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2024-2025 Pitzer Catalog
Africana Studies Major
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 Return to: Majors & Minors
Africana Studies Established in 1969, the Intercollegiate Department of Africana Studies offers a rich academic program to all students at The Claremont Colleges. Interdisciplinary in both research and teaching, the department promotes collaborative projects with other departments in our consortium and with scholars at other institutions. Our curriculum includes courses in anthropology, art history, history, literature, psychology, religious studies, and interdisciplinary areas. These courses are designed to accommodate the needs of both majors and non-majors. Africana Studies courses and programs provide significant preparation for students pursuing careers in a variety of fields, including education, social work, public policy, law, medicine, business, and international relations.
The mission of the Intercollegiate Department of Africana Studies (IDAS) is to examine, through various academic disciplines, the experiences of people of African heritage worldwide. The Africana Studies curriculum helps to unify an important area of intellectual investigation and enhances appreciation of particular disciplines in the humanities and the social sciences. The department is committed to excellence in teaching and scholarship and is a vital information resource for students and researchers. Moreover, its faculty endeavors to create an intellectual climate which fosters cross-cultural dialogue.
Pitzer Advisors: A. Bonaparte, L. Harris.
Major requirements ensure that students are thoroughly exposed to the broad range of research and scholarship in the discipline. Africana Studies majors must complete at least 11 courses from the following list, plus a senior exercise (project, thesis, or comprehensive examination). While six of these courses are expected to be at the upper-division level, credit will be given, where appropriate, to courses numbered lower than 100. Students elect to focus on one of the following areas of concentration: Arts, Humanities, or Social Sciences.
- AFRI 010A AF ; & AFRI 010B AF . Introduction to Africana Studies; two courses. This is a two-semester course that should be completed by the end of the student’s sophomore year.
- Literature (African, African American, or Caribbean); one course.
- History (African, African American, or Caribbean); one course.
- Social Science (e.g., Economics, Politics, Psychology, or Sociology); one course from the list of approved Africana Studies courses.
- Art, Music, Philosophy or Religion: one course from the list of approved Africana Studies courses.
- 4 courses which represent Africa and its Diaspora in the student’s area of concentration within the major, e.g., Arts, Humanities or Social Sciences.
- Senior Seminar. Required of all majors; and AFRI 191 AF -Senior Thesis , AFRI 192 AF -Senior Project , or AFRI 193 AF -Senior Comprehensive Examination .
Upon approval by the Pitzer advisors or the Intercollegiate department Chair, substitutions in the major requirements can be made to respond to an individual student’s interests and needs.
Students majoring in Africana Studies are strongly encouraged to spend a semester or a year abroad, preferably in countries in Africa or the Caribbean or Brazil.
In addition, the department strongly recommends that students take 4 semesters of a language spoken in the African Diaspora (e.g., Arabic, French, Portuguese, Spanish, or an African language).
Africana Studies Courses
Africana Studies
Art History
English and World Literature
French
History
Media Studies
Music
Organizational Studies
Political Studies
Psychology
Religious Studies
Sociology
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Return to: Majors & Minors
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