News, Events & Seminars

The mission of the Department of Africology and African American Studies (AASA) is to provide robust and critical programs of study, research and service on the African world experience--including a particular focus on the life and culture of people of African descent in the Americas--by cultivating successive cadres of students imbued with community consciousness and equipped with intellectual tools for shaping the world of the present and the future, community engagement and pertinent careers. Ultimately, a graduate of Africology is expected to possess knowledge, skills, and techniques necessary for effective functioning in a multicultural, multiracial, and technologically advanced society.

As a component aspect of that mission, the department currently offers a bachelor's degree program in African American Studies, including an undergraduate major and a minor. The department also offers a graduate certificate in African American Studies and an undergraduate certificate in African Studies.

The undergraduate degree program examines the Black experience in the Americas, the Caribbean, and Africa from historical and contemporary perspectives. It studies the African American experience not only as an entity in its own right but also as a microcosm of dynamics operating in domestic and global settings. The program addresses the multi-dimensionality of the Black experience, including its historical, political, public policy, legal, economic, sociological, psychological, religious, and artistic dimensions.

The Department of Africology and African American Studies is part of the College of Arts & Sciences, 214 Pray-Harrold, 734.487.4344