Africana and Latin American Studies

The Africana and Latin American Studies (ALST) Program is an interdisciplinary program that studies the histories and cultures, both material and expressive, of the peoples of Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America, and of African Americans in the United States. It draws heavily from several disciplines in the arts and humanities (art, languages, literature, music) and the social sciences (anthropology, archaeology, economics, geography, history, political science, and sociology), as well as educational studies, philosophy, psychology, religion, and writing and rhetoric. The program offers a major and a minor with four different emphases: African, African American, Caribbean, and Latin American studies. United by a shared historical connection within the Atlantic world, Africans, African Americans (US), Latin Americans, and the peoples of the Caribbean provide rich opportunities for interdisciplinary and comparative studies. The program offers students the opportunity to study one particular group of people in relation to others in the wider Atlantic world. It examines the indigenous civilizations of these regions and studies the impact of migration, imperialism and colonialism, racism, nationalism, and globalization in shaping the lives, ideas, and cultural identities of their inhabitants.

The major in Africana and Latin American studies consists of nine courses. Students concentrate in African studies, African American studies, Caribbean studies, or Latin America studies. Each emphasis has a required introductory course, and all students are also required to take at least one approved course within the program from outside their own emphasis.

Substitution of other appropriate or equivalent courses, independent studies, or special study groups for the requirements for each concentration may be possible, but must be approved by the Africana and Latin American Studies Program director. Transfer courses, field study, and one-time-only courses by visiting professors can be credited toward the major or minor only with approval of the program director. A minimum average GPA of 2.00 in the courses chosen to count toward the major or minor in Africana and Latin American studies is required for graduation.

Majors in the Africana and Latin American Studies Program may not pursue a minor in the program. In the case of a double major, no more than two courses from the department or program of the second major may be counted for the ALST major, with the approval of the ALST director or respective coordinator. The relationship between students and the coordinator of each concentration is a vital one, and it is imperative that each major and minor meet with the appropriate coordinator at least once a semester to assess progress toward meeting graduation requirements.

As with the major, the minor in Africana and Latin American studies allows the student to concentrate in African studies, African American studies, Caribbean studies, or Latin American studies. It consists of six courses, no more than one of which may also be counted toward a student’s major.

More than one Core Communities and Identities course may be counted toward the major or minor, but only one Core course used to meet Liberal Arts Core Curriculum requirements may also be counted toward the major or minor.

Awards

The Maathai-Mandela Award for Excellence in African Studies — awarded by the program to the student with the highest grade point average in African studies courses.

The Caribbean Studies Award — awarded by the program to the student with the highest grade point average in Caribbean studies courses, to be used for the purchase of books related to this field of study.

The OAS Award for Excellence in Latin American Studies — awarded by the program to the student with the highest grade point average in Latin American studies courses, to be used for the purchase of books related to this field of study.

The Arturo Schomburg Awards for Excellence in African American Studies — awarded by the program to the student with the highest grade point average in African American studies courses, to be used for the purchase of books related to this field of study.

Honors and High Honors

Majors may graduate with honors or high honors in Africana and Latin American studies. Qualifications for honors include, at graduation, a minimum overall average of 3.00, a major average of 3.30, and a successful defense before a designated faculty committee of an honors paper or project prepared under the direction of a member of the Africana and Latin American studies faculty. The committee that evaluates the final paper will be identified by the program director in consultation with the student and the student’s faculty adviser. Prospective honors students should notify the appropriate coordinators of their intentions by the first week of October of the senior year. A student with a double major in Africana and Latin American studies and a second field may apply for honors in both areas by submitting and defending a paper in each. The paper topics may be related, but the focus and/or content of the two papers must differ substantially. Beyond the requirements for honors, high honors requires a major average of 3.7. High honors projects are usually begun in the fall of the senior year. Students who expect to qualify for honors or high honors should register for

Study Groups and Field Projects

Study Groups Periodically, the Africana and Latin American Studies Program has sponsored study groups in Africa, Latin America, or the Caribbean under the direction of faculty members associated with the program. Decisions on the awarding of credits are set prior to the consolidation of each study group. See Off-Campus Study  for further information about interdisciplinary study groups in Jamaica; Trinidad; and Capetown, South Africa.

Additionally, the Africana and Latin American Studies Program supports extended study groups to South Africa (

Model African Union Project The Africana and Latin American Studies Program participates in the Model African Union, held each spring at Howard University, Washington, D.C. Highlights of the trip include visits to the embassies of the African countries the Colgate team is representing, as well as engaging in debate with student representatives from over thirty colleges and universities across the country. The program is offered as a half-credit course, ALST 290 .

Courses

The courses listed below are offered by the ALST program. As an interdisciplinary program, select courses from other departments/programs may also count toward the ALST major and minor requirements. Use the major/minor links below to find other courses that count toward these requirements. 

Majors and Minors

• Africana & Latin American Studies Major, African American Studies Emphasis
• Africana & Latin American Studies Major, African Studies Emphasis
• Africana & Latin American Studies Major, Caribbean Studies Emphasis
• Africana & Latin American Studies Major, Latin American Studies Emphasis

• Africana & Latin American Studies Minor, African American Studies Emphasis
• Africana & Latin American Studies Minor, African Studies Emphasis
• Africana & Latin American Studies Minor, Caribbean Studies Emphasis
• Africana & Latin American Studies Minor, Latin American Studies Emphasis

Courses

• ALST 201 - Africa
• ALST 202 - Introduction to African American Studies
• ALST 203 - The Caribbean
• ALST 204 - Performing Bolivian Music
• ALST 211E - Cuba: History, Culture and Life (Extended Study)
• ALST 212 - The Politics of Race and Ethnicity
• ALST 220 - The Black Diaspora: Africans at Home and Abroad
• ALST 225 - Jamaica: From Colony to Independence (Study Group)
• ALST 230 - Introduction to Latin American Studies
• ALST 237 - Ghana: History, Culture and Politics in West Africa
• ALST 237E - Ghana: History, Culture and Politics in West Africa (Extended Study)
• ALST 242 - Religions of Resistance: Gender, Sexuality and Performance in the Caribbean
• ALST 250 - Representations of Africa
• ALST 273 - Contemporary African American Drama
• ALST 281 - Slavery and the Slave Trade in Africa
• ALST 282 - The Making of Modern Africa
• ALST 284 - Decolonization in Africa
• ALST 290 - Model African Union
• ALST 291 - Independent Study
• ALST 309 - Latin America: Critical Landscapes of Development
• ALST 312 - Gender, Race and Punishment: Toward an Inclusive History of the American Carceral State
• ALST 320 - African American Women’s History
• ALST 321 - Black Communities
• ALST 330 - Race and Crime
• ALST 331 - The Sexual Politics of Hip-Hop
• ALST 340 - Art and Culture in Contemporary Jamaica (Study Group)
• ALST 351 - Medicine, Health and Healing in Africa
• ALST 354 - Introduction to French Literature: The Francophone World
• ALST 357 - Indigenous Politics of Latin America
• ALST 360 - ALST Interdisciplinary Research Design
• ALST 365 - Andean Lives
• ALST 367 - Jamaica in the Literary Imagination (Study Group)
• ALST 377 - History of Culture in the Caribbean
• ALST 380 - Movements for Social Justice in South Africa (Extended Study)
• ALST 391 - Independent Study
• ALST 480 - Issues and Trends in Africana and Latin American Studies
• ALST 491 - Independent Study
• ALST 499 - Special Studies for Honors