Minor in African and African American Studies

Program Learning Outcomes for the Minor in African and African American Studies

Upon completing the minor in African and African American Studies, students will be able to:

  1. Understand and appreciate the complexity of African and African American history and culture.
  2. Compare and contrast the experiences of African peoples in different regions of the continent.
  3. Understand the role of Africa and African peoples in the diaspora in global histories and networks.
  4. Understand and employ key concepts and frameworks utilized in African and African American studies.

Requirements for the Minor in African and African American Studies

Students pursuing the minor in African and African American Studies must complete:

  • A minimum of 6 courses (18 credit hours) to satisfy minor requirements.
  • A minimum of 3 courses (9 credit hours) taken at the 300-level or above.
  • A maximum of 2 courses (6 credit hours) from study abroad or transfer credit. For additional program guidelines regarding transfer credit, see the Policies tab. 

The courses listed below satisfy the requirements for this minor. In certain instances, courses not on this official list may be substituted upon approval of the minor’s academic advisor or, where applicable, the Program Director. (Course substitutions must be formally applied and entered into Degree Works by the minor's Official Certifier). Students and their academic advisors should identify and clearly document the courses to be taken.

Summary 

Total Credit Hours Required for the Minor in African and African American Studies18

Minor Requirements

Core Requirement
AAAS 200KNOWING BLACKNESS: INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN AND AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES3
Elective Requirements
Select 5 elective courses from the following categories: 1,215
Select at least 1 course from Group A (see course list below)
Select at least 1 course from Group B (see course list below)
Total Credit Hours18

Footnotes and Additional Information

Course Lists to Satisfy Requirements

Elective Requirements

To fulfill the remaining African and African American Studies minor requirements, students must complete a total of 5 elective courses (15 credit hours) from the following two categories as listed below. At least 1 course (3 credit hours) must be selected from Group A, and at least 1 course (3 credit hours) must be selected from Group B. The remaining 3 courses (9 credit hours) can be selected from either category (Group A or Group B). Additionally, coursework must be selected from at least 3 different subject codes, and a minimum of 3 courses (9 credit hours) must be taken at the 300-level or above.  

Group A
ANTH 312 / MDEM 311THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF AFRICA3
ANTH 360TOPICS IN AFRICAN CULTURE AND ETHNOGRAPHY3
ANTH 364AFRICAN ARCHAEOLOGY FIELD TECHNIQUES1-6
ANTH 462BLACK ANTHROPOLOGY3
FREN 324 / POLI 324 / RELI 476FROM DECOLONIZATION TO GLOBALIZATION3
HIST 222HISTORY OF EARLY AFRICA3
HIST 223HISTORY OF MODERN AFRICA3
HIST 323HISTORY OF ATLANTIC AFRICA3
HIST 330ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE AND THE ORIGINS OF AFRO AMERICA3
HIST 343HISTORY OF AFRICA IN THE MUSEUM3
RELI 111INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN RELIGIONS3
RELI 328RELIGION AND GLOBAL POVERTY3
RELI 338THE CHURCH OF AFRICA3
RELI 348CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM IN AFRICA3
RELI 424RELIGION AND POLITICS IN AFRICA3
RELI 426RELIGION AND LITERATURE IN AFRICA3
Group B
AAAS 204 / HART 204INTRODUCTION TO BLACK ART IN AMERICA: 1900S TO TODAY3
AAAS 245 / HIST 245RACE, RESISTANCE, AND REVOLUTION: BLACKS AND BLACKNESS IN THE MAKING OF LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBB3
AAAS 300CONTEMPORARY BLACK FICTION3
ANTH 316BLACK DECOLONIAL FEMINISMS IN THE AMERICAS3
ANTH 362ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIELD TECHNIQUES3
ANTH 394THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF SLAVERY AND THE AFRICAN DIASPORA3
ANTH 419BLACK FEMINIST SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY STUDIES3
ANTH 443ANTHROPOLOGY OF RACE, ETHNICITY AND HEALTH3
ANTH 462BLACK ANTHROPOLOGY3
EDUC 304RACE, CLASS, GENDER IN EDUCATION3
ENGL 266GRAPHIC NOVELS IN THE AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERARY TRADITION3
ENGL 267INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE3
ENGL 279BLACK SCI-FI & SPECULATIVE FICTIONS3
ENGL 370 / SWGS 370AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE3
ENGL 393BLACK MANHATTAN: 1915-19403
ENGL 394TONI MORRISON & WILLIAM FAULKNER SEMINAR3
ENGL 398SLAVERY IN 20TH AND 21ST CENTURY FILM AND FICTION3
ENGL 466STUDIES IN AMERICAN/U.S. LITERATURE AND CULTURE3
FREN 413BLACK VENUS/VÉNUS NOIRE: REPRESENTATIONS OF BLACK WOMEN IN THE LONG 19TH CENTURY3
FREN 414SEX AND RACE IN THE FRENCH ATLANTIC3
FREN 478 / ARCR 478THE FRENCH CARIBBEAN3
FWIS 113RACE, PUBLIC POLICY, AND RACIAL CHANGE IN AMERICA3
FWIS 132SLAVERY ON FILM3
FWIS 181GRAPHIC BLACKNESS: THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMIC BOOK TRADITION3
HART 306WHAT ARTISTS CITE: CORE TEACHINGS IN BLACK STUDIES3
HART 366RADICAL BLACK THOUGHT IN THE STUDIO: ARTISTS CITING BLACK STUDIES3
HIST 111RACE IN EARLY AMERICA: CREATING RACIAL IDENTITIES IN THE ERA OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION3
HIST 188THE ATLANTIC WORLD: ORIGINS TO THE AGE OF REVOLUTION3
HIST 208RACE AND MEDICINE IN AMERICAN HISTORY3
HIST 210REMEMBERING PAINFUL PASTS: THE PRACTICE OF MEMORY AND PUBLIC HISTORY3
HIST 215BLACKS IN THE AMERICAS3
HIST 216BLACK LIFE IN THE NINETEENTH-CENTURY UNITED STATES3
HIST 237RADICAL MOVEMENTS IN THE AMERICAS3
HIST 295THE AMERICAN SOUTH3
HIST 301FIGHTING THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE3
HIST 315BLACKS IN THE AMERICAS3
HIST 330ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE AND THE ORIGINS OF AFRO AMERICA3
HIST 347BLACK AMERICA: FROM NADIR THROUGH THE GREAT DEPRESSION3
HIST 354RACE AND ETHNICITY IN LATIN AMERICA3
HIST 407THE RISE AND FALL OF SLAVERY IN THE ATLANTIC WORLD, 1791-18883
HIST 421RACE, EDUCATION AND SOCIETY IN THE URBAN SOUTH3
HIST 484THE BLACK CITY: AFRICAN AMERICAN URBAN LIFE IN THE UNITED STATES3
HIST 499BLACK AT RICE: HISTORIES OF THE UNIVERSITY3
POLI 325AFRICAN AMERICAN POLITICS3
POLI 330RACE, ETHNICITY, AND POLITICS IN AMERICA3
POLI 341RACE AND THE LAW IN THE UNITED STATES3
POLI 350URBAN LAB HOUSTON1
POLI 438RACE AND PUBLIC POLICY3
RELI 157RELIGION AND HIP HOP CULTURE IN AMERICA3
RELI 216RELIGION AND BLACK LIVES MATTER3
RELI 270INTRODUCTION TO THE BLACK CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES3
RELI 312THE RELIGIOUS THOUGHT OF MARTIN L. KING, JR. AND MALCOLM X3
RELI 328RELIGION AND GLOBAL POVERTY3
RELI 357WHAT'S RELIGIOUS ABOUT BLACK RELIGION?3
RELI 393MUTANTS AND MYSTICS: RACE, SEXUALITY, AND THE FUTURE OF THE HUMANITIES3
SOCI 305RACE, SPACE, PLACE3
SOCI 307INTERSECTIONALITY3
SOCI 308HOUSTON: THE SOCIOLOGY OF A CITY3
SOCI 309RACE AND ETHNIC RELATIONS3
SOCI 329MULTIRACIAL AMERICA3
SOCI 343RACE, SOCIETY AND POPULATION CHANGE3
SOCI 363AFRICAN AMERICAN-JEWISH RELATIONS: RACE, RELIGION, POLITICS, AND POPULAR CULTURE3
SOCI 374SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF PREJUDICE3
SOCI 389RACE, GENDER, CLASS IN FILM3
SOCI 402RACE AND FAMILY SEMINAR3
SOCI 414CRITICAL RACE THEORY3
SOCI 424RACE AND ETHNICITY SEMINAR3
SOCI 436RESEARCH SEMINAR: THE HOUSTON AREA SURVEY3
SOCI 453RACE, MIGRATION, AND HEALTH SEMINAR3
SOCI 470INEQUALITY AND URBAN LIFE3
SOCI 485IDENTITIES IN A DIVERSE WORLD3
SWGS 247SEX, RACE, AND THE CITY3

Policies for the Minor in African and African American Studies

Program Restrictions and Exclusions

Students pursuing the minor in African and African American Studies should be aware of the following program restriction:

  • As noted in Majors, Minors, and Certificates, i.) students may declare their intent to pursue a minor only after they have first declared a major, and ii.) students may not major and minor in the same subject.

Transfer Credit 

For Rice University’s policy regarding transfer credit, see Transfer Credit. Some departments and programs have additional restrictions on transfer credit. Requests for transfer credit must be approved for Rice equivalency by the designated transfer credit advisor for the appropriate academic department offering the Rice equivalent course (corresponding to the subject code of the course content). The Office of Academic Advising maintains the university’s official list of transfer credit advisors on their website: https://oaa.rice.edu. Students are encouraged to meet with the applicable transfer credit advisor as well as their academic program director when considering transfer credit possibilities. 

Program Transfer Credit Guidelines

Students pursuing the minor in African and African American Studies should be aware of the following program-specific transfer credit guideline:

  • No more than 2 courses (6 credit hours) of transfer credit from U.S. or international universities of similar standing as Rice may apply towards the minor. 

Distribution Credit Information

The determination of distribution credit eligibility is done initially as part of the new course creation process. Additionally, as part of an annual roll call coordinated each Spring by the Office of the Registrar, course distribution credit eligibility is routinely reviewed and reaffirmed by the Dean’s Offices of each of the academic schools.  

Faculty and leadership in the academic schools are responsible for ensuring that the courses identified as distribution-credit-eligible meet the criteria as set in the General Announcements. Students are responsible for ensuring that they meet graduation requirements by completing coursework designated as distribution-credit-eligible at the time of course registration. 

Additional Information 

For additional information, please see the African and African American Studies website: https://caaas.rice.edu/.

Opportunities for the Minor in African and African American Studies

Academic Honors

The university recognizes academic excellence achieved over an undergraduate’s academic history at Rice. For information on university honors, please see Latin Honors (summa cum laude, magna cum laude, and cum laude) and Distinction in Research and Creative Work. Some departments have department-specific Honors awards or designations.

Additional Information 

For additional information, please see the African and African American Studies website: https://caaas.rice.edu/.