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Department of Pan African Studies

King Hall C3095
Phone: (323) 343-2290
E-mail: pas@calstatela.edu
Website: http://www.calstatela.edu/academic/pas/

Chair

Lawson Bush
lbush2@calstatela.edu
323-343-2291

Overview

Pan-African Studies (PAS) encompasses the systematic investigation of the history, culture, social relationships, political economy, literature, arts, and languages of peoples of African descent and their contribution to world civilization. In order to give students a unique foundation for critical thinking and socio-cultural analysis, the curriculum combines in-depth and transnational approaches to the study of the Black experience. In particular, PAS places African American Studies in a larger comparative context. Students who elect the major will be equipped for graduate work in African American, African, ethnic, and cultural studies as well as in a range of traditional academic disciplines. Students interested in graduate work in a traditional academic discipline should consider a minor in that field. PAS degree holders have found careers in teaching, community development and leadership, international affairs, nongovernmental organizations, public relations, social work, urban research, community law, civil service, industrial relations, entertainment, and many other professions.

As a program of study, PAS places the black experience in the larger context of Africa and the African Diaspora - thus the name “Pan African” Studies. The goal of the curriculum is to allow for flexibility in required core and upper division elective courses. This approach maximizes student ability to determine areas of emphasis and, with faculty advisement, to select a creative set of courses that expose majors or minors to the historical context, fundamental concepts, and central issues in the field of Pan African Studies.

The Faculty

Professor:
Associate Professor: Melina Abdullah (Chair)
Assistant Professor: Msia Clark.
Emeriti: Jonathan Nwomonoh, Aida Takla O’Reilly.

Programs

• Pan-African Studies, B.A.

• Minor in Pan-African Studies

Courses

• PAS 1020 - The African Diaspora in the Americas (also listed as LAS 1020)
• PAS 1100 - Racial Equality, Government and the Constitution
• PAS 1200 - Elementary African Language and Culture
• PAS 1300 - Introduction to Pan African Studies
• PAS 1400 - Introduction to Globalization, Race, and Place (also listed as AAAS 1400, LAS 1400)
• PAS 1500 - Black Oral Traditions and Communication
• PAS 1510 - African American History
• PAS 1800 - Critical Race Theory
• PAS 2010 - Third World Literature
• PAS 2020 - African American Religion as Civic Culture
• PAS 2210 - African American Music as History and Criticism, African American Music
• PAS 2500 - African History
• PAS 2600 - Third World Images in Film
• PAS 3020 - Black and Latino and Latin American Relations (also listed as LAS 3020)
• PAS 3050 - Black Feminism and Womanism (also listed as WGSS 3050)
• PAS 3070 - Black Manhood and Masculinity
• PAS 3350 - Race and Culture in the Americas, Race Culture Americas (also listed as LAS 3350)
• PAS 3420 - Cultural Impact of Development (also listed as LAS 3420)
• PAS 3480 - Race, Class, and Gender (also listed as AAAS 3480)
• PAS 3600 - Dynamics of Change in the Developing World (also listed as LAS 3600, POLS 3600)
• PAS 3690 - Race, Activism, and Emotions
• PAS 3715 - Rethinking the ‘Welfare Queen:’ Race, Gender, and Poverty in the US (also listed as WGSS 3715)
• PAS 3800 - Education and Development in Africa
• PAS 3810 - Literary Explorations of Racism and Justice (also listed as ENGL 3810)
• PAS 3822 - Ethnicity and Emotions in U.S. Film (also listed as ENGL 3822)
• PAS 4000 - Psychology and African Americans
• PAS 4010 - Topics on Education and African American Advancement
• PAS 4020 - Black Political Economy
• PAS 4030 - The Black Intellectual Tradition
• PAS 4040 - The Black Family
• PAS 4060 - Black Women Leaders in Thought and Politics
• PAS 4080 - Black Sexuality
• PAS 4090 - Black Labor
• PAS 4100 - Black People and Islam
• PAS 4110 - African Spirituality in Theory and Practice
• PAS 4120 - Third World Women and Development
• PAS 4160 - Pan Africanism and World Politics
• PAS 4170 - Hip-Hop as Political Expression
• PAS 4200 - African Foundations of African American Culture
• PAS 4220 - Themes in Black Literature
• PAS 4270 - Black Film
• PAS 4300 - Research Methods in Pan African Studies
• PAS 4400 - Power and the African American Community I
• PAS 4410 - Power and African American Communities II: Field Research
• PAS 4560 - Politics of the Caribbean and Central America
• PAS 4800 - Afro-Latin America; Afro-Latin America (also listed as LAS 4800)
• PAS 4850 - Anti-colonial Movements (also listed as AAAS 4850, LAS 4850)
• PAS 4900 - Special Topics
• PAS 4950 - Senior Thesis
• PAS 4990 - Directed Study

• PAS 5000 - Proseminar in Pan African Studies

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