Social Justice: African American Studies

Effective: Fall 2025
Associate in Arts for Transfer 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

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 degree in 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
  • 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

13 units

ES 1
Introduction to Ethnic Studies

3 units
An introduction to the interdisciplinary and comparative study of race and ethnicity in the United States. The course surveys critical events, histories, cultures, intellectual traditions, and contributions of racial and ethnic communities, emphasizing the lived experiences, social struggles, agency, theory and knowledge produced by Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Chicana/o/x and Latina/o/x Americans. The course will also critically analyze the intersection of race and racism with class, gender, and sexuality as applied to the above groups, and further assess the role of resistance, solidarity, racial justice, social justice and liberation as experienced and enacted by Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans and Chicana/o/x and Latina/o/x/e Americans.
Course Details:
  • Transfers to CSU
    • Terms Offered: Summer, Fall, Spring

    ENGL C1000 - Academic Reading and Writing (formerly known as English 1- Critical Reading and Composition)

    4 units
    GE

    General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

    3 units
    GE

    General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

    3 units
    GE

    Semester 2

    16-17 units

    Women of Color in the United States: Introduction to Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (Choose ES 7 or SOCI 7 or SOCI 6)

    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
    • Terms Offered: Fall
    or

    SOCI 6
    Introduction to Gender

    3 units
    A sociological analysis of the social construction of masculinity and femininity through history and cultures. Examines the debates on sex and gender. Analyzes the impact of economic and political change on gender expectations and practices. Focuses macroanalyses of how institutions shape gender and microanalyses of how individuals are socialized and how they “do” and practice gender.
    Terms Offered: Fall, Spring

    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: Spring, 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

    Math Course for General Education: see a counselor to choose the appropriate course.

    3-4 units
    GE
    MTH 47 or PSY 5 recommended.

    Elective- see a counselor to choose a course that counts for elective units (can be any credit course).

    3 units

    General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

    4 units
    GE

    Semester 3

    16 units

    List A Course #1

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

    General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

    3 units
    GE

    General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

    3 units
    GE

    General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

    4 units
    GE

    Elective- see a counselor to choose a course that counts for elective units (can be any credit course).

    3 units

    Semester 4

    15 units

    List A Course #2

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

    List A Course #3

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

    General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

    3 units
    GE

    General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

    3 units
    GE

    General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

    3 units
    GE

    List A

     

    Take 3 courses from at least 2 areas: History, Arts/Humanities, and Social Science (9 units)

    Area 1: History

    The African-American Experience in U.S. History Through the Civil War (Choose one)

    3 units

    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

    Area 2: Arts and Humanities

    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

    Area 3: Social Science

    ES 4
    Intro to Latinx Studies

    3 units
    A pan-Latina/o, comparative, and interdisciplinary approach to major themes and issues related to the Latinx community in the U.S., including: race and racism, indigenous culture, colonialism, war, genocide, migration, transnationalism, citizenship, identity, language, gender, family, labor, neoliberalism, education, expression, and resistance. A critical examination of modern Latin American history and indigenous and African cultures connected to the Latinx diaspora, including Chicana/o, Mexican, Central American, South American, and Caribbean-American communities in the U.S.
    Course Details:
    Terms Offered: Fall, Spring

    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. 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:
  • Transfers to UC
    • Terms Offered: Spring, Fall
    Total Units: 60-61 units
    This program map is not a guarantee of course availability or financial aid applicability.