You are in the official 2007-2008 General Catalog
for California State University, Fresno.
You are in the official 2007-2008 General Catalog
for California State University, Fresno.
Minor in American
Indian Studies
Minor in Ethnic Studies
Certificate in
Racial Understanding
Malik Simba, Coordinator
Meta Schettler
Delores J. Huff, Emerita
Robert S. Mikell, Emeritus
Yaw Oheneba-Sakyi
Lily B. Small, Emerita
The Africana and American Indian Studies program (AAIS) at California State University, Fresno offers an interdisciplinary curriculum that illuminates the connectedness of the human experience and provides culturally-appropriate knowledge and skills. This helps students understand the experiences of African peoples all over the world, American Indians in North America, and other ethnic groups in the United States. The program also involves its faculty and students in research, experiential learning, career counseling, computer technology, curriculum development, conference participation, and extended day, evening, and weekend courses.
The program offers interdisciplinary courses leading to the Bachelor of Arts in Africana Studies as well as minors in Africana Studies, American Indian Studies, and Ethnic Studies. Students with a B.A. in Africana Studies can pursue a master's or doctoral degree in the humanities, social sciences, or health sciences. Students can also seek other professional degrees in such areas as business, human resources, teacher education, and law. The program teaches appreciation for the heritage of African peoples and American Indians and their contributions to the shaping of the fabric of American life and history.
The AAIS program is made up of faculty with backgrounds and expertise in Africana studies, business, English, history, education, sociology, and American Indian affairs. Professors have published in prestigious national and international peer reviewed academic journals and are recipients of numerous awards for teaching, research, and community service.
Africana Studies emphasizes the study of the history and culture of African Americans as they relate to the experiences of Africans on the continent and other peoples of African descent in the Diaspora. The major in Africana Studies provides an epistemological basis for understanding issues that pertain to the experiences of African peoples and other minority ethnic groups in the American society. The curriculum promotes an awareness of the African heritage of African Americans and others throughout the Americas. Opportunities are provided for students to engage in study abroad and service-learning in Africa and the Caribbean to stimulate intellectual interest in, and linkage to, contemporary Africa and the African Diaspora while enhancing global understanding of the varied social realities of the human experience.
Africana Research Center (ARC) is an ancillary unit housed within the Africana Studies program. It promotes research and scholarship in the advancement of the historical and contemporary understanding of the lives and experiences of peoples of African descent. The center also helps students to engage in community service that promotes their intellectual curiosity.
American Indian Studies is a discipline within the AAIS program that focuses on the indigenous cultures of ancient, historical, and contemporary America. American Indian cultures include American Indians and Arctic Native people as well as natives of Northern Mexico. The courses offer a distinctively American perspective that is crucial to an understanding of the historical and social processes that have led to the development of contemporary American society. This program is intended to strengthen the position of American Indian students and communities in this region as well as introduce native cultures to all students. Courses are interdisciplinary and cover the social sciences and the humanities, as well as specialized offerings in such fields as law and education.
The offices of the AAIS program serve as a resource and information center for several African American and American Indian student organizations and the community at large.
Africana
and American Indian Studies Courses