We live in a country which places a premium on indivdual accomplishments. Hence, all of you worked extremely hard to get into Penn. Yet, social factors also have an impact on life chance. This class provides an oveview of how membership in social groups shapes the outcomes of individuals. We will look at a range of topics from the organizational factors which promoted racial inequality in Ferguson, Mo to the refusal of (mostly elite) parents to vaccinate their children. The experience of women and men in the labor market -- and the social factors that lead women to earn less than men -- is another interesting topic taken up in the course. Who gets ahead in America? Course requirements include a midterm, research paper (five to six pages), final and recitation activities. Students are not expected to have any previous knowledge of the topic. Welcome to the course!

We live in a country which places a premium on indivdual accomplishments. Hence, all of you worked extremely hard to get into Penn. Yet, social factors also have an impact on life chance. This class provides an oveview of how membership in social groups shapes the outcomes of individuals. We will look at a range of topics from the organizational factors which promoted racial inequality in Ferguson, Mo to the refusal of (mostly elite) parents to vaccinate their children. The experience of women and men in the labor market -- and the social factors that lead women to earn less than men -- is another interesting topic taken up in the course. Who gets ahead in America? Course requirements include a midterm, research paper (five to six pages), final and recitation activities. Students are not expected to have any previous knowledge of the topic. Welcome to the course!

We live in a country which places a premium on indivdual accomplishments. Hence, all of you worked extremely hard to get into Penn. Yet, social factors also have an impact on life chance. This class provides an oveview of how membership in social groups shapes the outcomes of individuals. We will look at a range of topics from the organizational factors which promoted racial inequality in Ferguson, Mo to the refusal of (mostly elite) parents to vaccinate their children. The experience of women and men in the labor market -- and the social factors that lead women to earn less than men -- is another interesting topic taken up in the course. Who gets ahead in America? Course requirements include a midterm, research paper (five to six pages), final and recitation activities. Students are not expected to have any previous knowledge of the topic. Welcome to the course!

The aim of this course is to provide an interdisciplinary examination of the complex array of African American and other African Diaspora social practices and experiences. This class will focus on both classic texts and modern works that provide an introduction to the dynamics of African American and African Diaspora thought and practice. Topics include: What is Africana Studies?; The History Before 1492; Creating the African Diaspora After 1500; The Challenge of Freedom; Race, Gender and Class in the 20th Century; From Black Studies to Africana Studies: The Future of Africana Studies.

This seminar treats selected aspects of the history, aesthetics, criticism and historiography of African-American music.


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

This course provides the opportunity for students to investigate the relationship between the emergence of African peoples as historical subjects and their location within specific geopolitical and economic circumstances. Topics vary.


FALL 2017: FASCISM AND RACISM: A LOVE STORY- What is the relationship between fascism and racism in modern politics, and how have black political thinkers and organizations understood this relationship? This graduate level course is designed to familiarize students with the historical and contemporary literature on fascism as a phenomena of modern politics, and the importance of racial politics and ideologies to its constitution. Students will become familiar with the contributions of Black political actors, organizations and thinkers in Europe, Africa, Asia and the New World to fascism's defeat in the 1920's and 1930's, as well as more contemporary efforts to curb more contemporary fascist movements, regimes and aesthetics in late modernity. Antonio Gramsci, Robert Paxton, Michael Mann, C.L.R. James, George Padmore, Aime Cesaire, Suzanne Cesaire and Hannah Arendt are among the thinkers, theorists and activists students will encounter in this course. The overarching aim of his course is to identify fascism in both historical and contemporary contexts as a very specific form of political organization and rule, and its interrelationship with racism, nationalism and xenophobia.

Interdisciplinary seminar for discussion of issues of special interest to graduate students and faculty in Africana Studies. Topics vary according to the interests and expertise of instructors.


SPRING 2017 - Readings in African American Religion: Traditional narratives of African American Religion go from slavery to civil rights to "freedom" without taking into account the complex religious lives and intellectual production of people of African descent in the Americas. This course will focus on African American Religion and the historical and theoretical frameworks that have shaped the study of this field. Readings will cover religious studies, anthropology history, and African American studies in order to provide an understanding of the varieties of religion and religious experiences with this particular segment of the African Diaspora.

Reading and discussion course on selected topics in African history.

SPRING 2017: This seminar is suitable for graduate students in any discipline in which historical research may be relevant. We will work with both secondary and primary sources, and students will have the opportunity to visit and undertake research in an archive.

This course focuses on the historical and cultural relationship between Africans and their descendants abroad.