Minor in African Studies
(18–21 hours*)

The Discipline

The African Studies minor is designed to complement several majors. The minor features language competence, with options in several languages used in Africa, as well as courses in history and social sciences. Several options are available, and students interested in this minor are encouraged to consult with one of the coordinators of the program to find the best options to apply to their major.

Program Requirements

1. Complete either the language track or the fieldwork track:
   Language Track: complete one of the following:
   • French
     FREN 321 : Advanced Grammar. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
     
     FREN 321 : Advanced Grammar. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
     
     WHEN TAUGHT:	Fall; Winter; Spring; Summer
     RECOMMENDED:	Fren 202 or equivalent.
     DESCRIPTION:	Systematic review of French grammar and syntax.
     
     
     Course Outcomes
     
     
     
     FREN 362 : French Civilization from 1715 to the Present. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
     
     FREN 362 : French Civilization from 1715 to the Present. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
     
     WHEN TAUGHT:	Fall; Winter; Summer
     PREREQUISITE:	FREN 321
     RECOMMENDED:	Fren 322.
     DESCRIPTION:	Historical survey of institutions, fine arts, and social conditions.
     NOTE:	Fulfills GE Arts or Letters elective.
     
     
     Course Outcomes
     
     
     
     FREN 456R : Francophone Studies. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
     
     FREN 456R : Francophone Studies. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
     
     PREREQUISITE:	FREN 340
     DESCRIPTION:	Readings from major French-speaking writers from countries outside France, such as Canada, Africa, and the Caribbean.
     
     
     Course Outcomes
     
     
     
   • Swahili
     FLANG 101R First-Year Language Study: Swahili.
     FLANG 101R : First-Year Language Study. (4:5:1)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
     
     DESCRIPTION:

     Beginning speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills.
     
     
     Course Outcomes
     
     
     
     FLANG 102R First-Year Language Study: Swahili.
     FLANG 102R : First-Year Language Study. (4:5:1)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
     
     PREREQUISITE:	FLang 101R in same language.
     DESCRIPTION:	Second-semester speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills.
     
     
     Course Outcomes
     
     
     
     FLANG 201R Second-Year Language Study: Swahili.
     FLANG 201R : Second-Year Language Study. (4:5:1)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
     
     PREREQUISITE:	FLang 102R in same language.
     DESCRIPTION:	Intermediate speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills.
     
     
     Course Outcomes
     
     
     
   • Afrikaans
     AFRIK 101 : First-Year Afrikaans. (4:5:1)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
     
     AFRIK 101 : First-Year Afrikaans. (4:5:1)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
     
     DESCRIPTION:

     Basic language skills.
     
     
     Course Outcomes
     
     
     
     AFRIK 102 : First-Year Afrikaans. (4:5:1)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
     
     AFRIK 102 : First-Year Afrikaans. (4:5:1)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
     
     DESCRIPTION:

     Basic language skills.
     
     
     Course Outcomes
     
     
     
     AFRIK 201 : Second-Year Afrikaans. (4:5:1)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
     
     AFRIK 201 : Second-Year Afrikaans. (4:5:1)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
     
     PREREQUISITE:	Afrik 102 or equivalent experience.
     DESCRIPTION:	Conversation, vocabulary building, and reading and writing skills, emphasizing reading.
     
     
     Course Outcomes
     
     
     
   • A combination of French, Swahili, Afrikaans, upper-division Portuguese, or other language component as approved by the program coordinator. (The coordinator is Professor Chantal Thompson.)

   Fieldwork Track: complete all the following:

   • Complete 3 hours from the following:
     IAS 360R : International Field Study Preparation. (.5-9:ARR:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
     
     IAS 360R : International Field Study Preparation. (.5-9:ARR:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
     
     WHEN TAUGHT:	Fall Blk 2; Winter; Spring
     DESCRIPTION:	Cross-cultural field research and survival with a regional emphasis and application.
     NOTE:	For students preparing for International Field Studies and Internships or Study Abroad programs.
     
     
     Course Outcomes
     
     
     
   • Complete 4 hours from the following (must be a field study in Africa):
     IAS 397R : (.5-3:ARR:ARR)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
     
     IAS 397R : (.5-3:ARR:ARR)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
     
     
     
     Course Outcomes
     
     
     
   • Complete the following:
     IAS 361 : Post-Fieldwork Analysis and Writing. (2:2:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
     
     IAS 361 : Post-Fieldwork Analysis and Writing. (2:2:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
     
     WHEN TAUGHT:	Fall; Winter
     PREREQUISITE:	IAS 360R
     DESCRIPTION:	Writing course designed to help students write a quality research paper
     NOTE:	Only for those students who have participated in an International Study Programs Field Study Program.
     
     
     Course Outcomes
     
     
     

2. Complete three courses from the following social science component (a maximum of two courses per discipline; some of these courses may be offered only once every other year):
   ANTHR 330 : Peoples of Africa. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   ANTHR 330 : Peoples of Africa. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   WHEN TAUGHT:	Winter Even Yrs.
   DESCRIPTION:	Political, economic, and social organization, family life, language, worldview, religion, ritual, artistic expression, ecological adaptation, and contemporary development issues among rural and urban sub-Saharan peoples.
   NOTE:	This course is part of a GE Mosaic. See ge.byu.edu/mosaic-list for more information.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   
   EDLF 362 : Introduction to International Development Education. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   EDLF 362 : Introduction to International Development Education. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   WHEN TAUGHT:	Fall
   DESCRIPTION:	Major concepts and research in educational aspects of poverty alleviation and human development. Role of education as foundation of poverty alleviation, expanding human capabilities, and for promoting national development.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   
   ENGL 358R African American Literature.
   ENGL 358R : Ethnic, Regional, and Other Literatures in English. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   WHEN TAUGHT:	On Demand
   PREREQUISITE:	ENGL 251 & ENGL 295
   DESCRIPTION:	Sections stressing Native American, African American, Chicano, third-world, regional, or other literatures in English.
   
              : Native American Literature.
              : African American Literature.
              : Asian American Literature.
              : Latino/a American Literature.
              : Post-Colonial Literature.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   
   GEOG 285 : Africa South of the Sahara. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   GEOG 285 : Africa South of the Sahara. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   WHEN TAUGHT:	Winter
   DESCRIPTION:	Geographical analysis focusing on resource management, political issues, development, environmental problems, economic development, and urban-rural change; case studies from selected countries.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   
   IAS 397R : (.5-3:ARR:ARR)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   IAS 397R : (.5-3:ARR:ARR)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   
   PL SC 352 : African Politics. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   PL SC 352 : African Politics. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   PREREQUISITE:	PL SC 200
   DESCRIPTION:	Processes of change and development of nation states; African regionalism and relations with other nations; contemporary political issues.
   NOTE:	This course is part of a GE Mosaic. See ge.byu.edu/mosaic-list for more information.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   

   Other courses may or may not be applicable, depending on the amount of African content therein. Approval of the program coordinator, therefore, is required. Courses that may contain significant African content at times include the following:

   ANTHR 390R : Special Topics in Regional Anthropology. (.5-3:ARR:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   ANTHR 390R : Special Topics in Regional Anthropology. (.5-3:ARR:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   OFFERED:	Offered when unique opportunities or needs arise.
   WHEN TAUGHT:	Fall; Winter
   DESCRIPTION:	Subjects related to a particular area or people.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   
   ANTHR 430 : Moral and Ritual Institutions. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   ANTHR 430 : Moral and Ritual Institutions. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   WHEN TAUGHT:	Fall
   DESCRIPTION:	Anthropological approaches to religion; its content and relation to other social institutions in societies ranging from gatherers to industrialists.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   
   ANTHR 431 : Kinship and Gender. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   ANTHR 431 : Kinship and Gender. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   WHEN TAUGHT:	Winter
   DESCRIPTION:	Kinship theory and analysis, 1920-present. Recent issues in anthropological treatment of gender, marriage, and family structure.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   
   ANTHR 432 : Economic and Political Institutions. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   ANTHR 432 : Economic and Political Institutions. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   WHEN TAUGHT:	Winter
   DESCRIPTION:	Connections between wealth and power: political and legal systems in state and nonstate societies; global expansion of capitalism and technology.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   
   ANTHR 490R : Special Topics in Theory and System. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   ANTHR 490R : Special Topics in Theory and System. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   OFFERED:	Offered when unique opportunities or needs arise.
   WHEN TAUGHT:	Fall; Winter
   DESCRIPTION:	Subjects related to anthropological theory or the operation of social systems.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   
   GEOG 493R : Special Problems. (.5-3:ARR:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   GEOG 493R : Special Problems. (.5-3:ARR:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   WHEN TAUGHT:	Fall; Winter; Spring; Summer
   PREREQUISITE:	Geography major or departmental approval.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   
   HIST 390R : Special Topics in History. (.5-3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   HIST 390R : Special Topics in History. (.5-3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   OFFERED:	Independent Study also.
   WHEN TAUGHT:	Fall; Winter
   DESCRIPTION:	Presented by visiting or regular faculty. Varied topics include oral history, demographics, psychohistory, Christianity in history, etc.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   
   PL SC 472 : International Political Economy of Women. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   PL SC 472 : International Political Economy of Women. (3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)
   
   WHEN TAUGHT:	On Demand
   DESCRIPTION:	Effects upon national, international, and developmental policies when women are rendered visible and valued.
   NOTE:	This course is part of a GE Mosaic. See ge.byu.edu/mosaic-list for more information.
   
   
   Course Outcomes
   
   
   

*Hours include courses that may fulfill university core requirements.

Show all Anthropology Courses