African Studies is an interdisciplinary minor that covers African topics through a coordinated set of courses offered in the Departments of Anthropology, Communication, Ethnic Studies, History, Literature, Music, Political Science, Sociology, Theatre Arts, and Visual Arts. In addition to the offerings at UCSD, opportunities for further study in Africa and Europe are avail- able through the University of California Education Abroad Program and the UCSD Opportunities Abroad Program. Students develop a broad background in African histories, societies, cultures and politics. A minor in African Studies signals a candidate with a strong global perspective and offers a competitive edge in career and academic possibilities.
A minor in African Studies consists of six total courses. Take a minimum of one course from Groups A, B, and C, but take no more than four courses in any one department. Detailed course descriptions are available in the course catalog and up-to-date class information is available through the departments.
We are gearing up for AAASRC’s 31st Anniversary Awards Banquet on Friday, May 30, 2025 at 5:00 pm at the Atkinson Pavilion of the UCSD Faculty Club. As usual, the Banquet will begin with a meet-and-greet hour in the courtyard and will then move into the building t 6:00 pm. The donor link is https://giveto.ucsd.edu/giving/home/gift-referral/87b36118-eb31-4014-a657-60e8fe032349/ If you have trouble clicking on the link, you may go to the main Give to UCSD page and enter AAASRC in the Fund Search box and select the fund from the search results.
Our keynote speaker this year is UCSD alumna, Sabrina Strings, Ph.D. (Professor and North Hall Chair of Black Studies at UC Santa Barbara). Her research examines race, gender, and embodiment in science, media, and medicine. She has been featured in dozens of venues, including BBC News, NPR, Huffington Post, NowThis!, Essence, Vogue, TIME, and The New York Times. Professor Strings is also featured in the Netflix docuseries, “The Black Beauty Effect.” She is the author of the award-winning book Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia (NYU Press, 2019). Her second book, The End of Love: Racism, Sexism and the Death of Romance, is the subject of her keynote address for AAASRC’s Awards Banquet. More information about Professor Strings may be found on her website at: https://www.sabrinastrings.com.
Her first book, Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia (2019), was a dynamic exploration of gender embodiment and racial stereotypes. It received worldwide recognition and became an inspiration for her current book The End of Love: Racism, Sexism, and the Death of Romance (2024). Her new book examines the intersectionality of gender, race, and class in terms of a mythologized ethos of romance that has faded from many contemporary gendered interactions, provoking fragile and temporary contingencies in a kaleidoscopic world. Professor Strings addresses the interface between ideology and the structure of feelings in the domains of race and class. She explores how structural barriers reinforce and reflect the transience of interpersonal relationships that characterize the impermanency of the postmodern condition. Professor Strings is an eloquent commentator on gender, race, and social change in contemporary society and a visionary whose insights stimulate profound thoughts about the future of intimacy within a changing social and cultural landscape.
The Banquet will honor the outstanding achievements of African Studies students, faculty, staff, and community members. Tables of eight are available for purchase for $650.00. Support for individual students is $25.00. Early bird ticket purchases are due by Thursday, May 8, 2025 at $81.25 a piece. Day of Ceremony Tickets will be available in a very limited number for $85 each.
We look forward to seeing you at this very exciting event. With all the best,
Bennetta Jules-Rosette Distinguished Professor of Sociology Director, African and African-American Studies Research Center University of California, San Diego 858-534-9063 fax: 858-534-4753 bjulesrosette@ucsd.edu
Provost Ivan Evans (ERC) will present a lecture, film clips, and a discussion concerning government repression during the Apartheid Era (Sharpeville, 1960) and the Post-Apartheid Era (the Marikana Massacre, 2012), as well as the treatment of illegal miners in 6,000 abandoned mines in 2024. Patterns of violence and redress will be examined in a comparative perspective.
Professor Bennetta Jules-Rosette, Director African and African-American Studies Research Center Presents Dance & Drumming Workshop with Gene Perry
February 20, 2025 3:30 – 5:00 PM SSB 101
Master Drummer Gene Perry will present an Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Latin Dance and Drumming Workshop with practical applications of the musical rhythms and dances from various regions, with UCSD African Studies students.
AAASRC is thrilled to announce that our Director, Bennetta Jules-Rosette (Distinguished Professor of Sociology, UC San Diego), and our Board Member, J.R. Osborn (Associate Professor, Communication, Culture & Technology (CCT), Georgetown University), received recognition for their book, African Art Reframed (University of Illinois Press, 2020). The Arnold J. Rubin Outstanding Publication Award was presented at the Arts Council of the African Studies Association (ACASA) Triennial in Chicago this month.
Join us in celebrating Black History Month 2018 with a film screening of War Witch accompanied by a roundtable discussion Thursday, February 15, 2018 at 4:00 PM.
This 2012 film, directed by Kim Nguyendeals with the dilemmas of a twelve-year-old girl who is forced to become a child soldier in Congo (DRC). A panel led by Provost Ivan Evans and the AAASRC Board will discuss the film. Running Time For the Film: 90 minutes.
Admission is free and open to the campus community and the general public. Light refreshments will be served.
This Lecture by Professor Peter Bloom (UC Santa Barbara) and images surrounding the Senegalese Sharpshooters who participated in World War I. It deals with film footage and archival records.
This event is open to the campus community and the general public.
