Africana and African American Studies

Effective: Spring 2021
Certificate of Achievement Program Map
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This program map from the 2024-2025 catalog year represents one possible pathway to complete this program. Your pathway may vary depending on your transfer plans and also previous college credit, including AP Test scores, concurrent enrollment courses and high school articulated courses.

I'm ready to get started. What do I do next?

  1. Review this program map to get an overview of the required courses
  2. Meet with a counselor to develop your customized student education plan www.chabotcollege.edu/counseling
  3. Use DegreeWorks, an online student education planning tool, to track your progress toward graduation www.chabotcollege.edu / admissions / degreeworks
Program Description

Africana and African American Studies is an interdisciplinary field focused on specialized knowledge about the diverse and intersectional historical, contemporary, and cultural experiences related to African American and Black diasporic communities. Drawing on the philosophical and intellectual foundations of African/Black culture and people, students will develop critical thinking, research, socially engaged scholarship, and activist skills that can be applied toward various transformative justice and liberation movements of the community.


What can I do with this major?

A Certificate of Achievement in Africana and African American Studies can support work in diasporic Black and African communities and can lead toward any of the following career pathways, including: Education, Law, Social Work, Immigrant Rights, Civil Rights, Journalism, Public Health, Mental Health, Community and Union Organizing, Non-profit/social justice work, Government, Public Policy, Community Development/Urban Planning, International Relations.


Learning and Career Pathway
  • Social Sciences, Humanities & Education

Icon Key

= Critical Course = Prerequisite for Other Courses = Prerequisite Required = Required for Major GE = General Education

Semester 1

9 units

The African American Experience in U.S. History Through the Civil War (Choose ES 62 or HIS 62)

3 units
Terms Offered: Fall

ES 62
The African-American Experience in U.S. History Through the Civil War

3 units
This course presents a survey of the history of the United States from the perspective of African Americans. It presents that perspective in the contexts of the experiences of Native peoples, European Americans, Asian Americans and Latinos/Latinas before 1865. A critical and comparative analysis of the impacts of race, racialization, white supremacy, gender, class, colonialism, imperialism, war, social inequity, and migration on African Americans. Special emphasis will be placed on labor, citizenship, community, social and political resistance, solidarity, and the intersection of race, gender, and class. Early African history, the trade in African slaves, and exploration of the political, economic, demographic and social influences shaping African American life and culture prior to 1865 will be examined. The U.S. government and the Constitution, the California government and Constitution, and other constitutional models for comparison and contrast will also be covered.
Course Details:
Terms Offered: Rotating
or

HIS 62
The African-American Experience in U.S. History Through the Civil War

3 units
This course presents a survey of the history of the United States from the perspective of African Americans. It presents that perspective in the contexts of the experiences of Native peoples, European Americans, Asian Americans and Latinos/Latinas before 1865. A critical and comparative analysis of the impacts of race, racialization, white supremacy, gender, class, colonialism, imperialism, war, social inequity, and migration on African Americans. Special emphasis will be placed on labor, citizenship, community, social and political resistance, solidarity, and the intersection of race, gender, and class. Early African history, the trade in African slaves, and exploration of the political, economic, demographic and social influences shaping African American life and culture prior to 1865 will be examined. The U.S. government and the Constitution, the California government and Constitution, and other constitutional models for comparison and contrast will also be covered.
Course Details:
Terms Offered: Fall

ES 1
Introduction to Ethnic Studies

3 units
An introduction to Ethnic Studies: an interdisciplinary and comparative study of race and ethnicity with a special focus on four historically defined racialized core groups: Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latina/o/x/e Americans. The course will review core concepts and frameworks from Ethnic Studies disciplines, such as racism, white supremacy, settler colonialism, imperialism, self-determination, liberation, decolonization, intersectionality, abolition, anti-racism, and more. Students will apply theories and knowledge produced by communities of color and typically studied in: African American/Black Studies, American Indian/Native American Studies, Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies, and Chicana/o/x/e and Latina/o/x/e Studies. The course will also examine examples of struggle, solidarity and resistance while engaging in current justice and equity movements focused on dismantling white supremacy, colonialism, imperialism, and other forms of oppression targeting communities of color.
Course Details:
  • Transfers to CSU
    • Terms Offered: Spring, Fall, Summer

    List A Course #1

    3 units
    Choose one course from List A below
    See the full list: (Click here)

    Semester 2

    9 units

    The African American Experience in U.S. History From Reconstruction (Choose one)

    3 units

    ES 63
    The African American Experience in U.S. History From Reconstruction

    3 units
    This course presents a survey of the history of the United States from the perspective of African Americans. It presents that perspective in the contexts of the experiences of Native peoples, European Americans, Asian Americans and Latinos/Latinas after 1865. A critical and comparative analysis of the impacts of race, racialization, white supremacy, gender, class, colonialism, imperialism, war, social inequity, and migration on African Americans. Special emphasis will be placed on labor, citizenship, community, social and political resistance, solidarity, and the intersection of race, gender, and class. The course explores the economic, cultural, institutional, political history of African Americans from the post-Civil War period to the present. The African American relationship with national, California state and local governments will also be covered.
    Course Details:
    Terms Offered: Rotating
    or

    HIS 63
    The African American Experience in U.S. History From Reconstruction

    3 units
    This course presents a survey of the history of the United States from the perspective of African Americans. It presents that perspective in the contexts of the experiences of Native peoples, European Americans, Asian Americans and Latinos/Latinas after 1865. A critical and comparative analysis of the impacts of race, racialization, white supremacy, gender, class, colonialism, imperialism, war, social inequity, and migration on African Americans. Special emphasis will be placed on labor, citizenship, community, social and political resistance, solidarity, and the intersection of race, gender, and class. The course explores the economic, cultural, institutional, political history of African Americans from the post-Civil War period to the present. The African American relationship with national, California state and local governments will also be covered.
    Course Details:
    Terms Offered: Spring

    ENGL 21
    The Evolution of the Black Writer

    3 units
    Introduction to American black writers in fiction, poetry, drama and the essay, beginning with the African experience as it relates to storytelling, to "Slave Narratives" and continuing to the present. Emphasis on the 20th and 21st century writers' growth and development in relation to their historical and cultural context.
    Terms Offered: Spring

    List A Course #2

    3 units
    Choose one course from List A below
    See the full list: (Click here)

    List A

    Seelct 2 courses (6 units) from the list below.

    ES 2
    Contemporary Ethnic Minority Families in the U.S.

    3 units
    Examination of the diversity of contemporary United States ethnic minority families with an emphasis on comparison and contrast. Family dynamics and processes will be the primary focus within the context of ethnicity. Adaptation and responses to dominant group social constructs and social structures will also be examined. Groups to include: African American; Asian American; Mexican, Central and Latin American; Native American; Middle Eastern American. ES 2 is no longer being offered.
    Course Details:
    Terms Offered: Rotating

    ES 3
    Introduction to Muslim-American Studies

    3 units
    An examination of the diversity of Muslim communities in the United States with an emphasis on comparing and contrasting their histories, cultures and experiences. Topics include: patterns of migration; religious beliefs and practice; acculturation and assimilation; political involvement; education and employment; 9/11 and its aftermath; relations with the broader Muslim world. ES 3 is no longer being offered.
    Course Details:

    ES 5
    Critiquing Race and Gender in Popular Culture

    3 units
    A critical examination of representations of people of color in popular culture, from historically significant to contemporary examples. Using an intersectional lens of race, ethnicity, gender, class, and sexuality, students will analyze representations from mainstream films, independent cultural productions, music, visual art, and social media, and how characters and communities of color are portrayed and interpret these images as consumers of media. Topics include Hollywood stereotyping, media influencing political and social events, cultural citizenship, and the role of new media, such as video games and social media platforms like YouTube. Students will learn how to critically examine and thoughtfully compare works, while using the lenses of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class to break down decode messages.
    Course Details:
    Terms Offered: Spring, Fall

    Women of Color in the US: Intro to Race, Gender and Sexuality Studies

    3 units

    ES 7
    Women of Color in the United States: Introduction to Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

    3 units
    Critical examination of the historical and socio-cultural experiences of African American, Latinx/a, Asian American, Native American, Arab American, and Pacific Islander women through a feminist perspective. The course will study gender and how it intersects with race, ethnicity, nationality, class, sexuality, religion, and other systems of difference and power. The course will consider various issues related to how racism, capitalism, patriarchy, war, sexual violence, and other systems of power intersect to influence the lives of women of color in the United States, as they may relate to work, family, politics, identity, resistance and artistic expression. Students will also be introduced to Women’s Studies and the study of gender and sexuality
    Terms Offered: Summer, Spring
    or

    SOCI 7
    Women of Color in the United States: Introduction to Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

    3 units
    Critical examination of the historical and socio-cultural experiences of African American, Latinx/a, Asian American, Native American, Arab American, and Pacific Islander women through a feminist perspective. The course will study gender and how it intersects with race, ethnicity, nationality, class, sexuality, religion, and other systems of difference and power. The course will consider various issues related to how racism, capitalism, patriarchy, war, sexual violence and other systems of power intersect to influence the lives of women of color in the United States, as they may relate to work, family, politics, identity, resistance, and artistic expression. Students will also be introduced to Women’s Studies and the study of gender and sexuality
    Course Details:
  • Transfers to CSU
    • Total Units: 18 units
    This program map is not a guarantee of course availability or financial aid applicability.