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Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

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  • CAS AA 507: Literature of the Harlem Renaissance
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., EN 120 or WR 100 or WR 120). - An exploration of the literature of the "New Negro Renaissance" or, more popularly, the Harlem Renaissance, 1919-1935. Discussions of essays, fiction, and poetry, three special lectures on the stage, the music, and the visual arts of the Harlem Renaissance. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Aesthetic Exploration, Critical Thinking. Effective Fall 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing- Intensive Course, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS AA 514: Labor, Sexuality, and Resistance in the Afro-Atlantic World
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing. - The role of slavery in shaping the society and culture of the Afro-Atlantic world, highlighting the role of labor, the sexual economy of slave regimes, and the various strategies of resistance deployed by enslaved people. Also offered as CAS HI 584. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Historical Consciousness.
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Historical Consciousness
  • CAS AA 519: Inequality and American Politics
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) - This course examines the role of income inequality in shaping American politics and policy. Combining research from history, political science, economics, and public policy scholars, we will consider a range of important topics, including inequality in public voice, money and politics, and attitudes towards redistribution. We will apply this knowledge as part of a final paper project in metropolitan Boston. Effective Spring 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Writing- Intensive Course, Research and Information Literacy.
    • The Individual in Community
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS AA 571: Problems in African Diaspora Art History
    Introduces students to the field of African Diaspora Art History. Each week we look at a different 'problem' of diaspora - beginnings, language, archives - giving students various entry points into the issues that shape the sub-field.
  • CAS AA 574: Introduction to Critical University Studies: Space, Place, and BU
    This team-taught seminar uses the lens of "critical university studies" to consider the ways colonialism and white supremacy have shaped the history of American universities. Readings and archival research examine land appropriation, slavery and anti-slavery, segregation, and policing at Boston University. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU HUB areas: Writing-Intensive, Historical Consciousness.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS AA 580: White Supremacist Thought: Self, Culture and Society since the 18th Century
    Within a global and comparative context, this course explores the simultaneous, mutualistically symbiotic emergence and sustained codependent development of autonomous individuality and white supremacy in western Europe and the United States from the 18th century to the present day.
  • CAS AA 588: Women, Power, and Culture in Africa
    Understanding the role of women in African history. Topics include the Atlantic slave trade, power, religion, the economy, resistance movements, health, the state, and kinship. Emphasis on the period before independence. Also offered as CAS HI 588.
  • CAS AA 591: Black Thought: Literary and Cultural Criticism in the African Diaspora
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: two previous literature courses or junior or senior standing. - An introduction to the cultural criticism of African-America and the Black Diaspora. This ranges from literary, theoretical and public conversations centered on race, and interrelated issues such as gender, sex, and migration. The course hones in on specific trends, themes, topics and characteristics of this work and assesses its relationship to historical and contemporary political and social contexts.
  • CAS AA 600: Seminar in African American Studies: Roots of Disparity: Racism, and Pathways to Health Justice
    Graduate seminar in African American Studies. Topic for Spring 2025: This course explores the role of race in public health through a lens of anti-Black racism, highlighting how systemic discrimination and disinvestment shape health disparities for Black Americans in particular. Students will examine four core areas: historical context, focusing on the legacy of racial violence in the development of medical and public health knowledge, as well as its impacts on health and well-being; social determinants of health, investigating how racism shapes factors such as housing and income in ways that disproportionately affect the health outcomes of different racial groups, with an emphasis on Black Americans; institutional racism in healthcare, analyzing bias, mistrust, and unequal access to quality care within healthcare systems; and structural solutions and freedom dreaming, evaluating and conceptualizing programs, policies, and interventions designed to address racial health disparities through an abolitionist perspective. In semesters where it can be paired with a MetroBridge or other community partnership, students will get an opportunity work collaboratively on a PH advocacy project.
  • CAS AH 500: Topics in History of Art & Architecture
    May be repeated for credit as topics change. Two topics are offered Fall 2025. Section A1: Methods and Inquiry in Architectural Studies. This seminar explores diverse research methods in architecture studies and history, covering archival, photographic, ethnographic, and more. Students engage with readings and exercises to understand various intellectual debates and methodologies, fulfilling the methods requirement. Section B1: Asian Art Seminar.
  • CAS AH 502: Practicum in Museum Studies
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: consent of the Director of Museum Studies, and stamped approval; prior museum/gallery experience an asset. - Graduate Prerequisites: consent of Director of Museum Studies, and stamped approval; prior mus eum/gallery experience an asset. Graduate internships must be taken in a non-profit institution in order to count for credit. - Centered on an internship, which must comprise a supervised project approved in advance by the Director of Museum Studies. Stamped approval prior to the internship is necessary for registration in the course. Internships in Boston-area museums, galleries, historical agencies, and houses arranged for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, 10-12 hours per week (150 hours per semester) at the host institution, with written report.
  • CAS AH 507: Digital Curation: Towards National Parks: Art and Nature, Nature and Nation
    Prerequisite: CASAH 112, or at least one course on art or literature in Europe/US 1300-1750 or 1750-present. - Before national parks, wild locations attracted artists, photographers and poets. Their works made these areas known to tourist-viewers. Prepare a digital exhibition and map artist- advocates as they explored mountains, forests and waterfalls. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Digital/Multimedia Expression, Creativity/Innovation.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Creativity/Innovation
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
  • CAS AH 520: The Museum and The Historical Agency
    History, present realities, and future possibilities of museums and historical agencies, using Boston's excellent examples. Issues and debates confronting museums today examined in the light of historical development and changing communities. Emphasis on collecting, display and interpretation.
  • CAS AH 521: Curatorship
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor. - Graduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor. Introduces students to curatorial strategies and the pragmatics of exhibition-making.
  • CAS AH 525: American Cultural Landscape Studies
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - This seminar provides an introduction to analyzing and interpreting American cultural landscapes and acquaints students with the historiography of interdisciplinary study of the built environment. Also offered as CAS AM 525.
  • CAS AH 527: Topics in Art and Society
    Topic for Fall 2025, Section A1: The Mount Auburn Cemetery. An exploration of remembrance, and the invention, appropriation, and development of imagery and landscape for commemorative monuments. Much of this seminar takes place on site in the Mount Auburn Cemetery and in regional early Burying Grounds. Walking shoes required.
  • CAS AH 528: Landscapes: Art and Environment in China
    Prerequisites: First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or 120). - Examines art and ecology, power and cartography, and microcosms within the Chinese visual culture of landscapes. Topics include mountain cults, Daoist grotto-heavens, ink painting, gardens, multimedia panoramic views, and contemporary art projects that engage with environmental concerns. Effective Spring 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Research and Information Literacy, Writing-Intensive Course.
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS AH 530: American Art and the City
    Topic for Fall 2025: Visual Culture of the American City. This course examines the art forms, popular pictorial media, visual entertainments, and structures of looking that developed in American cities in the years between 1790 and 1917.
  • CAS AH 531: Modern Asian Art in a Global Context
    Topic for Fall 2025: Japan on World Display. Thematic study of the presentation and performance of Japan at international events, starting with 19th-century world’s fairs, with attention to domestic regional fairs, colonial expositions, and the Olympics hosted in Japan. Focus on architectural, artistic, and visual expressions of nation.
  • CAS AH 533: Seminar: Greek Art and Architecture
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) - Topic for Fall 2025: Greek Art in Boston Area Museums. We investigate Greek art in the Boston area to understand and critique its display; compare local collections to others in the United States, Europe, west Asia, and Egypt; and learn about collections management using BU’s Gabel Museum of Archaeology. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Writing-Intensive Course

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