Africana Studies / Rites and Reason Theatre
Academics
Africana Studies is the study of the history, political, sociological, philosophical, theoretical, religious, and expressive cultures of Africa and the African Diaspora. Africana Studies draws from the humanities and the social sciences and demands both the utilization of conventional knowledge and the use of new methods and forms of knowing. This approach raises new and profound questions about human life.
Academics
Africana Studies is the study of the history, political, sociological, philosophical, theoretical, religious, and expressive cultures of Africa and the African Diaspora. Africana Studies draws from the humanities and the social sciences and demands both the utilization of conventional knowledge and the use of new methods and forms of knowing. This approach raises new and profound questions about human life.
I don't know what Black Freedom is without Black Arts. I don't know what Black Arts is without an intellectual analysis of what freedom is.
Chair, Department of Africana Studies/Rites and Reason Theatre
Our Approach
Like all forms of interdisciplinary study, Africana Studies draws from the humanities and the social sciences, but we also explore the sciences. It demands both the utilization of conventional knowledge and the use of new methods and forms of knowing.
This approach raises new and profound questions about human life and is the very stuff of scholarship. The Department enjoys particular notoriety for the theoretically astute and interdisciplinary character of its education.
Five Fields of Focus
At both the graduate and undergraduate levels, the Department holds to five fields of focus:
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Africana Theory and Philosophy
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Gender and Sexuality
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Social Movements, Race, and Racism
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Expressive Culture and Popular Music
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Performance and Performance Studies
Africana Studies presents a broad range of courses that engage with the histories, ideas, social and political life of Africa and the African Diaspora, including literature, the arts, cultural studies, history, politics, philosophy, feminism, and the legacy of scientific racism.
The graduate program trains students to become skilled and informed scholars poised to make significant contributions to academic and nonacademic communities.