This course will cover southern culture and history from 1607-1860, from Jamestown to seccession. It traces the rise of slavery and plantation society, the growth of Southern sectionalism and its explosion into Civil War.

This Elementary Yoruba I course can be taken to fulfull a language requirement, or for linguistic preparation to do research on Nigeria and the diaspora/Africa-related topics. The course emphasizes communicative competence to enable the students to acquire linguistic and extra-linguistic skills in Yoruba. The content of the course is selected from various everyday life situations to enable the students to communicate in predictable commom daily settings. Culture, as it relates to language use, is also part of the course content.


Students will acquire the speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills at the mid-high novice level, based on the ACTFL scale. The mid-high novice level proficiency skills that the students will acquire constitute threshold capabilities of the second semester range of proficiency to prepare students for Elementary Yoruba II course materials.

This course surveys the development of law in the U.S. to 1877, including such subjects as: the evolution of the legal profession, the transformation of English law during the American Revolution, the making and implementation of the Constitution, and issues concerning business and economic development, the law of slavery, the status of women, and civil rights.

The Elementary Twi I course can be taken to fulfill a language requirement, or for linguistic preparation to do research on Ghana/Africa-related topics. The course emphasizes communicative competence to enable the students to acquire linguistic and extra-linguistic skills in Twi. The content of the course is selected from various everyday life situations to enable the students to communicate in predictable common daily settings. Culture, as it relates to language use, is also a part of the course content.

This course focuses on the musical genres and styles (both traditional and popular) that have grown up around the accordion in the New World. We will begin our explorations in Nova Scotia and move toward the Midwest, travelling though the polka belt. From there, our investigation turns toward Louisiana and Texas--toward zydeco, Cajun, and Tex-Mex music. We will then work our way through Central and South America, considering norteno, cumbia, vallenato, tango, chamame, and forro. Our journey will include in the Caribbean, where we will spend some time thinking about merengue and rake-n-scrape music. Throughout the semester, the musical case studies will be matched by readings and films that afford ample opportunity to think about the ways that music is bound up in ethnicity, identity, and class. We will also have occasion to think about the accordion as a multiple meaningful instrument that continues to be incorporated into debates over cultural politics and mobilized as part ofstrategies of representation through the New World.

The elementary Zulu I course can be taken to fulfill a language requirement, or for linguistic preparation to do research on South Africa, Southern Africa/Africa-related topics. The course emphasizes communicative competence to enable the students to acquire linguistic and extra-linguistic skills in Zulu. The content of the course is selected from various everyday life situations to enable the students to communicate in predictable common daily settings. Culture, as it relates to language use, is also part of the course content.

After introducing students to the major theoretical concepts concerning law and society, significant controversial societal issues that deal with law and the legal systems both domestically and internationally will be examined. Class discussions will focus on issues involving civil liberties, the organization of courts, legislatures, the legal profession and administrative agencies. Although the focus will be on law in the United States, law and society in other countries of Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America will be covered in a comparative context. Readings include research, reports, statutes and cases.

The unique history and experiences of African Americans can be traced through religion and belief. Through the mediums of literature, politics, music, and film, students will plore the religious experiences of people of the African Diaspora within the context of the complex history of race in American history. The course will cover a broad spectrum of African American religious experience including Black Nationalism, urban religions, the "black church" and African religious traditions such as Santeria and Rastafarianism. Special attention will be paid to the role of race, gender, sexuality, and popular culture in the African American religious experience.

This introductory course will study how humor is employed as a method for addressing the circumstance of race in the U.S. Could it be that writers like Richard Wright, Ann Petry, James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison depict the sadness and tragedy in black life in order to counteract the racial stereotypes generated by the minstrel tradition? To answer this question, we will consider works by Langston Hughes, Charles Johnson, Ishmael Reed, Percival Everett, as well as the work of black comedians including Richard Pryor, Cedric the Entertainer, Bernie Mac, Dave Chappelle, Patrice O Neal, Wanda Sykes, Key and Peele, and Chris Rock. Requirements for the course can be fulfilled through blog posts, short papers, and a final project (along with a healthy sense of humor).


See the Africana Studies Department's website at https://africana.sas.upenn.edu for a description of the current offerings.