Coordinator: Associate Professor of History Nathan Plageman

The African Studies minor is designed to give students broad multidisciplinary perspectives on African history, politics, culture, and the economy. The program aims to teach students about the diversity of the African experience and to think critically about the generalized and often incomplete information that are encountered in the media, written texts, and pronouncements of experts, casual observers, residents, and visitors to the continent. The educational objectives of the program include helping the students to acquire critical information that would facilitate their understanding of the multiethnic and multicultural world they live in and become, in the process, global citizens.

Minimum Requirements

The minor requires a minimum of 15 hours. Students who intend to minor in African Studies are encouraged to consult the coordinator of the program in their sophomore year. It is recommended that AFS 250 be taken after completing at least one other course for the minor.

Candidates for the minor are required to take the following:

CodeTitleHours
HST 105Africa in World History3
or REL 107Introduction to African Religions
AFS 250Seminar in African Studies
(strongly recommended to be taken
in senior year)
3
Select 9 hours of Electives9

Electives for African Studies

The program coordinator maintains a complete list of all elective courses that fulfill the minor. No more than 9 hours within a single discipline may count towards the minor. For course descriptions, see the relevant department’s listings in this bulletin.

Study Abroad Options

Students may fulfill elective requirements by completing courses related to Africa on a Wake Forest approved study abroad course.
Check the Study Abroad website for semester and summer programs in Africa.