2019-2020 University Catalog 
    
    Mar 28, 2024  
2019-2020 University Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Africana and Latin American Studies


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Faculty
Professors Banner-Haley, Bigenho, Hodges, Hyslop, Konadu, Klugherz, Luciani, Moran (Director), Rojas-Paiewonsky
Associate Professors Baptiste, Etefa, Page

Coordinator of the African American Studies Concentration Simmons
Coordinator of the African Studies Concentration Etefa
Coordinator of the Caribbean Studies Concentration Page
Coordinator of the Latin American Studies Concentration Klugherz

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 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 Arthur Schomburg Awards for Excellence in African Studies and in African American Studies — awarded by the program to the student with the highest grade point average in African / 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 ALST 499 .


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 an interdisciplinary study group in Jamaica.

Additionally, the Africana and Latin American Studies Program supports extended study groups to South Africa (ALST 380 ). For more information, see Extended Study .

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 .


 

Majors and Minors

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    Courses

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