Section 002: The African American Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Experience - Introduces students to the experiences of lesbians, gays and bisexuals of African descent through ethnographic, historical, psychological sociological, and African-centered perspectives. Topics include ‘queer theory;’ heterosexuality; Afrocentricity and the African American homosexual and bisexual; politics of Black sexual identity; Black feminism; racism within the white homosexual community, HIV/AIDS epidemic and the Down Low (DL) lifestyle.
Section 003: Introduction to Black Women’s Studies - Examines issues and concerns about race, gender, class, color, and homophobia as they relate to Black women worldwide. Examines Black feminist, womanist, Africana womanist, and African feminist theories.
Section 004: The Black Male - Examination of the status of the American Black male within the contemporary American social system. Examines Black male roles in society as well as in ghetto and street culture; the status and role performances of Black fathers; examines historical and contemporary myths about the psychology and biology of African American males.
Section 005: Hip-Hop and Black Culture - Examines hip-hop and its relation to African American culture not as a mode of entertainment, but as a medium of communication. The historical, socio-economic, and musical/aesthetic contexts from which hip-hop emerged will be analyzed.
Section 006: Sociocultural Foundations of Health and Disease - Examines the relationship between biological and sociocultural definitions of health, illness and disease among people of African descent. Cross cultural comparisons will be explored in the context of ethnomedicine, food, religion and public policy in health. Topics include health disparities and the best practices for addressing critical health issues among African Americans such as cancer, obesity, diabetes, depression, homicide and HIV. Controversial interventions such as condom distribution and vaccinations will be discussed in the framework of human rights and the ethics of health research and intervention.
Section 008: Black Jews - An introduction to the African-centered approach to the study of Jews of African ancestry. Students will examine and critique methods used to study Jews of African Ancestry. Introduction to basics of Afro-Jewish history, culture, and religion. This course seeks to analyze the effects race and racism have on the construction of Jewish identities.
Section 009: Islam in Black America - An intensive examination of the import of Islam to America through enslaved Africans (Omar Ibn Sayyid ca. 1770-1864), and the impact of Islam through principle figures associated with Islamic organizations (e.g., Noble Drew Ali, Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, Louis Farrakhan). A detailed analysis of the historical, social and political influence Islamic organizations have on African-Americans, and the implications of their “criminalized” image on urban blacks.