African & African American Literature Minor
Welcome to the African & African American Literature Minor! Our program offers students a unique opportunity to explore African diasporic literatures—the literature produced by people of African descent in places all over the world, including Africa, the Caribbean, and the United States. Our students develop critical understanding not only of black literature and literary theory but also of local, national, and global issues of racial identity, institutionalized racism, and anti-racist resistance.
Why Minor in African & African American Literature?
Learning Outcomes
Students in the African & African American Literature Minor will:
- Broaden and deepen their understanding of the full range of African and African American literary expression.
- Engage in acts of critical reading, analytical writing, and theoretical inquiry that will enable them to refine their critical abilities and develop their political and social awareness.
- Enhance their appreciation for the multiplicity of experiences and voices within African and African American literatures and cultures.
- Develop a broad-based understanding of the history of black global experience and its impact on racial issues today.
- Learn to "see" race in a way that makes them more attuned to the workings of structural oppression and more capable of empathizing with the lives and experiences of people of color.
Advising Sheet
Like most minors at WCU, the AAAL Minor requires students to take six courses, or 18 credits, in order to complete the program. Our students start by taking two required survey courses—one in African Literature and one in African American Literature—and then finish by choosing four electives, two of which must be at the 300 level or above. View our updated AAAL Minor advising sheet .
Courses
Students in the AAAL Minor may choose from a wide range of courses in order to complete the program. Please check the online Schedule of Classes to learn about course availability for a given semester, keeping in mind that at least three to four AAAL Minor courses are offered each semester. If you're a student in the minor and unable to find a course that you need to finish the program, please contact the Minor Coordinator (or the instructor of record) about the possibility of individualized instruction. View the complete list of required and elective courses for the AAAL Minor.
Program Coordinator
Andrew Sargent
Main Hall 536
asargent@wcupa.edu
Affiliated Faculty
News and Updates
Community Building: Cultural Events & Outings
The AAAL Minor hosts various community-building events and outings throughout the academic year. In recent years, we've led van trips to the People's Light Theater in Malvern to see compelling plays on Bayard Rustin (2022), Nina Simone (2019), and >Martin Luther King (2016) and to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to see the special exhibit "Represent: 200 Years of African American Art" (2015). We also hosted a faculty/student Roundtable on 12 Years a Slave (2013). More events are in the pipeline! Stay tuned, and if you'd like to get involved or have ideas for future outings, please contact the Program Coordinator.
Declare the Minor
Interested in declaring the African & African American Literature Minor? Visit the WCU Registrar's Registration page for instructions on how to submit an Academic Plan Change Request in myWCU.