AFST 187 A-Z - (CC) Special TopicsSemester Hours: 1-4
Periodically
Special Topics courses deal with innovative or advanced topics and may include field projects. Students may prepare individual projects on a research theme.
Current Special Topics
AFST 187D - Spoken Word, Slam Poetry, and Performance
This class is devoted to the exploration of performance art, a genre-crossing form of aesthetic expression. We will identify and examine in detail contemporary performance practices. We will also cover the historical antecedents of performance art, including significant events and controversies. In addition to building our skills as performers and critical thinkers, we will gain a greater understanding of the impact these practices have on issues of identity, community, and culture.
Cross-listing: RHET 126
AFST 187F - South Africa and Sustainability
This interdisciplinary course explores the geography, environments, histories, cultures, and politics of South Africa from the 16th through the 21st centuries. Issues include pre-colonial civilizations, European colonialism, institutionalized racism, industrialization and its implications for labor and class, political movements, and post-colonial dynamics in an emerging economy. Special attention will be paid to the intersection of recent anthropogenic climate change and South Africa’s economy and society, and the recent entrepreneurial efforts to mitigate environmental impacts through a range of sustainability efforts.
Through various readings, films, discussions, and written assignments, students will gain the skill sets necessary for a one week-long study abroad experience in South Africa. Students will collaborate with students in the Zarb School of Business in consultant teams to learn about and assist local, emerging entrepreneurs to develop practical solutions to business programs. Students will experience the cultural context in which these entrepreneurs live and work and become acquainted with the distinct challenges that these entrepreneurs face in real time. Students will maintain a journal where they will critically reflect on their classroom experience and their observations of the entrepreneurial journey for a start-up in an emerging economy and their personal contributions to the project.
AFST 187P - Gender, Sexuality, and Race in the Struggle Over the Women’s Vote
We will focus on the roles played by Black women’s literary societies and sororities, and on key figures such as Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Frances Ellen Watkins-Harper, Alice Dunbar Nelson, Fannie Lou Hamer, Pauli Murray and others who have continued the struggle for the women’s vote.
Cross-listings: LGBT 181B , RHET 189N , and WST 150B
Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
May be repeated for credit when topics vary. Specific titles and course descriptions for special topics courses are available in the online class schedule.
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