Certificate in Global Black Studies

The Global Black Studies Certificate provides degree-seeking FIU students with an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the global, economic, cultural, and historical experiences of people of African descent. The Certificate complements students’ work in their major fields of study at the undergraduate level while fostering greater understanding of Black global presences..Students may choose courses that will allow them to focus more specifically on either U.S. born African Americans or communities of the African diaspora internationally.

The Certificate places a strong emphasis on African diasporic cultural expressions in all their regional, temporal, and socioeconomic diversities. It offers coordinated insights into the ongoing challenges black communities face locally and internationally. It also focuses on the ways in which African diasporic communities and individuals have developed political and creative strategies for survival in the midst of, and resistance to, racism and political, economic, and social oppression. The particular interests of students enrolled in the certificate program are catered to by the diversity of research and teaching interests of the core and affiliate faculty of AADS,

Students must be pursuing a degree at FIU in order to apply to this certificate. To apply for the Global Black Studies Certificate, please click here!

General Requirements (15)

Students complete 15 credit hours of study from disciplines as diverse as geography, history, international relations, journalism, sociology, anthropology, literature, music, and political science. The core requirement is AFA 2004 “Black Popular Cultures, Global Dimensions.” This required course should be taken at the start of the Certificate Program. The other 12 credits must come from each of two lists, one comprising the Arts and Humanities, and the other the Social Sciences. The program director may approve other courses upon request. Students requesting an exception from these lists must present a syllabus for the course they would like to enroll in. Not all courses are offered every semester.

Required Core Course: (3)

  • AFA 2004 Black Popular Cultures, Global Dimensions – UCC and GL

Arts and Humanities Courses: (3-9 credits)

  • AFA 4104 Teaching the African American Experience
  • AFA 4241 The African Diaspora in Latin America
  • AFA 4247 Latin America and the Caribbean in Africa—GL
  • AFA 4351 Hip Hop Entrepreneurship
  • AFA 4370 Global Hip Hop—GL
  • AFA 4372 Race, Gender and Sexuality in Hip Hop --GL
  • AFA 4930 African and African Diaspora Studies Theory
  • AFA 4931 Special Topics in African Diaspora Studies
  • AFA 4933 Special Topics in Black Experience
  • AFA 4905 African and African Diaspora Studies Independent Study
  • AFH 2000 African Civilizations—GL
  • AMH 4570 African-American History
  • AMH 4571 African-American History from the 17th to the late 19th Centuries
  • AMH 4573 African-American History from the late 19th Century to the Present
  • AML 2602 African-American Literature
  • AML 4606 Studies in 19th Century African-American Literature
  • AML 4607 Studies in 20th Century African-American Literature
  • AML 4612 Literature of the Harlem Renaissance Period
  • AML 4624 African-American Women Writers
  • AML 4621 Major African-American Writers
  • DAA 3345 Caribbean Dance
  • DAA 3346 Haitian Dance
  • DAN 4396 Dance Ethnology
  • FRW 4751 Francophone Literature in the Caribbean
  • HAI 2320 Haitian Creole Reading and Composition
  • HAI 3500 Haiti: Language and Culture
  • HAI 3213 Accelerated Haitian Creole
  • HAI 3214 Accelerated Intermediate Haitian Creole
  • HAI 3370 Haiti: Study Abroad
  • HIS 4454 The History of Racial Theory in Europe and the United States
  • LIN 2612 Black English
  • LIN 4612 Black English
  • LIT 4192 Major Caribbean Authors
  • LIT 4536 Multi-cultural Working Class Women's Literature
  • REL 3139 African-American Religious Movements
  • REL 3383 Caribbean Religions
  • SPT 4400 African Presence in Latin American Literature
  • WOH 4230 The African Diaspora and the Atlantic Slave Trade
  • WOH 4301 The Modern African Diaspora
Social Sciences Courses: (3-9 Credits)
  • ANT 4396 Representations of Africa and Africans in Films
  • ANT 4397 African Diaspora Cultures and Performativity
  • SYD 4700 Sociology of Minorities/Race and Ethnic Relations
  • SYD 4704 Seminar in Ethnicity