AfricanAmericanStudies

Collection Development Policy: African American Studies

Subject Librarian: Susan Thomas

Purpose of Policy
The collection development policy for African American Studies guides the development and management of the African American Studies collection.

Program Description
African American Studies offers an interdisciplinary approach to diverse aspects of African American culture, history, society, and the black experience. It encompasses the socioeconomic, cultural, and geographical boundaries of sub-Saharan Africa and the black diaspora.

The minor consists of a core introductory course, an African American history course, and three elective courses, forming a total of 15 credit hours.

• AFAM-A 150 Survey of the Culture of Black Americans
• HIST-A 355 African American History I
• HIST-A 356 African American History II
• ANTH-A 385 Topics in Anthropology: African American Health
• ANTH-E 310 Introduction to the Cultures of Africa
• CMLT-C 253 Third World and Black American Films
• EDUC-H 340 Education and American Culture
• ENGL-L 207 Women and Literature: Protest Writing
• ENGL-L 379 American Ethnic and Minority Literature
• HIST-A 100 Issues in United States History: African American Culture
• HIST-H 225 Special Topics in History Freedom Summer Study Tour of the Civil Rights Movement in the South
• MUS-M 375 Survey of Ethnic and Pop Music of the World
• POLS-Y 329 Racial and Ethnic Politics in the United States
• PSY-P 391 Psychology of Gender and Ethnicity
• SOC-S 317 Social Stratification
• SOC-S 335 Race and Ethnic Relations
• SOC-S 410 Advanced Topics in Social Organization: Race and Civil Rights

Areas of Established Specialization

• African American Studies
• African Diaspora Studies

Changes in User Population (Last 5 Years)

• More current materials are needed. Many materials were published between the 1970s – 1990s but there appears to be a decline since.
• Need good books on contemporary African American culture.
• Current collection is okay on history.
• Many if not most of the students have a strong preference for and only know how to obtain internet-based resources.

New and Expanding Areas of Interest

No new materials beside more Afrocentric literature (for critique and review for courses-if accurate and useful).

Degrees Offered

• African American Studies Minor

Clientele
The primary clientele are the undergraduate students, faculty, and staff of the Anthropology, the Arts, Education, English, Gender Studies, History, Philosophy, Political Science, and Sociology Departments taking these departments’ classes that count toward the completion of an African American Studies Minor. Members of the Michiana community may also use the collection.

• Number of Faculty:6
• Number of Minors: 4

Collection Guidelines

The African American Studies collection consists of works written for the basic through advanced undergraduate level and for basic faculty research. Graduate- and research-level publications are collected selectively.

Formats Collected
Scholarly monographs, serials, collections of essays, conference proceedings, videos, and electronic resources are extensively collected.

Formats Excluded
Pamphlets, newsletters, article reprints, and required textbooks. Popular and/or journalistic monographs about social issues are selectively collected.

Language
The collection is primarily in English.

Geographic Coverage
All geographic areas are covered. For titles with a geographic focus, preference is given to materials relating to the region (Michiana, northern Indiana, and Midwest) as well as those that support area studies programs offered on campus.

Chronological Periods Collected
Priority is given to current publications. Older imprints are collected selectively, usually as replacements for classic works, or upon request.

Subject Emphases
The African American Studies collection focuses on the topics of African American history, American politics, race and ethnicity, gender, sociological theory, anthropology.

Current Collecting Priorities
In addition to the topics listed above, mass media and popular culture, human rights, race, class, and gender stratification, migration and immigration.

Subjects Collected Selectively
Social history and urban sociology are collected selectively.

Reference
Reference material for African American Studies are selected by the African American Studies subject librarian following the general subject parameters of the collection policy.

Interdisciplinary Considerations
Due to the highly interdisciplinary nature of African American Studies, materials are also occasionally selected in the areas of women's studies, gender studies, African American studies, history, Latin American studies, education, criminal justice, political science, and public affairs.

Location
African American Studies materials are housed in the Schurz Library. Works specifically about the discipline of African American Studies – because of its highly cross-disciplinary nature - are classified in the B, CB, CT, E, F, GF, GN, GR, GT, H, JJ, JK, LD schedule of Library of Congress system.

Particular Holdings Concentrated In:

• E184.5-E185.98 - African Americans in United States History and Culture
• E441-E453 - Slavery in the United States, Anti-Slavery Movement
• PS1-PS3576 - American Literature