Department Chair
James Haywood Rolling, Jr.
Interim Chair
200 Sims Hall
aas@syr.edu
315-443-4302
Faculty
Joan Bryant, Horace Campbell, Vlad Dima, Kishi Animashaun Ducre, Tanisha Jackson, Jennifer O’Reilly, Herbert Ruffin II, Danielle Smith
Graduate Awards
Teaching Assistants in the Department of African American Studies carry a substantial stipend and tuition scholarship of 24 credits (6 of which can be used during the summer). Preference is given to graduate students in Pan African Studies. Teaching Assistants work within the Department of African American Studies for 20 hours per week. Appointments to assistantships are made by the Department of African Studies with the concurrence of the Graduate School. Students are responsible for directly notifying the Department of African American Studies of their interest.
Graduate Fellowships are awards to support graduate training for African American studies students (United States citizens and permanent residents) with outstanding qualifications. Awards are made by the Dean of the Graduate School, upon recommendations of the African American Fellowship Committee.
They are intended for individuals whose graduate study involves the integration of African American/Pan African studies into their respective fields of study. Each fellowship includes a substantial stipend, plus a tuition scholarship for 30 credits per academic year.
M.A. in Pan African Studies
The M.A. degree in Pan African Studies is a 30-credit program offering students a comprehensive understanding of the global African experience. This interdisciplinary program is structured around:
- Four core courses (AAS 525 Research Methods in African American Studies, AAS 610 Seminar in Pan Africanism: Research and Reading, AAS 611 Arts, Cultures and Literatures of the Pan African World, and AAS 612 Histories, Societies and Political Economies of the Pan African World)
- Two electives (Advance research methods & Advance theory)
- An external site experience (AAS 670 Experience Credit)
- A thesis (AAS 997 Master's Thesis)
Courses explore the Pan African experience as reflected in multiple historical, social, and political contexts, most notably in Africa, the Caribbean, and the United States. With the approval of the Graduate Committee, students may participate in the Scholar Exchange Program, a cooperative relationship with the University of Rochester and Cornell University.
This innovative program is distinct from any other of its kind. It has a unique experiential component that requires a residency at an external site at which the department either runs a Syracuse University Abroad (SU Abroad) program, or has established an institutional affiliation. This experience offers students alternative academic exposure while confronting them with the challenge of merging theory and practice as they learn to operationalize Pan African Studies in the larger world.
The targeted sites are located in Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, Canada, and the United States. At the site, students complete a pre-approved project involving research, practical education, independent study, an internship, or a related activity. Two of the graduate courses that contribute to the core offerings in the program, AAS 611 Arts, Cultures and Literatures of the Pan African World and AAS 612 Histories, Societies and Political Economies of the Pan African World, are unlike any courses offered in similar graduate programs around the country. The courses create a comprehensive framework that brings together concentrations from specific disciplinary foci, as well as the transformations in those foci that have occurred through the Black encounter.
Students learn to appreciate intellectual nuances, dynamism, and diversification as these pertain to Pan African Studies, a layered and complex field of academic engagement. Of equal importance, they are taught to engage the silences inherent in many disciplines and paradigms, including those associated with traditional Africana studies approaches. The M.A. in Pan African Studies degree exposes students to the arts, the humanities, and the social sciences, and incorporates a wider global framework against which the spectrum of the entire Black world is critically, comparatively, and contrastively examined and theorized.
The program aims to produce well-groomed, master’s-level scholars ready either to proceed to doctoral studies in the humanities or the social sciences, or to enter the world of work. Potential areas of employment include the local non-governmental sector, international organizations, social services, criminal justice, education, and health care, among others.
Program of Study
Required Core Courses
Course List | Code | Title | Credits |
| AAS 525 | Research Methods in African American Studies | 3 |
| AAS 610 | Seminar in Pan Africanism: Research and Reading | 3 |
| AAS 611 | Arts, Cultures and Literatures of the Pan African World | 3 |
| AAS 612 | Histories, Societies and Political Economies of the Pan African World | 3 |
| AAS 670 | Experience Credit | 1-6 |
| AAS 997 | Master's Thesis | 6-9 |
Additional Information
(The thesis serves as the required “exit” experience of students.)
Two Additional Courses
Students must take two additional courses: advance research methods & advance theory, for a total 6 credits. Before registering for a course from list A, B, or any non-listed course, students must obtain the approval of their advisors and/or the chairperson of the Graduate Studies Committee in the Department of African American Studies.
List A
Roster of additional courses offered by or cross-listed with the Department of African American Studies (Includes courses formally cross-listed with the Department of African American Studies. Where relevant, the sponsoring department is emphasized.
Course List | Code | Title | Credits |
| AAS 500 | Selected Topics (AA) | 1-6 |
| AAS 501 | African American Sociological Practice:1900-45 (AA) | 3 |
| AAS 510 | Studies in African American History (AA) | 3 |
| AAS 512 | African American Women's History (AA) | 3 |
| AAS 513 | Toni Morrison: Black Book Seminar (AA) | 3 |
| AAS 600 | Selected Topics (A, AA, AC) | 1-6 |
| AAS 620 | Black Women Writers (A, AA, AC) | 3 |
| AAS 627 | New York City: Black Women Domestic Workers (AC) | 3 |
| AAS 631 | Seminar in African Drama and Theater (A) | 3 |
| AAS 634 | Underground Railroad | 3 |
| ANT 694 | Underground Railroad | 3 |
| ANT 640 | Topics in African Archaeology | 3 |
| AAS 645 | The Caribbean: Sex Workers, Transnational Capital, and Tourism (AC) | 3 |
| AAS 670 | Experience Credit (A, AA, AC) | 1-6 |
| AAS 671 | Caribbean Intellectual Thought (AC) ** | 3 |
| PSC 800 | Selected Topics (AC) ** | 1-6 |
| AAS 681 | Comparative State, Society Relations (A, AA, AC) | 3 |
| AAS 690 | Independent Study (A, AA, AC) | 1-6 |
| AAS 700 | Seminar in African American Studies (AA) | 3 |
| AAS 731 | Militarism and Transformation in South Africa (A) | 3 |
| PSC 780 | Seminar on Political Systems (A) ** | 3 |
| AAS 765 | Readings and Research in African History (A) | 3 |
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List B
Roster of courses offered by other departments
The following are examples of courses, in which students may elect to enroll, subject to the approval of their advisors and the chairperson of the Graduate Committee of the Department of African American Studies. Enrollment is also conditional upon consultation with the instructor of the course regarding any prerequisites and the suitability of the course to a particular student’s academic interests and previous academic preparation. List B will vary from semester to semester depending on what is offered by other departments. As a general rule, list B courses give attention to the Pan African experience in a more limited fashion than those in list A, perhaps by devoting a unit of study over several sessions or weeks to topics which relate directly or indirectly to the Pan African experience. These include:
Course List | Code | Title | Credits |
| ANT 553 | Women and Social Change | 3 |
| ANT 756 | Development Anthropology | 3 |
| SWK 628 | Human Diversity in Social Contexts | 3 |
| LAW 758 | Civil Rights Law | 3 |
Additional Information
Other options will be identified and added as the program progresses and as needs arise. The AAS Graduate Studies Committee will continue to foster networking with relevant departments targeted for cross listing. As this process continues, courses identified will be added to the standing list.
