AAST 206: Interdisciplinary Research Methods in African American Studies

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What is research? How are research projects conceptualized and designed? How do researchers in African American Studies and related interdisciplinary fields go about collecting and building knowledge? How have African Americans been treated by research in the past? These are some of the topics discussed in AAST 206. We spend time learning how research has often tended to undermine African American progress and ideas, and how scholars in African American Studies seek to undo this damage. Students are also introduced to basic research methods such as working in archives, interviewing, and analyzing cultural texts. The goal is to help students understand how research is conducted and to begin to formulate their own projects that can be carried out in advanced courses.