AP African American Studies

Embark on a journey through African American Studies, tracing the path from ancient kingdoms to contemporary challenges and achievements. Explore themes of migration, identity, resistance, resilience, and artistic expression through an engaging array of primary texts, visual materials, and data-driven sources. Hone interdisciplinary skills in source analysis, argumentation, and the application of disciplinary knowledge. Cultivate critical thinking and an appreciation for the cultural complexities of Black communities in the United States, contextualized within Africa and the African diaspora. This course prepares you for the APĀ® African American Studies exam.

COURSE PREREQUISITES: None

Register for AP African American Studies

Basic and On Demand are always open for registration.

Plus courses are created upon request.

Semester 1

Unit 1: Origins of African Diaspora

  • Features & Complexities of Black Studies
  • Africa: Geographic Features
  • Bantu Expansion Origins, Causes & Effects
  • Early East & West African Empires
  • Early African Kingdoms & City-States
  • Economics & Politics in Early Africa
  • Overview of the Mali Empire
  • West African Education Models
  • Syncretic Practices in Early West African Societies
  • Great Zimbabwe's Stone Architecture
  • Overview of the Swahili Coast
  • Kongo Kingdom: Politics, Faith & Economics
  • Women's Role in Early West & Central Africa
  • Pre-Slave Trade Ties: Africa & Europe

Unit 2: Freedom, Enslavement, and Resistance

  • Ladinos as the first Africans in U.S.
  • Transatlantic Slave Trade
  • Middle Passage: Conditions for the Enslaved
  • Slave Narratives
  • Slave Ships: General Features & Diagrams
  • African Resistance to Slavery
  • Slave Auctions
  • Black Authors & Slave Auctions
  • Cotton: Cash Crop & Industry in the Slave Era
  • Specialized Roles for Slaves
  • Economic Effects of Slave Labor
  • American Law & Slavery
  • What is Partus Sequitur Ventrem?
  • How African Americans Defined & Classified Themselves
  • African American Forms of Self-Expression
  • Enslaved Africans' Influence on Musical Styles

Unit 3: Resistance & Revolt

  • Stono Rebellion
  • Legacy of the Haitian Revolution
  • Daily Forms of Resistance & Revolt
  • Actions of Free Blacks in the North & South
  • Black Female Activism in the 19th Century
  • Who are the Maroons?
  • Maroon Communities
  • Maroon Wars Across the African Diaspora
  • Enslavement of Africans in Brazil
  • U.S. Slavery Expansion: Impact on Black & Indigenous Communities
  • Radical Resistance: 19th Century Emigrationists
  • Resistance Strategy: Black Political Thought

Unit 4: Abolition & Freedom

  • Harriet Tubman & the Underground Railroad
  • Courage in African American Art & Photography
  • Black Women: Objectification & Resistance
  • Gender's Impact on Slave Narratives & Political Movements
  • African Americans in the Civil War
  • Events that Ended Legal Slavery in the United States
  • Juneteenth

Semester 2

Available in spring 2025.

Enrollment will begin on 11/22/2024.

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