Program: An Overview

Africana Studies is the study, research, interpretation, and dissemination of knowledge concerning African American, African, and Caribbean affairs and culture. Why offer Africana Studies? 1) Africana Studies occupies a central, not peripheral role in understanding modern American life. It acknowledges that people of African descent have contributed significantly to the making of the United States and have played a vital role in world history and culture. 2) Africana Studies directly engages the issues of race and difference, pulling together courses that are relevant to an increasingly diverse world, a world within which our students need to know how to function.

Because Africana Studies embraces a wide spectrum of experiences and issues, the program is multi-and interdisciplinary in its approach. Students can choose courses among many disciplines: English, history, sociology, music, geography, religion, political science, Spanish and theatre and dance. As a program which embodies the liberal arts mission, the primary objectives of the Africana minor are to

1) Foster interdisciplinary study in the humanities, arts and social sciences.
2) Stimulate students within a learning environment that encourages appreciation of the history and culture of African peoples.
3) Explore the diversity and range of thought in the African Diaspora.
4) Teach the economic, psychological and social situation of Blacks past and present.

The Program Advisory Committee, drawn from faculty members teaching in the program and others who have research interests in the field, will administer the program. Current members of the PAC are: Lori Askeland, English; Warren Copeland, Religion; Keith Doubt, Sociology; Lillian Franklin, Spanish; Scot Hinson, English, Scott Rosenberg, History, and Carmiele Wilkerson, English.


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