The Department of Africana Studies in the College of Arts and Humanities offers a major and a minor in Africana Studies. Africana Studies is primarily a discipline which investigates the social, cultural, political and aesthetic dimensions of Africana peoples' experiences. These experiences range from earliest human civilizations through the tragic era of enslavement, colonization and involuntary dispersal through forced migration and displacement of African peoples. The intellectual framework that sets Africana Studies apart from other disciplines is that it explores the subject area from the perspective of Africana peoples' interests, aspirations, possibilities, and envisioned destinies. The foundation of the discipline rests on an understanding and appreciation of African peoples' worldview and philosophy of life as the starting point for all Africana intellectual inquiry. The BA degree and minor program offered by the department emphasizes an examination of the theoretical and empirical characteristics of the African world experience from both a contemporary and historical perspective.
The Department of Africana Studies participates in the University's M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies (Special Major) program. Interested candidates should contact the chair of Africana Studies or the Coordinator of the M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies program.
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