Undergraduate Courses

Nemata Blyden, TuTh 12:30PM - 1:45PM
This introductory course surveys the histories of people of African descent in Africa, the Americas, and the Caribbean from approximately the Middle Ages to the 1880s. Emphases include the Atlantic slave trade and its complex relationship to Africa; the economic systems, cultures, and communities of Africans and African-Americans in the New World, in slavery and in freedom; the rise of anti-slavery movements; and the socio-economic systems that replaced slavery in the late 19th century. (4 credits)

Micah Jones, Tu 2:00PM - 4:30PM

In 2019, Sephora employees in Calabasas, California accused SZA, the Grammy award winning musician, of theft in a racially motivated incident. When SZA’s tweet about the encounter went viral, Sephora implemented a mandatory day of diversity training for its workforce. Though wealth and fame secured SZA an apology, her status ultimately did protect her from the all too familiar indignities of “shopping while Black.” In a 2018 Gallup poll, two-thirds of Black respondents reported encountering racial discrimination while shopping. This course historicizes the experience of "shopping while Black." Together, we will explore the racial norms of Jim Crow era stores, the possibilities and limits of Black capitalism, the Civil Rights Movement as a consumer struggle, and the racial politics of looting. Ultimately, we will consider how “shopping while Black” came to be an essential measure of the power of racism to shape day to day life in the United States context.

Fatima Siwaju, TuTh 9:30AM - 10:45AM

This course surveys the cultural, intellectual and political trajectories of Afro-descendant peoples in Latin America.

Alexandria Smith,TuTh 9:30AM - 10:45AM

In this class, we will develop a strong foundation for understanding Blackness as a set of gendered experiences and gender as a set of racialized experiences. In addition to experience, we will think about gender, sexuality, race, nationality, and class as shifting positions with different levels of access to power, and as ideas which are (re)produced and circulated throughout our cultures.

Kimberly Fields, Th 3:30PM - 6:00PM

This course is dedicated to examining government responses to environmental injustice. Our readings and discussions will use an interdisciplinary social-science perspective to track the trajectory of environmental justice activism and official responses to it in the five states (DE, MD, PA, VA, WVA) the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has designated as comprising the important but understudied mid-Atlantic region. We will analyze these states’ EJ efforts in relation to each other and compare them to the EJ efforts of other states in different regions. We will consider cases that exemplify common forms of environmental inequality. We will see how differences in state capacity, resources, procedures, activism, demographics, economies and power distributions shape and influence states’ official EJ efforts.

Kimberly Fields, Th 6:00PM - 8:30PM

This course explores the relationships between 'race', socio- economic status, interest group politics and environmental policy. We will address and contend with debates surrounding the claims that racialized, marginalized and poor communities disproportionately shoulder society's negative environmental burdens. Some key topics to be considered include: theories of racism and justice, the conceptual history and definitions of environmental racism, the historical development and goals of the environmental justice movement, the social, political, economic and environmental advantages and drawbacks of current systems of production and consumption, stakeholder responses to environmental inequities, the impact of environmental justice policies on environmental inequities as well as their impact on subsequent political behavior, pollution in developing nations and, indigenous peoples.

Liana Richardson, We 6:00PM - 8:30PM

While many people in the United States embrace the rhetoric of equality, “the American Dream”, and “the land of opportunity,”, social inequality by race, class, and gender is a persistent feature of our society. The overall goal of this course is to examine the social, political, and economic forces that cause and are produced by this inequality, paying particular attention to how race, class, gender, and other axes of difference intersect to shape lived experiences and life chances. First, we will discuss how power and privilege are patterned by race, class, and gender. Then, we will examine how the resultant inequalities are perpetuated and reinforced by social institutions, such as the labor market, housing, education, health care, and criminal justice systems. Finally, we will consider potential strategies for disrupting these linkages, and the social justice politics associated with them.

Liana Richardson, We 2:00PM - 4:30PM

In this course, we will examine the relationships between “race”/ethnicity and health inequities. Drawing from research in a variety of disciplines, including epidemiology, demography, and sociology, we will examine how health is distributed by “race”/ethnicity, as well as the social, economic, and political factors that give rise to the differential distribution of health between and within racial/ethnic groups. We also will discuss whether contemporary health promotion and disease prevention policies are sufficient to address racial/ethnic inequities in health. Finally, we will consider the kinds of policies that could have a bigger impact, and the potential explanations for why they have not been pursued.

Naseemah Mohamed, TuTh 9:30AM - 10:45AM

The course gives an overview of the history of education and its intersection with conflict, from the enlightenment age and the birth of eugenics, through slavery, colonialism and modern warfare which includes the Cold War, the War on Terror, the environmental crisis and in this age of AI. 

Tu 6:00PM - 8:30PM

This course uses gender to understand the social traditions and political strategies that defined Black women’s lives in the West from the 17th to 19th centuries. By examining the conditions of Black women’s unfreedom, we discover how these women theorized, pursued, and experienced liberation. We also investigate women’s life-sustaining community formations and defense against state-sanctioned domination, including their construction of rival geographies, their use of eroticism, and their exercise of discursive resistance. Harnessing critical feminist scholarship across disciplines, this course offers a broad perspective on Black women’s subjectivity, theories of freedom, and their importance to modern world history.

Mo 4:00PM - 6:30PM, Shelby Sinclair

How did ideas about race and gender inform the culture of US empire in the Caribbean? This course exposes students to the history of U.S. capitalist expansion and imperial domination in the Caribbean archipelago and continental rimland territories after 1898. Using music, literature, film, newspapers, poetry, visual art, and more, we investigate a series of “gender wars” to uncover how the Caribbean became a laboratory for U.S. imperial strategy. Furthermore, we examine how people of African descent undermined the United States’ protracted attempts to shape the world for its interests.

Naseemah Mohamed, Tu 3:30PM - 6:00PM

Take a deep-dive into Africa's Cold War-era liberation movements (1950-1980). This course focuses on the interconnected decolonial movements across the African Continent, including Algeria, Egypt, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and South Africa. Using archival primary sources, we will analyze how these movements collaborated across national and international lines and against colonial and neocolonial oppressions which redefined global struggles for sovereignty and self-determination.

Andrew Kahrl, MoWe 12:00PM - 12:50PM
This course examines the history of housing and real estate and explores its role in shaping the meaning and lived experience of race in modern America. We will learn how and why real estate ownership, investment, and development came to play a critical role in the formation and endurance of racial segregation, modern capitalism, and the built environment.

Andrew Kahrl, We 2:00PM - 4:30PM

Kimberly Fields, Th 6:00PM - 8:30PM

This course explores the relationships between 'race', socio- economic status, interest group politics and environmental policy. We will address and contend with debates surrounding the claims that racialized, marginalized and poor communities disproportionately shoulder society's negative environmental burdens. Some key topics to be considered include: theories of racism and justice, the conceptual history and definitions of environmental racism, the historical development and goals of the environmental justice movement, the social, political, economic and environmental advantages and drawbacks of current systems of production and consumption, stakeholder responses to environmental inequities, the impact of environmental justice policies on environmental inequities as well as their impact on subsequent political behavior, pollution in developing nations and, indigenous peoples.

Liana Richardson, We 6:00PM - 8:30PM

While many people in the United States embrace the rhetoric of equality, “the American Dream”, and “the land of opportunity,”, social inequality by race, class, and gender is a persistent feature of our society. The overall goal of this course is to examine the social, political, and economic forces that cause and are produced by this inequality, paying particular attention to how race, class, gender, and other axes of difference intersect to shape lived experiences and life chances. First, we will discuss how power and privilege are patterned by race, class, and gender. Then, we will examine how the resultant inequalities are perpetuated and reinforced by social institutions, such as the labor market, housing, education, health care, and criminal justice systems. Finally, we will consider potential strategies for disrupting these linkages, and the social justice politics associated with them.

Liana Richardson, We 2:00PM - 4:30PM

In this course, we will examine the relationships between “race”/ethnicity and health inequities. Drawing from research in a variety of disciplines, including epidemiology, demography, and sociology, we will examine how health is distributed by “race”/ethnicity, as well as the social, economic, and political factors that give rise to the differential distribution of health between and within racial/ethnic groups. We also will discuss whether contemporary health promotion and disease prevention policies are sufficient to address racial/ethnic inequities in health. Finally, we will consider the kinds of policies that could have a bigger impact, and the potential explanations for why they have not been pursued.

Andrew Kahrl, MoWe 12:00PM - 12:50PM
This course examines the history of housing and real estate and explores its role in shaping the meaning and lived experience of race in modern America. We will learn how and why real estate ownership, investment, and development came to play a critical role in the formation and endurance of racial segregation, modern capitalism, and the built environment.

Rashana Lydner, TuTh 12:30PM - 1:45PM

This interdisciplinary course examines the impact of music and language use in the Black Francophone world. It provides students an opportunity to explore, think critically, and discuss issues on cultural expression from multilingual communities in West and Central Africa, the French Caribbean, and mainland France. We will engage with key terms such as the Black Atlantic, la francophonie, authenticity, creolization, globalization, and multilingualism. To do this, we will read various texts, listen to and analyze music and music videos from genres such as coupé décalé, la rumba congolaise, afropop, hip hop/ rap, zouk, dancehall and reggae. Throughout the semester, we will think about the importance of race, space, gender and language in the formation of a Black France Musicscape. We will ask the questions: What role does popular culture play in creating spaces of liberation for the Black Francophone diaspora? And what are the connections that both language and music encourage in the Black francophone diaspora and the larger Black diaspora?

Naseemah Mohamed, Tu 3:30PM - 6:00PM

Take a deep-dive into Africa's Cold War-era liberation movements (1950-1980). This course focuses on the interconnected decolonial movements across the African Continent, including Algeria, Egypt, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and South Africa. Using archival primary sources, we will analyze how these movements collaborated across national and international lines and against colonial and neocolonial oppressions which redefined global struggles for sovereignty and self-determination.

Andrew Kahrl, We 2:00PM - 4:30PM

Ashleigh Wade, We 5:00PM - 7:30PM

How do media representations shape our perceptions and lived experiences of Black love? In this course we will examine media portrayals of Black love alongside theoretical readings about the historical, social, and cultural elements that impact the development of Black relationships. In addition to exploring examples of Black romantic relationships, we will also explore Black love in the context of family, friendships, and community.

Alexandria Smith, TuTh 11:00AM - 12:15PM

This class will explore the role of embodiment in writings by and about Black people across the African diaspora, with an emphasis on North American and Anglophone Caribbean writing. Reading a range of prose genres, we will think about the ways Blackness has been differently imagined to be "attached" to particular bodies, the ways Blackness has been described in literature, and the ways Black authors have narrated the experiences of living in Black bodies.

Anne Rotich, MoWeFr 1:00PM - 1:50PM

What is Africa? What is the African imagination How can we imagine Africa and write a narrative that fairly describes the African continent? This course will survey literary texts in English by contemporary African writers to see how they imagined Africa and issues that preoccupied the writers. Students will read a variety of literary texts including novels, short stories, poetry, film and songs and critically analyze the cultural and aesthetics of the literary landscape and then express their learning through class discussions, reflections, group presentations and the writing of an analytical digital stories.

Njelle Hamilton, TuTh 2:00PM - 3:15PM
In this course, we will trace the history of reggae music and explore its influence on the development of Jamaican literature. With readings on Jamaican history, we will consider why so many reggae songs speak about Jah and quote from the Bible. Then, we will explore how Marcus Garvey's teachings led to the rise of Rastafarianism, which in turn seeded ideas of black pride and black humanity into what would become reggae music.

Robin Means Coleman, Mo 4:00PM - 6:30PM
Black horror is a primer on the quest for social justice. What can such a boundary- pushing genre teach us about paths to solidarity and democracy? What can we learn about disrupting racism, misogyny, and anti-Blackness? If horror is radical transgression, then we have much to learn from movies such as Candyman, The First Purge, Get Out, Eve’s Bayou, Blacula, Attack the Block, Demon Knight, Tales from the Hood, Sugar Hill, and Ganja & Hess.

Tu 6:00PM - 8:30PM

This course uses gender to understand the social traditions and political strategies that defined Black women’s lives in the West from the 17th to 19th centuries. By examining the conditions of Black women’s unfreedom, we discover how these women theorized, pursued, and experienced liberation. We also investigate women’s life-sustaining community formations and defense against state-sanctioned domination, including their construction of rival geographies, their use of eroticism, and their exercise of discursive resistance. Harnessing critical feminist scholarship across disciplines, this course offers a broad perspective on Black women’s subjectivity, theories of freedom, and their importance to modern world history.

Mo 4:00PM - 6:30PM, Shelby Sinclair

How did ideas about race and gender inform the culture of US empire in the Caribbean? This course exposes students to the history of U.S. capitalist expansion and imperial domination in the Caribbean archipelago and continental rimland territories after 1898. Using music, literature, film, newspapers, poetry, visual art, and more, we investigate a series of “gender wars” to uncover how the Caribbean became a laboratory for U.S. imperial strategy. Furthermore, we examine how people of African descent undermined the United States’ protracted attempts to shape the world for its interests.

Rashana Lydner, TuTh 12:30PM - 1:45PM

This interdisciplinary course examines the impact of music and language use in the Black Francophone world. It provides students an opportunity to explore, think critically, and discuss issues on cultural expression from multilingual communities in West and Central Africa, the French Caribbean, and mainland France. We will engage with key terms such as the Black Atlantic, la francophonie, authenticity, creolization, globalization, and multilingualism. To do this, we will read various texts, listen to and analyze music and music videos from genres such as coupé décalé, la rumba congolaise, afropop, hip hop/ rap, zouk, dancehall and reggae. Throughout the semester, we will think about the importance of race, space, gender and language in the formation of a Black France Musicscape. We will ask the questions: What role does popular culture play in creating spaces of liberation for the Black Francophone diaspora? And what are the connections that both language and music encourage in the Black francophone diaspora and the larger Black diaspora?

Anne Rotich, MoWeFr 1:00PM - 1:50PM

What is Africa? What is the African imagination How can we imagine Africa and write a narrative that fairly describes the African continent? This course will survey literary texts in English by contemporary African writers to see how they imagined Africa and issues that preoccupied the writers. Students will read a variety of literary texts including novels, short stories, poetry, film and songs and critically analyze the cultural and aesthetics of the literary landscape and then express their learning through class discussions, reflections, group presentations and the writing of an analytical digital stories.

Naseemah Mohamed, TuTh 9:30AM - 10:45AM

The course gives an overview of the history of education and its intersection with conflict, from the enlightenment age and the birth of eugenics, through slavery, colonialism and modern warfare which includes the Cold War, the War on Terror, the environmental crisis and in this age of AI. 

Fatima Siwaju, Th 2:00PM - 4:30PM

This course focuses on the histories, religious trajectories, political pursuits, and cultural practices of Afro-American Muslim communities in the Americas.

Rashana Lydner, TuTh 12:30PM - 1:45PM

This interdisciplinary course examines the impact of music and language use in the Black Francophone world. It provides students an opportunity to explore, think critically, and discuss issues on cultural expression from multilingual communities in West and Central Africa, the French Caribbean, and mainland France. We will engage with key terms such as the Black Atlantic, la francophonie, authenticity, creolization, globalization, and multilingualism. To do this, we will read various texts, listen to and analyze music and music videos from genres such as coupé décalé, la rumba congolaise, afropop, hip hop/ rap, zouk, dancehall and reggae. Throughout the semester, we will think about the importance of race, space, gender and language in the formation of a Black France Musicscape. We will ask the questions: What role does popular culture play in creating spaces of liberation for the Black Francophone diaspora? And what are the connections that both language and music encourage in the Black francophone diaspora and the larger Black diaspora?

Naseemah Mohamed, Tu 3:30PM - 6:00PM

Take a deep-dive into Africa's Cold War-era liberation movements (1950-1980). This course focuses on the interconnected decolonial movements across the African Continent, including Algeria, Egypt, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and South Africa. Using archival primary sources, we will analyze how these movements collaborated across national and international lines and against colonial and neocolonial oppressions which redefined global struggles for sovereignty and self-determination.

Andrew Kahrl, We 2:00PM - 4:30PM

Nasrin Olla, TuTh 5:00PM - 6:15PM

This course will introduce students the major themes and questions in African & African Diasporic critical theory. We will study texts from deconstruction, feminism, psychoanalysis and black studies. Authors will include: Michel Foucault, Frantz Fanon, Achille Mbembe and others. This course will be of interest to students invested in thinking about the relation between anti-racist critique, literature, art, and philosophy.

Note: can be used to fulfill Humanities or Elective or Africa Requirement

Njelle Hamilton, TuTh 3:30PM - 4:45PM

Superheroes, space operas, time travel, futuristic tech — the stuff of dreams and the subject of countless popular literary and cultural works over the past century. Far too long featuring mainly white male heroes and US or European settings, sci-fi and fantasy (SF/F) have become increasingly diverse in recent years, even as reframed definitions open up archives of previously overlooked black and brown genre writing from across the globe. Still the Caribbean is often ignored, imagined either as a rustic beach or a technological backwater. In this undergraduate seminar, however, you will encounter authors and auteurs from the English-, Spanish- and French-speaking Caribbean working at the cutting edge of SF/F, and discover novels, stories, artwork and film that center Caribbean settings, peoples, and culture, even as they expand the definition of genre. We will also discuss supporting turns by Caribbean actors in mainstream works such as Star Trek and Black Panther. Assignments will include short critical essays and a long research paper where you think through how Caribbean texts redefine, expand, or critique mainstream SF/F.

Note: can be used to fulfill Humanities or Elective Requirement

Anne Rotich, MoWeFr 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Prerequisite: limited or no previous knowledge of Swahili.

Anne Rotich, MoWeFr 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Develops skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing, and awareness of the cultural diversity of the Swahili-speaking areas of East Africa. Readings drawn from a range of literary and journalistic materials. Prerequisite: SWAH 1020

MoWe 3:05PM - 4:20PM

This introductory, first-semester course in Malagasy language will be taught remotely through the Consortium for Less Commonly Taught Languages (https://as.vanderbilt.edu/center-for- languages/language-partnership/) Malagasy is one of the two official languages of Madagascar.

Students in the Distinguished Majors Program should enroll in this course for their first semester of thesis research.