About the Program
Director: Lillie Johnson Edwards, Professor of History
Associate Professor: E. Obiri Addo (adjunct)
Pan-African Studies is an interdisciplinary program that offers extensive study of the history, cultures, politics and socioeconomic structures of Africa and the African Diaspora. Students develop a comparative perspective in order to understand the rich network of linkages, movements and exchanges among African peoples; the complex geographical and cultural landscapes in which they make their lives; and the interactions among Europeans, Asians, Native Americans, and peoples of African descent. The program teaches students to use diverse historical, political, ethnographic, artistic and literary forms of analysis from the humanities; social and behavioral sciences; and fine arts.
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Requirements for the Major (40 Credits)
All majors are required to take at least one course that focuses on Africa and one that focuses on the African-American experience. A minimum of 16 credits of work toward the major must be completed at Drew. The courses for the major are to be distributed among required and elective courses in the following manner
I. Required Interdisciplinary Core Courses (12 Credits)
PANAF 10/Introduction to Pan-African Studies (4)
PANAF 80/Experiential Learning Seminar in Pan-African Studies (2-4) or an internship INTR 50/ (2-4)
PANAF 180/Pan-African Studies Seminar (4)
II. Elective Courses (28 Credits)
At least seven additional courses (28 credits), three of which must be upper-level (not including PANAF 180), chosen from the following list of departmental and interdisciplinary courses and foreign studies programs. At least two courses must be from different departments in the social sciences and at least two of the courses must be from different departments in the humanities and arts.
A. Social Sciences
ANTH 4/Cultural Diversity (when topic appropriate) (4)
ANTH 51/Arts of Africa and the Diaspora (4)
ANTH 55/PANAF 11/Peoples of Africa (4)
ANTH 16/Folklore (with appropriate content) (4)
ANTH 119/Religions of Africa (4)
ANTH 135/Selected Topics in Cultural Anthropology (when topic appropriate) (4)
ECON 40/Economics of the Third World (4)
ECON 62/Poverty and Policy (4)
ECON 136/Political Economy of Race, Class and Gender (4)
PSYC 113/Principles and Methods of Social Psychology (4)
PSCI 196/Constitutional Law and Civil Rights (4)
PSCI 198/Race and Politics (4)
PSCI 199/Africa in International Politics (4)
SOC 19/Sociology of Inequality (4)
SOC 26/Sociology of Race and Ethnicity (4)
SOC 106/Urban Sociology (4)
B. Humanities & Arts
ENG 34/Topics in American Ethnic, Immigrant or Regional Literature (when topic appropriate) (4)
ENG 35/African-American Literature (4)
ENG 132/Women's Literary Tradition (when topic appropriate) (4)
ENG 134/Advanced Studies in American Ethnic Literatures (when topic is appropriate) (4)
FREN 120/Class, Ethnicity and Culture (4)
FREN 121/North African Francophone Literature (4)
FREN 122/North African Francophone Literature (4)
FREN 123/Modern West African Literature (4)
FREN 124/Modern West African Literature (4)
FREN 125/166/French Caribbean Literature (4)
FREN/126 French Caribbean Literature (4)
FREN 173/174/African Francophone Literature (4)
HIST 15/From Slavery to Freedom: African-American History from African Origins to 1877 (4)
HIST 16/The Struggle for Equality: African-American History from 1860 to the Present (4)
HIST 61/Modern Sub-Saharan Africa (4)
HIST 102/Colonial America (4)
HIST 105/The American Civil War (4)
HIST 115/African-American Intellectual and Social History (4)
HIST 190/History of Inequality (4)
HUM 17/Africa, America , and African-Americans (4)
MUS 33/Music of the Whole Earth (4)
MUS 34/American Popular Music & All That Jazz (4)
REL 36/Introduction to Islam (4)
REL 48/Religion and Society in Modern Egypt (4)
REL 142/The Black Church in America (4)
REL 143/PANAF 119/Religions of Africa (4)
SPAN 149/Hispanic Cultures in the United States (4)
SPAN 156/Ethnicity, Class, and Gender in Hispanic American Society (4)
C. Additional General Electives
PANAF 20/Pan-African Choral Performance
PANAF 111/The Literature and Cultures of Africa (4)
PANAF 170/Selected Topics in Pan-African Studies (2-4)
PANAF 190/Independent Study in Pan-African Studies (2-4)
WMST 52/Global Feminisms (4)
D. Study Abroad Programs (Electives)
PANAF 15/Drew International Seminars (with appropriate content and location) (4)
Drew in West Africa: Mali
ANTH 152/Introduction to the Cultures of Mali (4)
ART 115/Traditions and Techniques of West African Arts (4)
ARTHST 116/History of African Art and Architecture: Mali (4)
Semester in Ghana
PANAF 160/Life, Culture and Language of Eritrea/Ghana (4)
PANAF 161/Gender and Development (4)
PANAF 162/Selected Topics in Nation Building (4)
PANAF 163/Independent Research/Internship (4)
E. Honors Thesis (4-8 credits). Recommended for students planning to pursue graduate studies.
Students should consult the list published each semester by the Pan-African Studies program for additional courses. Other courses may be applied to the major if they are proposed to and approved by the Pan-African Studies Committee.
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Requirements for the Minor (20 Credits)
I. Required (8 Credits)
PANAF 10/Introduction to Pan-African Studies (4)
At least one additional Pan-African Studies course chosen from the following list:
PANAF 80/Experiential Learning Seminar in Pan-African Studies (2-4)
PANAF 170/Selected Topics in Pan-African studies (2-4)
PANAF 180/Experiential Learning Seminar in Pan-African Studies (2-4)
PANAF 190/Independent Study in Pan-African studies (2-4)
II. Electives (12 credits)
At least twelve credits in intermediate- or upper-level courses from among Pan-African Studies, departmental and interdisciplinary courses.
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Off-Campus Programs
The Semester in Eritrea/Ghana
The Semester in Eritrea/Ghana, offered every fall , provides students with a rare opportunity to observe and experience firsthand the process of nation-building and study the key role that gender plays in the development process. The program addresses issues related to human development in a holistic manner, highlighting the centrality of gender issues and women's experiences. The heart of the program is the independent research project for which students conduct interviews, engage in literature research, travel, or perhaps participate in internships/field research related to the theme of the program. Participants enroll in 4 four-credit courses designed for American students and taught by Eritrean and American faculty. Site visits to development project centers and facilities in Asmara and other cities, along with guest speakers from government, private and nongovernmental, international and diplomatic communities are regular features of the academic program.
Drew in West Africa: Mali
Unique among Drew's off-campus programs is this summer program in Mali, the West African nation named after one of the great kingdoms of the 13th century. Students participating in this four-week program have the opportunity to visit ancient mosques and libraries in Timbuctu, market towns such as Mopti along the Niger River, the striking cliffside towns of the Dogon people, and the busy modern capital of Bamako . With its emphasis on the arts of Malian people, this program provides an extraordinary opportunity to learn about changing Africa Hearing lectures by American and Malian faculty, as well as observing demonstrations of weaving, pottery, masquerades, and so on, students can receive credit for two four-credit courses.
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