The Minor in African American and Diaspora Studies (AADS) is an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary program that explores the experiences, ideas, and interactions of people of African descent within the political, economic, and cultural history of the United States and on a transnational and global level. The minor helps students chart new and different directions of critical inquiry about the contributions of African descendants to the ongoing process of human development in the local and global contexts. Through a variety of coursework and community involvement, AADS minors will have the motivation and technical skills to contribute to a more just and humane society.
Students with a minor in AADS will be prepared to pursue many and most professional careers. Some will enroll in graduate school in the areas of African American, Africana, or Diaspora Studies, literature, art, history, music, and sociology. Others will choose to excel in professions related to the fields of law, public policy, medicine, business, public health, and international and community development.
Students declaring the AADS minor are required to meet with the Director of the African American and Diaspora Studies Program to formulate a suitable plan of study.
The Minor in African American and Diaspora Studies consists of eighteen (18) hours. For the minor, students are required to complete twelve (12) hours of specified courses and six (6) hours of courses in a specified concentration. The concentration may be taken from English, history, philosophy, psychology, music, or other disciplinary course offerings centered on African American and Diaspora Studies.
Any student may select one of the below courses to satisfy the University requirement in African American and Diaspora Studies. For the student who minors in AADS, the remaining courses are required to fulfill the Minor.
A grade of “C” or better must be earned in all courses taken in the minor. It is strongly suggested that each student with a minor in AADS have knowledge of a language other than English.