The African studies minor exposes undergraduates to the study of the African continent through UO courses and experiences beyond the classroom. Our program is multi-disciplinary, and affiliated faculty members come from departments and colleges ranging from journalism and biology to history and anthropology. Once you have declared the minor, set up an appointment with the African Studies program advisor to plan your courses.

To earn the minor, students must complete 16 required credits and 12 elective credits. Of the 28 required credits:

• No more than 12 should be from a single department.
• No more than 12 should be at the lower division level.
• No more than 8 may come from courses with less than 50% Africa content.
• No more than 4 may be from music or dance performance courses.
• No more than 4 may be taken Pass/No Pass.

Required Courses

Students must complete four required courses for 16 credits total (most courses are four credits). You may be able to get approval from the program advisor for different courses to take the place of a required course.

All students must take Introduction to African Studies (4 credits)

• AFR 215 Introduction to African Studies

Select one in History of Africa (4 credits):

• ANTH 453 African Archeology
• HIST 325 Precolonial Africa
• HIST 326 Colonial & Postcolonial Africa

Select one in Contemporary African Issues (4 credits):

• AFR 199 Health and Disease in Africa (Freshman Seminar)
• BI 309 Tropical Diseases in Africa
• ENVS 450 Political Ecology
• FLR 225 Voices of Africa
• FR 407 Seminar: Contemporary Africa
• GEOG 209 Geography of Middle East/North Africa
• GEOG 475, Africa: Politics, Development, and Environment
• GLBL 345, Africa Today
• HIST 417, Society and Culture in Modern Africa
• J 410, Media in Ghana (Summer Journalism in Ghana)
• SOC 450, Sociology of Developing Areas

Select one in Culture, Ethnicity & Identity in Africa (4 credits):

• ANTH 310, Exploring Other Cultures: “African Masks and Meanings”
• ANTH 327, Anthropological Perspectives on Africa
• ANTH 410, Ethnography of Postcolonial Africa
• DANC 185 African Dance
• DANC 199 African Drumming
• FLR 225 Voices of Africa
• FLR 416, African Folklore
• FR 303, Identités Francophones
• FR 407, Seminar: African Identities
• FR 490, Postcolonial Africa
• FR 490, Mango Beti: Retour d’exil
• LING 331, African Languages: Identity, Ethnicity, History
• LING 407, Seminar: African Language Families
• MUS 462, Music of the African Diaspora

Electives

All students must take 12 credits of electives (most courses are four credits). Elective courses must be at the 300 or 400 level, although up to eight credits of Swahili language courses at any level may be applied. A maximum of eight credits of 300- or 400-level French, Portuguese or Arabic language courses that have subject matter relevant to African studies may be applied. A maximum of 12 credits of 300- or 400-level study abroad credits may be applied.

Take three of the following courses, or courses from the required courses list, or another approved course (12 credits):

Electives with less than 50% Africa Content

Students can also consider fulfilling some elective credits for the minor by taking courses with 25% to 50% Africa-related content:

• Two courses will count as a single four-unit class
• No more than eight credits may be from these courses

The list of these courses changes from time to time, but may include:

• EC 390, Issues in Development Economics
• EC 490, Economic Growth and Development
• ENVS 410, Water, Public Health & Env
• HIST 415, Age of Imperialism
• GLBL 421, Gender and International Development
• J 467, Communication in Developing Countries
• MUS 358, Music in World Cultures
• MUS 451, Introduction to Ethnomusicology
• MUS 452, Musical Instruments of the World (Students can boost Africa content percentage with independent research project of their choosing.)
• WGS 451, Decolonial Feminisms
• WGS 432, Gender, Environment and Development

Major-Minor Breadth Requirement

Students must consult with the African Studies program director to confirm that that curricular overlap between the student’s major and the African studies minor maintains the principle of academic breadth. Deviations from the requirements listed above must be approved by the African Studies program director.

Other Minor Requirements

Out of the 28 required units for the minor:

• There may be no more than 12 credits from a single department.
• There may be no more than 12 credits taken at the lower division level

No more than 8 credits may come from courses with less than 50 percent content related to Africa; no more than 4 credits may be from music or dance performance courses; and no more than 4 credits may be taken Pass/No Pass