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African Cultural Studies, BA

University of Wisconsin
Madison , United States
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Bachelors
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English
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Program Overview

African Cultural Studies, BA

The mission of the Department of African Cultural Studies is to research and teach the languages and expressive cultures of Africa and Africans around the world. Our faculty specialize in literature, history, music, film, critical applied linguistics, drama, diaspora studies, communications and new media. Our undergraduate program emphasizes the development and application of analytical, linguistic, and research methods that enable students to work effectively and imaginatively across regions, languages, cultural forms, fields, and disciplines. A student majoring in African Cultural Studies is prepared for careers across the globe!


Program Description

Undergraduates study one of six languages offered by the department Arabic, Hausa, Swahili, Wolof, Yoruba, and Zulu and combine their language study with popular courses in the humanities, literature, and ethnic studies. Students can also enroll in academic self-driven study for less commonly taught African languages. The department offers a wide range of course topics, including African literature and theater, contemporary cinema and music, Afro-Futurism, gender and sexuality, and internet and media studies.


Admission Requirements

  • No application required.
  • All students who meet the requirements listed below are eligible to declare.
  • Courses required to get in: None
  • GPA requirements to get in: None
  • Credits required to get in: None
  • Other: None

University General Education Requirements

All undergraduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are required to fulfill a minimum set of common university general education requirements to ensure that every graduate acquires the essential core of an undergraduate education. This core establishes a foundation for living a productive life, being a citizen of the world, appreciating aesthetic values, and engaging in lifelong learning in a continually changing world. Various schools and colleges will have requirements in addition to the requirements listed below.


  • BreadthHumanities/Literature/Arts: 6 credits
  • BreadthNatural Science: 4 to 6 credits, consisting of one 4- or 5-credit course with a laboratory component; or two courses providing a total of 6 credits
  • BreadthSocial Studies: 3 credits
  • Communication Part A & Part B
  • Ethnic Studies
  • Quantitative Reasoning Part A & Part B

College of Letters & Science Degree Requirements: Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Students pursuing a bachelor of arts degree in the College of Letters & Science must complete all of the requirements below. The College of Letters & Science allows this major to be paired with either a bachelor of arts or a bachelor of science curriculum.


Bachelor of Arts Degree Requirements

  • Mathematics: Complete the University General Education Requirements for Quantitative Reasoning A (QR-A) and Quantitative Reasoning B (QR-B) coursework.
  • Language:
    • Complete the fourth unit of a language other than English; OR
    • Complete the third unit of a language and the second unit of an additional language other than English.
  • L&S Breadth:
    • 12 credits of Humanities, which must include 6 credits of literature; and
    • 12 credits of Social Science; and
    • 12 credits of Natural Science, which must include one 3+ credit Biological Science course and one 3+ credit Physical Science course.
  • Liberal Arts and Science Coursework: Complete at least 108 credits.
  • Depth of Intermediate/Advanced work: Complete at least 60 credits at the intermediate or advanced level.
  • Major: Declare and complete at least one major.
  • Total Credits: Complete at least 120 credits.
  • UW-Madison Experience:
    • 30 credits in residence, overall; and
    • 30 credits in residence after the 86th credit.
  • Quality of Work:
    • 2.000 in all coursework at UWMadison
    • 2.000 in Intermediate/Advanced level coursework at UWMadison

Requirements for the Major

The African Cultural Studies major consists of a combination of literature and culture courses and two semesters of an African language for a minimum of 32 credits. The major requirements are divided into three areas: Language, Literature and Culture, and Capstone Course.


Language

Complete one of the following language options:


  • AFRICAN 321 & AFRICAN 322: First Semester Arabic and Second Semester Arabic
  • AFRICAN 331 & AFRICAN 332: First Semester Swahili and Second Semester Swahili
  • AFRICAN 335 & AFRICAN 336: First Semester-A Language of Southern Africa and Second Semester-A Language of Southern Africa
  • AFRICAN 339 & AFRICAN 340: First Semester Summer Arabic and Second Semester Summer Arabic
  • AFRICAN 361 & AFRICAN 362: First Semester Hausa and Second Semester Hausa
  • AFRICAN 371 & AFRICAN 372: First Semester Yoruba and Second Semester Yoruba
  • AFRICAN 391 & AFRICAN 392: First Semester-A Language of West Africa and Second Semester-A Language of West Africa Total Credits: 8-10

Literature and Culture

  • Core course: AFRICAN 100: Introduction to African Cultural Expression (3 credits)
  • Intermediate/Advanced Literature and Culture: 12 credits
    • AFRICAN/AFROAMER/ANTHRO/GEOG/HISTORY/POLI SCI/SOC 277: Africa: An Introductory Survey
    • AFRICAN 300: African Literature in Translation
    • AFRICAN/INTL ST 302: Arabic Literature and Cinema
    • AFRICAN 303: African Literature and Visual Culture
    • AFRICAN 304: Soccer in Africa
    • ...
  • Literature and Culture Electives: 6 credits
    • AFRICAN/HISTORY 106: Introduction to African History
    • AFRICAN/HISTORY 129: Africa on the Global Stage
    • AFRICAN 201: Introduction to African Literature
    • ... Total Credits: 21

Capstone Course

1 course from the following: 3 credits


  • AFRICAN 403: Theories of African Cultural Studies
  • AFRICAN 405: Topics in African Cultural Studies

Residence and Quality of Work

  • 2.000 GPA in all AFRICAN and major courses
  • 2.000 GPA on 15 upper-level major credits, taken in residence
  • 15 credits in AFRICAN, taken on the UWMadison campus

Honors in the Major

Students may declare Honors in the African Cultural Studies Major in consultation with the African Cultural Studies undergraduate advisor. To earn Honors in the Major in African Cultural Studies students must satisfy both the requirements for the major (above) and the following additional requirements:


  1. Earn a 3.300 overall university GPA
  2. Earn 3.300 GPA in all AFRICAN and major courses
  3. Complete 15 Honors credits in the major, in residence, that includes: a. 9 credits in courses numbered 200 and above b. A two-semester Senior Honors Thesis in AFRICAN 681 and AFRICAN 682, for a total of 6 credits.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Recognize canonical authors and texts, historical forms, genres, and structures, and recognize aesthetic and cultural concerns in Africa and its diasporas.
  2. Demonstrate their understanding of major theories, approaches, concepts, and current and classical research findings in African and diaspora literary and cultural studies.
  3. Develop a level of proficiency in the different ways of knowing Africa and the diaspora through language, literatures, and cultures.
  4. Understand their own learning processes and possess the capacity to intentionally seek, evaluate, and learn from information, and recognize and reduce bias in their thinking.
  5. Effectively retrieve and comprehend primary sources in English and African languages, and secondary sources from a range of disciplines.
  6. Develop or improve speaking, listening, writing, reading skills in an African language, and integrate these skills to communicate effectively.
  7. Communicate effectively through essays, oral presentations, and discussion, so they may share their knowledge, wisdom, and values with others across social and professional settings.
  8. Show knowledge of conventional rhetorical strategies, and integrate research by other authors while distinguishing between their own ideas and those of others.
  9. Write and speak across disciplinary boundaries with regard to existing research about Africa and the diaspora in the humanities and social sciences.
  10. Discuss cultural texts from various theoretical and critical perspectives, formulate ideas and make connections between literary/cultural concepts and themes.
  11. Demonstrate command of the terminology and methodology of cultural studies, construct complex arguments, and use primary and secondary sources to support arguments.

Four-Year Plan

This Four-Year Plan is only one way a student may complete an L&S degree with this major. Many factors can affect student degree planning, including placement scores, credit for transferred courses, credits earned by examination, and individual scholarly interests.


  • First Year:
    • Fall: First semester AFRICAN language (5 credits), AFRICAN 100 (3 credits), Communication Part A (3 credits), Biological Science Breadth (3 credits)
    • Spring: Second semester AFRICAN language (5 credits), AFRICAN/AFROAMER 233 or 297 (3 credits), Quantitative Reasoning Part A (4 credits), Physical Science Breadth (3 credits)
  • Second Year:
    • Fall: AFRICAN 201, 202, 203, or 204 (3 credits), Social Science Breadth (3 credits), Quantitative Reasoning Part B (4 credits), Science Breadth (3 credits)
    • Spring: One AFRICAN or related course at Intermediate level (3 credits), Continue language study for BA/BS OR Elective (3-4 credits), Elective (3 credits)
  • Third Year:
    • Fall: One AFRICAN or related course at Intermediate level (3 credits), Social Science Breadth (3 credits), Science Breadth (3 credits), Elective (3 credits)
    • Spring: One AFRICAN or related course at Intermediate level (3 credits), Social Science Breadth (3 credits), Elective (3 credits)
  • Fourth Year:
    • Fall: One AFRICAN or related course at Intermediate level (3 credits), Elective (3 credits)
    • Spring: AFRICAN 403 or 405 (3 credits), Elective (3 credits)

Total Credits: 120


Advising and Careers

Declare or Cancel This Major

Please follow the process described on the African Cultural Studies website.


Advising

If you like to plan, seeing your major advisor is very important; it can make the difference between fitting in certain courses before you graduate. Many students also try to complete more than one major or certificate, and discussing how you might be able to reach this goal is another primary role of your major advisor.


Careers

Humanities majors develop a wide variety of skills and talents, so they're prepared for just about any type of career or educational pursuit. Our coursework builds the critical thinking and communication skills needed to succeed in careers ranging from politics and education to business and law.


One of the more significant skills African Cultural Studies students develop is language acquisition. We offer a number of funding opportunities to support language study, small class sizes with more opportunity for participation and cultural exchange, unique study abroad and international internship experiences, and instructors who are primarily native speakers with a keen interest in teaching. Plus, UWMadison ranks #1 in the nation for students earning a bachelor's degree in language other than English!


In addition to the valuable language training and cultural competence an African Cultural Studies major gives you, consider what you learn in the classroom as well as what you do each day to be a successful student. The skills you develop are equally important in the workplace:


  • Critical reading, reflection, and analysis
  • Expanded world view and exposure to new ideas/ways of thinking
  • Effective teamwork to advance a common project/purpose
  • Effective time-management and self-motivation to complete projects independently
  • Demonstrated writing proficiency in short and long essay format
  • Discussion and debate strategies
  • Proper research design and methodology
  • Broader knowledge of career and graduate-study options

Count on being well-prepared for an exciting and rewarding career!


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