Africana Studies is an interdisciplinary field of study that focuses on the history and lived experience of continental and Diasporan Africans. We recognize that the African and Diasporan experiences are part of the history of the wider world of which it is a part, and that that history is best understood from a humanistic perspective that is, at once, global and comparative. Integral to this global and comparative aspect is a recognition of the importance of local and community issues. To actualize this perspective, the Department is built on an interdisciplinary academic modality that combines social scientific, humanistic, and historical perspectives of race, culture, gender, political economy, and public health. In this way, Africana Studies aspires to promote and encourage in students an understanding of humanity in general, and the expression of that humanity, particularly as it is manifested in the history and cultures of Black people.
