidance of a faculty adviser.
A preliminary statement indicating the topic to be addressed and the name of the faculty adviser must be submitted to the director of undergraduate studies by the end of the second week of the fall term in the senior year. Students should also inform the director of undergraduate studies of their preferred second reader by this time.
Language requirement African Studies majors are required to complete two years of college-level study of an African language or the equivalent, and they are encouraged to continue beyond this level. For the major's language requirement to be waived, a student must pass a placement test for admission into an advanced-level course or, for languages not regularly offered at Yale, an equivalent test of speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills administered through the Center for Language Study. Students should begin their language study as early as possible.
Program in African Languages The language program offers instruction in three major languages from sub-Saharan Africa: Kiswahili (eastern and central Africa), Yorùbá (West Africa), and isiZulu (southern Africa). African language courses emphasize communicative competence, using multimedia materials that focus on the contemporary African context. Course sequences are designed to enable students to achieve advanced competence in all skill areas by the end of the third year, and students are encouraged to spend a summer or term in Africa during their language study.
Courses in Arabic are offered through the department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. Noncredit instruction in other African languages is available by application through the Directed Independent Language Study program at the Center for Language Study. Contact the director of the Program in African Languages for information.
Procedure Students planning to major in African Studies should consult the director of undergraduate studies as early as possible.
M.A. program The African Studies program does not offer the simultaneous award of the B.A. and M.A. degrees. However, students in Yale College are eligible to complete the M.A. in African Studies in one year of graduate work if they begin the program in the third and fourth undergraduate years. Students interested in this option must complete eight graduate courses in the area by the time of the completion of the bachelor's degree. Only two courses may be counted toward both graduate and undergraduate degrees. Successful completion of graduate courses while still an undergraduate does not guarantee admission into the M.A. program.
REQUIREMENTS OF THE MAJOR
Prerequisites None
Number of courses 13 term courses (incl senior req)
Distribution of courses 1 African Studies course in humanities and 1 in social sciences; 2 years of an African lang; 4 courses in area of concentration
Specific course required AFST 401
Senior requirement Senior colloquium (AFST 490) and senior essay (AFST 491)
