Department of African American Studies
The Mission
The primary mission of the African-American Studies Program (AASP) is to provide an academic and scholarly course of study centered on the black male that will enlighten both scholars and laymen, and affirm black males. The ultimate mission of the AASP is to provide an academic course of study that leads to a baccalaureate degree in the discipline which prepares the students who major or minor in the field for a life of rewarding and fulfilling work. Professionals and amateurs, both in and out of the race and gender, must learn about black men and their world in all of its varied aspects. Toward this goal, the AASP will become a documentary center for information on the black male that will be available to serious scholars and interested laymen alike. Students of African-American Studies, while at Morehouse and after they graduate, will contribute to the betterment of humankind through professional work and community service.
Program Description
The African-American Studies major is holistic (multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary) and serves as an undergraduate foundation for students who wish to pursue graduate work in history, art, economics, English, government affairs, international studies, journalism, music, political science, psychology, religion, sociology, cinema, mass communications, and drama/theater. African-American Studies also provides a strong liberal arts underpinning for students who plan to earn professional degrees in law, health professions, and technology. The major in African-American Studies directly relates to the mission of Morehouse College in that it assumes a special responsibility for teaching students about the history and culture of black people; encourages students to appreciate the ideals of brotherhood, equality, spirituality, human values, and democracy. Special emphasis will be given the culture of black males, including their history and philosophy, arts and letters, science and medicine, economics and politics, and social behavior and athletics. It also teaches students to think clearly and critically; to make logical and ethical judgments; and to communicate effectively with others. African-American Studies searches for truth as a liberating force and provides an environment which encourages students to develop a zest for living, learning and contributing as men in society. The African-American Studies major actualizes the educational mission of Morehouse College to teach its students to appreciate the past, especially the foundations of civilization and the shaping of the modern world; to appreciate cultures other than one’s own, and to judge with heightened perception, knowledge and understanding the peoples, events, discoveries, political thought, economic theories, and geographical factors that have shaped the way we live. The mission of the Department of History, the present host of the African-American Studies Program, is also undergirded by the major in the discipline. The African-American Studies major prepares students to become better citizens and leaders in society; prepares students to go to graduate and professional school, and to enter the world of work; provides a course of instruction which aids students to better appreciate the world in which they live, how it works, and the dynamics of social change; emphasizes the cultural heritage of black people and prepares students to attain an informed, scholarly understanding of this legacy; enhances the ability to understand and coordinate knowledge from other disciplines; reinforces the students academic skills--reading, writing, speaking, listening, researching and reasoning; and strongly encourages a commitment to community service. The African-American Studies Program teaches the seven skills required by Morehouse College. These skills are critical thinking, creative thinking, effective writing, effective oral communication, value awareness, computer literacy and quantitative analysis. African-American Studies at Morehouse College gives the students who study here another option among many quality majors from which they may launch a professional or service career.
Program Outcomes
The student who majors, or minors, in African-American Studies at Morehouse College is expected be able to recall major events, dates and persons in the chronology of the African-American experience, especially black history; manifest an appreciation for the totality of the black experience; show the linkage between the African legacy, European history and the African-American experience; give evidentiary demonstrations of how the experiences of African-Americans are linked to the experiences of other blacks in the African Diaspora; and show how the experiences of blacks have been an integral part of American and world history. The student should be able to negotiate the holistic/interdisciplinary relationship among the historical, psychological, religious, sociological, aesthetic/literary, linguistic, economic, political, medical, scientific, technological, and athletic areas of black life.
Graduates of African-American Studies at the College are expected to be able to read comprehensively, write lucidly and cogently, speak effectively, listen intently, research thoroughly, and reason logically. Upon completion of the major in African-American Studies, it is expected that graduates will enter graduate or professional school, or the world of work. All graduates of the discipline are expected to continue their involvement in community service.
