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2018-2019 Catalogue [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Course Descriptions
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Course Numbering
The College of Wooster uses a five-digit course numbering system. The first three digits indicate the primary course number. The next two digits are the secondary course number and indicate whether there is a special focus for the course. For example:
The first letters are the department or program abbreviation. The next three digits are the primary course number (101 is the primary course number for all Introduction to Historial Study courses). The last two digits are the secondary course number. These two digits indicate that the special focus for this HIST 101 course is The History of Islam. A course with a given three-digit primary course number can only be taken once for credit unless specifically indicated otherwise by the department.
The following policy has been used in assigning primary course numbers:
- 100-level courses are usually introductory courses; some 100-level courses do have prerequisites, and students are advised to consult the description for each course.
- 200-level courses are usually beyond the introductory level, although many 200-level courses are open to first-year students and to majors and non-majors.
- 300-level courses are seminars and courses primarily for majors but open to other students with the consent of the instructor.
- The following numbers are for Independent Study: I.S. 40100 (Junior Independent Study), I.S. 45100 and I.S. 45200 (Senior Independent Study).
In addition to the regular course offerings, many departments offer individual tutorials under the number 40000 and internships under 41000. On occasion, departments will offer a course on a special topic as approved by the Educational Policy Committee, designated 19900, 29900, or 39900.
Abbreviation
In keeping with the general education requirements of the College’s curriculum
(see Degree Requirements ), course listings employ the following abbreviations:
W Writing Intensive
C Studies in Cultural Difference
R Religious Perspectives
Q Quantitative Reasoning
AH Learning Across the Disciplines: Arts and Humanities
HSS Learning Across the Disciplines: History and Social Sciences
MNS Learning Across the Disciplines: Mathematical and Natural Sciences
Except where otherwise noted, all courses carry one course credit.
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Africana Studies |
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AFST 10000 - Intro to Africana Studies Course Credit: 1
(EDUC)
INTRODUCTION TO AFRICANA STUDIES Interdisciplinary foundation course presents overview of the historical, social, psychological, political, economic, and cultural experiences of all the major branches of people of African descent. Course focuses on the contributions and achievements of Africana people, with some emphasis on African Americans, and it explores the concerns as well as the challenges they face. Students are introduced to African-centered perspectives of prominent continental and diasporic scholars, artists, and activists, who mostly challenge the tenets and assumptions of the dominant cultural and intellectual paradigms. Annually. Fall and Spring. [AH, C, HSS]
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AFST 20000 - Issues in African Studies Course Credit: 1
ISSUES IN AFRICANA STUDIES An in-depth examination of an issue or topic relevant to the Black experience. Possible topics include Black biography and autobiography, post-colonial struggles, Maroon communities, civil rights, anti-colonial resistance movements, and Blacks in science and society. Prerequisite(s): AFST-10000 Annually. [AH, C, HSS]
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AFST 20009 - Africana Women’s Theatre / 21st Century Course Credit: 1
(THTD, WGSS)
AFRICANA WOMEN’S THEATRE IN THE 21ST CENTURY In this course students will read, watch, and analyze ten plays by a dynamic group of artists from ten countries across Africa and the African Diaspora. They represent various themes, including women’s self-making in the contexts of patriarchy and socio-economic struggles, the gendered effects of war, same sex relationships, marriage and motherhood. Students will draw on Africana gender and sexuality theories, theatre and performance studies, and their own perspectives to engage closely with these plays and assess their significance in Africana women’s knowledge production. [AH, C]
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AFST 20030 - Fem, Gndr & Sexual Pol in Caribbean Course Credit: 1
(WGSS)
FEMINISM, GENDER & SEXUAL POLITICS This course introduces students to the major feminist intervensions currently taking place in the Caribbean around the following topics: a) the gendered and sexual legacies of slavery and colonialism; b) the intersections among race, gender, class, sexuality, and nationhood; c) women’s socioeconomic initiatives and challenges; d) gender and sexual labor in the tourism industry; and e) the lives of women in the Caribbean Diaspora. Students will gain an understanding of the historical and contemporary structures that continue to shape gender and sexual politics in this region. [AH, C]
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AFST 20031 - Political Islam: Terrorism NW Africa Course Credit: 1
(MENA)
Political Islam: Terrorism NW Africa This course focues on a critical development in the social, political, and cultural evolution of vast areas of North West Africa in recent years with rapid growth of politicized Islam and its outgrowth, religiously inspired violence and terrorism. The course explores this evolution, its origins and socioeconomic root causes, as well as its impact on the societies and states of the region. It also attempts to explain the implications of external powers such as the United States, China, France, Middle Eastern countries, and increasingly, the European Union. [AH, C]
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AFST 21300 - Racism 101 Course Credit: 1
RACISM 101 Americans have historically found it difficult to discuss issues of racism openly. This course examines the historical foundations of racism towards Blacks as a vestige of chattel slavery in the United States. It explores various manifestations of racism in Black-White relationships in contemporary American society. Prerequisite(s): AFST-10000 or permission of the instructor Annually. Fall and Spring. [C, HSS, W]
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AFST 23100 - Survey of Modern Africa Course Credit: 1
SURVEY OF MODERN AFRICA Course surveys the major areas and issues of modern Africa. Using an inter-disciplinary approach, it probes the major post-colonial cultural, economic, political, and societal structures, dynamics, ideas, and trends that depict modern Africa as shaped by its recent colonial history and the international environment. The course aims to familiarize students with these realities and the challenges contemporary African societies face as they build their future. Prerequisite(s): AFST-10000 or permission of instructor Annually. [C, HSS]
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AFST 24000 - Black Women in America 1619-1960s Course Credit: 1
(WGSS)
Black Women in America from 1619 through the 1960s This class focuses upon the intersectionality of oppressions black women experienced in America from earliest times through the Civil Rights Movement. It examines the exploitation of their labor to foster U.S. capitalism, patterns of their disenfranchisement by social, cultural, and political institutions, as well as the creation of negative images and stereotypes to justify their exclusion, and it explores how African American women historically responded to and resisted these interlocking oppressions. Prerequisite(s): AFST-10000, or permission of instructor Spring. [C, HSS]
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AFST 24100 - Black Women in Contemporary Society Course Credit: 1
(WGSS)
BLACK WOMEN IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY Course examines the ways in which contemporary society has shaped the lives of Africana women since the 1960s. It explores how Black women have influenced U.S. society. Investigates issues such as family life, education, career opportunities, political activities, Black male/female relationships. societal constraints on their lives, as well as Black women’s roles in the civil rights and feminist movements. Prerequisite(s): AFST-10000, or permission of instructor [C, HSS]
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AFST 24200 - Martin, Malcolm & Mandela Course Credit: 1
MARTIN, MALCOLM, AND MANDELA Course examines the leadership styles of these three Black leaders for civil and human rights in the 20th century. Places these activists in their historical and sociopolitical contexts, while comparing and contrasting their lives, philosophies and actions. [C, HSS]
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AFST 24400 - Cinema of Africa and the African Diaspora Course Credit: 1
(FILM)
CINEMA OF AFRICA AND THE AFRICAN DIASPORA This course explores issues of race, class, culture, the colonial, and the anti-colonial thought through an examination of cinema created within and focusing on continental and diasporic African life. Accompanying the cinematic texts will be an array of written texts that contribute to the class discussion across the fields of history, post-colonial theory, and film theory. Prerequisite(s): AFST-10000, or permission of the instructor [AH, C]
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AFST 24500 - The Global African Community Course Credit: 1
THE GLOBAL AFRICAN COMMUNITY Course focuses on the political, cultural, and social expressions of the idea of a global African community. This idea was termed Pan-Africanism by major scholars, leaders and activists. Course examines the successes and failures of Pan-African experiments on the African continent since independence, as well as similar efforts in the diaspora, identifying their implications for the future of Pan-Africanism. Prerequisite(s): AFST-10000, or permission of the instructor [C, HSS]
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AFST 24600 - Africana Popular Culture Course Credit: 1
AFRICANA POPULAR CULTURE Course surveys the genres, media, conceptual dynamics and cultural consequences of popular culture of the Africana world. Examining music, religion, sports and graphic art, the course will investigate the historicity, aesthetics and social-political impact of these fields on Africana communities. Forms will be analyzed as vehicles for personal and public critique and transformation. Prerequisite(s): AFST-10000, or permission of the instructor [AH, C]
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AFST 24800 - Africana Women’s Theatre in 21st Century Course Credit: 1
(WGSS)
AFRICANA WOMEN’S THEATRE IN THE 21ST CENTURY In this course students will read, watch and analyze plays by a dynamic group of artists from ten countries across Africa and the African Diaspora. They represent various themes including women’s self-making in the contexts of patriarchy and socio-economic struggles, the gendered effects of war, same sex relationships, marriage and motherhood. Students will draw on Africana gender and sexuality theories, theatre and performance studies, and their own perspectives to engage closely with these plays and assess their significance in Africana women’s knowledge production. Prerequisite(s): AFST-10000 Annually. Spring. [AH, C]
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AFST 30000 - Critical Readings in Africana Studies Course Credit: 1
CRITICAL READINGS IN AFRICANA STUDIES Advanced special topics seminar focuses on critical issues in a variety of locations and time periods crucial to understanding Africana Studies. Possible readings include the works of John Bracey, W.E.B. Du Bois, Frantz Fanon, C.L.R. James, John Hope Franklin, Fannie Lou Hammer, Vincent Harding, Benjamin Mays, August Meier, Joanne Robinson, Carter G. Woodson, C. Van Woodward, etc. Prerequisite(s): AFST-10000 and 1 200-level course in Africana Studies, or permission of the instructor
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AFST 30100 - Africana Struggles for Freedom Course Credit: 1
AFRICANA STRUGGLES FOR FREEDOM Course surveys social, cultural and political movements, and actions of the historical and ongoing struggle against various forms of oppression. Examines types of resistances utilized by African people against enslavement, colonization, and other forms of domination. Critically analyzes resistances to enslavement in Africa, the Americas and Europe, as well as the fight for emancipation and civil rights in these regions throughout the 20th century. Prerequisite(s): AFST-10000, and 1 200-level course in Africana Studies, or permission of the instructor [C, HSS]
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AFST 40000 - Tutorial Course Credit: 1
TUTORIAL Offered to individual students under the supervision of an Africana Studies faculty member on a selected topic. Permission of the chair of Africana Studies is required. Arrangements must be made with the supervising faculty member before registration. Prerequisite: The approval of both the supervising faculty member and the chairperson are required prior to registration. May be repeated. Annually. Fall and Spring.
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AFST 40100 - Independent Study Course Credit: 1
INDEPENDENT STUDY Group tutorial taken during one semester of the junior year includes bibliographic and methodological instruction and a written essay/project designed by the student. Special attention will be given to the disciplinary concerns in the humanities and social science areas of Africana Studies. Prerequisite(s): AFST-10000 and 3 200-level AFST courses. Annually. Fall and Spring.
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AFST 45100 - Independent Study Thesis Course Credit: 1
SENIOR INDEPENDENT STUDY-SEMESTER ONE The first semester of the Senior Independent Study project, in which each student engages in creative and independent research guided by a faculty mentor and which culminates in a thesis and an oral examination in the second semester. Annually. Fall and Spring.
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AFST 45200 - Independent Study Thesis Course Credit: 1
SENIOR INDEPENDENT STUDY-SEMESTER TWO The second semester of the Senior Independent Study project, which culminates in the thesis and an oral examination. Annually. Fall and Spring.
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