Spring 2027 Courses

African & African American Studies Department 

Spring 2027 Course Descriptions 

AAS 1020-100: African American & African Studies II 

Prof. Ogunnaike  

This introductory course builds upon the histories of people of African descent in Africa, the Americas, and the Caribbean surveyed in AAS 1010. Drawing on disciplines such as Anthropology, History, Religious Studies, Political Science and Sociology, the course focuses on the period from the late 19th century to the present and is comparative in perspective. It examines the links and disjunctions between communities of African descent in the United States and in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa. The course begins with an overview of AAS, its history, assumptions, boundaries, and topics of inquiry, and then proceeds to focus on a number of inter-related themes: patterns of cultural experience; community formation; comparative racial classification; language and society; family and kinship; religion; social and political movements; arts and aesthetics; and archaeology of the African Diaspora. 

AAS 2225-001: Black Love Media v. Reality  

Prof. Wade 

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. 

AAS 2500-001: Environmental Justice in the Mid-Atlantic Region  

Prof. Fields 

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. 

AAS 2605-002: Black Bodies in Literature  

Prof. Smith 

This course explores the literary, artistic, and cultural work that centrally involves the use of Black people's bodies. We will read scholarly analysis, fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. We will also engage in other forms of creativity, including music and visual art styles. This is a reading-, writing-, and dialogue-intensive course. 

Our reading, discussion, and assignments will be guided by some main questions: how do Black people’s bodies show up in contemporary United States culture? What are the histories of these representations? Why do these representations matter? How are representations of Black people discussed in academic and social discourse?  

This version of this course fulfills the FWR+ requirement and is accessible for first-year students with advanced writing skills. This course counts as an elective for the African American and African Studies major or minor, and will serve to satisfy the Artistic, Interpretative, and Philosophical Inquiry requirement in the College of Arts and Sciences’ General Education requirements. 

AAS 2710-001: Intro to Afro-Latin America 

Prof. Siwaju 

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AAS 2751-001: African History Through the Novel 

Prof. Blyden 

This course will introduce students to themes in the history of Africa and the African Diaspora through novels.  The class encourages students to read several novels as history. The novels will help us understand various themes in African and Africana history from the era before contact with outsiders to independence. It explores the role of religion, gender, slavery, and colonialism, as well as the relationship with the African Diaspora. The course will be organized thematically rather than chronologically as we read novels that capture historical, political, and social developments in Africa and its diaspora. We will explore the background of authors and the times in which the author did his or her Among the questions we might explore are “Can we see fiction about the past as representative of the era it covers?” “Does historical fiction contain a different kind of ‘truth’ than history?” Students in this class will take the journey towards exploring all these questions and ideas. 

AAS 3157-001: Caribbean Perspectives 

Prof. Siwaju 

Breaking with popular constructions of the region as a timeless tropical paradise, this course will re-define the Caribbean as the birthplace of modern forms of capitalism, globalization, and trans-nationalism. We will survey the founding moments of Caribbean history, including the imposition of slavery, the rise of plantation economies, and the development of global networks of goods and peoples. 

AAS 3220-001: Environmental Justice: Policy Practice  

Prof. Fields 

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AAS 3500-001: Africulture: Roots of U.S. Agriculture  

Prof. Shutt 

Led by a practicing farmer-activist, Michael Carter, Jr. of Carter Farms in nearby Orange County, Virginia, we will examine how principles, practices, plants and people of African descent have shaped US agriculture, and thus, the lives of all Americans. By examining a wide range of history, laws, attitudes, cultures and traditions, we will see how many US staple commodities and practices have their roots in Africa and observe cultural similarities between indigenous cultures around the world. While evaluating realities of today’s Black farmers and the innovations they devise to survive in a system stacked against them, we will look for solutions to an array of challenges faced by today's Black farmers in the US food system and across a wide range of environmental and agricultural arenas. 

AAS 3500-002: Health of Black Women & Children 

Prof. Richardson 

In this course, we will consider why it is the case that Black women and children have higher rates of adverse health outcomes, including but not limited to maternal and infant mortality, than their white counterparts. Applying both life course and intersectionality perspectives on health, we will examine how social factors structure the lived experiences of Black women and their children and, in turn, influence mental and physical health throughout the life course and across generations. We will review and evaluate evidence from research on the adverse mental and physical health effects of historical trauma, adverse childhood experiences, cumulative social stress (“weathering”), and the “strong Black woman” archetype, among other social phenomena. Then, we will discuss what medicine and public health can (or should) do to improve the health and well-being of Black women and children and, therefore, to halt the intergenerational reproduction of health and social inequality. 

AAS 3500-003: Introduction to Black Queer Film 

Prof. Crawley 

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AAS 3500-004: Race & Medicine in America 

Prof. Richardson 

This course examines medical practices that have shaped the social construction of race and reinforced healthcare inequalities over the last 60 years. We will discuss the role of medicine in racial meaning-making by examining the (mis)use of race in clinical decision-making and biomedical research and by interrogating the contrasting schemas of medicalization and criminalization that have informed/animated the racialization of health and illness. 

AAS 3500-005: Introduction to Black Feminist Literature  

Prof. Olla 

This course critically examines key ideas, issues, and debates in contemporary Black feminist thought. With a particular focus on Black feminist understandings of intersectionality and womanism, the course examines how Black feminist thinkers interrogate specific concepts including Black womanhood, sexual mythologies and vulnerabilities, class distinctions, colorism, leadership, crime and punishment, and popular culture. 

AAS 4570-001: Black Performance Theory  

Prof. Evans 

In this course we will discuss the concepts performance, performativity and authenticity with regard to race, gender, sexuality and class. We do so by considering the various theoretical histories and trajectories for the word performance and how it has been taken up by thinkers in Black Studies. 

AAS 4720-001: Black Feminist Theory  

Prof. Smith  

This course provides an advanced orientation to Black feminist scholarship through Black feminism’s existential questions: What is Black feminism? What and who are Black women? Who are Black feminism’s proper subjects or objects? What are the challenges to Black feminism? What kinds of creativity are fostered in a Black feminist framework? We will explore theoretical, literary, and artistic Black feminist work primarily from the United States. 

SWAH 1020: Introductory Swahili II 

Prof. Rotich  

This course is a continuation of SWAH 1010. The course is designed to advance your knowledge of Swahili from the SWAH 1010. It is expected that you will build your Swahili lexicon and Swahili grammar to enable you to adequately contribute to basic conversations with Swahili speakers. You will be able to talk more deeply about your work, studies, country, and your preferences, needs, and interests following the correct grammar rules. You will learn how to handle basic social conversations at the market, in the hospital, and also talk about a variety of topics of common interest. You will also learn about more cultural aspects of everyday culture in East Africa from class and from engaging virtually the Swahili community in Charlottesville. 

SWAH 2020-001/002: Intermediate Swahili II 

Prof. Rotich 

This is an intermediate Swahili course that is intended to equip you with more language skills in speaking, reading, writing, listening, and cultures. It is an opportunity for you to enhance your language skills gained from SWAH 2010. At the end of this course you will have increased your Swahili vocabulary, speak Swahili with more ease and less errors, understand and interact with Swahili speakers. You will be able to write and analyze texts and essays in Swahili on different topics and appreciate more the cultures of the Swahili people. You will also be able to express yourself, your everyday activities, discuss politics, or current events in Swahili. To achieve this, we will utilize Swahili short story texts, multimedia resources, the internet, magazines, and news broadcast stations to enhance your learning.