Afroamerican and African Studies Minor

Effective Winter 2012-Summer 2013

A minor in Afroamerican and African Studies is not open to students with a major in the Department of  Afroamerican and African Studies.

Students wishing to pursue a minor in Afroamerican and African Studies must develop a specific plan for its completion in consultation with the department's designated advisor. Appointments are scheduled at the DAAS Advising Office.

DAAS is an ideal unit for the student interested in a minor in one of the fields concerned with the study of Africa and its Diaspora. Students can use a DAAS minor to supplement and make more coherent their understanding of the knowledge in a traditional discipline. For instance, students concentrating in U.S. history could enhance and deepen their course work by taking a systematic course of study in AAS focusing not only on the many cross-listed courses between AAS and History but also on other non-cross-listed courses that the student might otherwise overlook if not affiliated with DAAS. A course in African politics after colonialism, for example, would work well for such a History concentrator.

Because of the plethora of disciplines, interdisciplinary faculty, and geographic connections designed into the AAS curriculum, a DAAS minor can become a valuable intellectual resource for majors in any field where DAAS has faculty strengths, including history, literature in English, anthropology, political science, sociology, education, psychology, art, and communications. Students in other disciplines, such as languages, could also find an asset in the range of AAS courses. A student of French language and literature would benefit from being able to take a series of courses related to Francophone Africa and the West Indies. Students in fairly regulated majors (such as chemistry) who have an interest in African history and culture would be able to pursue such an interest without jeopardizing the major.

Prerequisites to the Minor: None.

Requirements for the Minor. A minimum of 17 credits. Students interested in pursuing a minor in Afroamerican and African Studies must meet the following requirements:

1. AAS 111.
2. One course at the 200 level (3 credits). The following courses best satisfy this requirement:  AAS 200, 201, 202
3. Two courses at the 300 or 400 level (6 credits). Students need at least two courses at the  300 and 400-level, excluding AAS 495.  One of these courses must be in African Studies and the other must be in either African American or Caribbean Studies.
4. One senior seminar: AAS 495 (4 credits).

For further information, please contact: daasadvising@umich.edu