Africana studies
Encyclopedia
In United States education, Africana studies, or Africology is the study of the histories, politics and cultures of peoples of African origin both in Africa
and in the African diaspora
.
It is to be distinguished from African studies
, as its focus combines Africa and the African diaspora
(Afro-Latin American
, 'African American studies
, Black Studies) into a concept of an "African experience" with an Afrocentric perspective.
"Africana Studies" departments at many major universities grew out of the "Black Studies" programs and departments formed in the late 1960s in the context of the US civil rights movement
, as black studies programs were reformed and renamed "Africana studies" with an aim to encompass the continent of Africa and all of the African diaspora in a more abstract and traditionally academic way.
Africana studies programs also struggled to better align themselves with other college and university departments finding continuity and compromise between the radicalism of past decades and the multicultural scholarship found in many fields today.
Thus, it can be described as a "scholarship of compromise and acquiescence", contrasting with the historical Black Studies which were motivated by the struggle for civil rights.
). In the second stage the focus turned to black Americans (Afro-American studies). In the third stage a bevy of newly conceived academic programs were established as Black Studies.
Unlike the other stages, Black studies grew out of mass rebellions of black college students and faculty in search of a scholarship of change. The fourth stage, the new name "Africana studies" involved a theoretical elaboration of the discipline of black studies according to African cultural reclamation and disparate tenets in the historical and cultural issues of Africanity within a professorial interpretation of the interactions between these fields and college administrations.
Thus Africana Studies reflected the mellowing and institutionalization of the black studies movement in the course of its integration into the mainstream academic curriculum. Black Studies and Africana Studies differ primarily in that Africana Studies focuses on Africanity and the historical and cultural issues of Africa and its descendants while Black Studies was designed to deal with the uplift and development of the black (African-American)community in relationship to education and its "relevance" to the black community. The adaptation of the term "Africana studies" appears to have derived from the encyclopedia work of W.E.B. Du Bois and Carter G. Woodson. James Turner
, who was recruited from graduate school at Northwestern on the heels of the student rebellions of 1969, first used the term to describe a global approach to Black Studies and name the "Africana Studies and Research Center" at Cornell, where he acted as the founding director.
Studia Africana, subtitled "An International Journal of Africana Studies" was published by the Department for African American Studies at the University of Cincinnati
in a single issue in 1977 (an unrelated journal called Studia Africana is published by the Centro de Estudios Africanos, Barcelona
, since 1990).
The "International Journal of Africana Studies" (ISSN 1056-8689) has been appearing since 1992, published by the National Council for Black Studies
.
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and in the African diaspora
African diaspora
The African diaspora was the movement of Africans and their descendants to places throughout the world—predominantly to the Americas also to Europe, the Middle East and other places around the globe...
.
It is to be distinguished from African studies
African studies
African studies is the study of Africa, especially the cultures and societies of Africa .The field includes the study of:Culture of Africa, History of Africa , Anthropology of Africa , Politics of Africa, Economy of Africa African studies is the study of Africa, especially the cultures and...
, as its focus combines Africa and the African diaspora
African diaspora
The African diaspora was the movement of Africans and their descendants to places throughout the world—predominantly to the Americas also to Europe, the Middle East and other places around the globe...
(Afro-Latin American
Afro-Latin American
An Afro-Latin American is a Latin American person of at least partial Black African ancestry; the term may also refer to historical or cultural elements in Latin America thought to emanate from this community...
, 'African American studies
African American studies
African American studies is a subset of Black studies or Africana studies. It is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to the study of the history, culture, and politics of African Americans...
, Black Studies) into a concept of an "African experience" with an Afrocentric perspective.
"Africana Studies" departments at many major universities grew out of the "Black Studies" programs and departments formed in the late 1960s in the context of the US civil rights movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
, as black studies programs were reformed and renamed "Africana studies" with an aim to encompass the continent of Africa and all of the African diaspora in a more abstract and traditionally academic way.
Africana studies programs also struggled to better align themselves with other college and university departments finding continuity and compromise between the radicalism of past decades and the multicultural scholarship found in many fields today.
Thus, it can be described as a "scholarship of compromise and acquiescence", contrasting with the historical Black Studies which were motivated by the struggle for civil rights.
History
According to Robert Harris Jr, there have been four stages in the development of Africana studies: from the 1890s until the Second World War numerous organizations developed to analyze the culture and history of African peoples (African studiesAfrican studies
African studies is the study of Africa, especially the cultures and societies of Africa .The field includes the study of:Culture of Africa, History of Africa , Anthropology of Africa , Politics of Africa, Economy of Africa African studies is the study of Africa, especially the cultures and...
). In the second stage the focus turned to black Americans (Afro-American studies). In the third stage a bevy of newly conceived academic programs were established as Black Studies.
Unlike the other stages, Black studies grew out of mass rebellions of black college students and faculty in search of a scholarship of change. The fourth stage, the new name "Africana studies" involved a theoretical elaboration of the discipline of black studies according to African cultural reclamation and disparate tenets in the historical and cultural issues of Africanity within a professorial interpretation of the interactions between these fields and college administrations.
Thus Africana Studies reflected the mellowing and institutionalization of the black studies movement in the course of its integration into the mainstream academic curriculum. Black Studies and Africana Studies differ primarily in that Africana Studies focuses on Africanity and the historical and cultural issues of Africa and its descendants while Black Studies was designed to deal with the uplift and development of the black (African-American)community in relationship to education and its "relevance" to the black community. The adaptation of the term "Africana studies" appears to have derived from the encyclopedia work of W.E.B. Du Bois and Carter G. Woodson. James Turner
James Turner
James Turner was the 12th Governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina from 1802 to 1805. He later served as a U.S. senator between 1805 and 1816....
, who was recruited from graduate school at Northwestern on the heels of the student rebellions of 1969, first used the term to describe a global approach to Black Studies and name the "Africana Studies and Research Center" at Cornell, where he acted as the founding director.
Studia Africana, subtitled "An International Journal of Africana Studies" was published by the Department for African American Studies at the University of Cincinnati
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
in a single issue in 1977 (an unrelated journal called Studia Africana is published by the Centro de Estudios Africanos, Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, since 1990).
The "International Journal of Africana Studies" (ISSN 1056-8689) has been appearing since 1992, published by the National Council for Black Studies
National Council for Black Studies
National Council for Black Studies is an organization for black studies professionals, based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, which works for the development of Black or Africana studies as a respected academic discipline...
.
Journals
- see List of African studies journals for academic journals dedicated to African studiesAfrican studiesAfrican studies is the study of Africa, especially the cultures and societies of Africa .The field includes the study of:Culture of Africa, History of Africa , Anthropology of Africa , Politics of Africa, Economy of Africa African studies is the study of Africa, especially the cultures and...
- The Journal of African Civilizations (since 1979)
- International Journal of Africana Studies - Designed to interrogate and analyze the lived experiences of Africana people.
- Africana - Journal of Ideas on Africa and the Diaspora
- Electronic Journal of Africana Bibliography - Coverage includes any aspect of Africa, its peoples, their homes, cities, towns, districts, states, countries, regions, including social, economic sustainable development, creative literature, the arts, and the Diaspora.
- Africana Online: Journal of the Africana Center for Cultural Literacy and Research
- The Journal of Pan African Studies (since 1987)
- Nka Journal of Contemporary African Art - Nka focuses on publishing critical work that examines the newly developing field of contemporary African and African Diaspora art within the modernist and postmodernist experience and therefore contributes significantly to the intellectual dialogue on world art and the discourse on internationalism and multiculturalism in the arts.
See also
- African-Centered EducationAfrican-Centered EducationAfrocentric education is education designed to empower African people. A central premise behind it is that many Africans have been subjugated by limiting their awareness of themselves and indoctrinating them with ideas that work against them. To control a people's culture is to control their tools...
- Afrocentricity
- Encyclopedia AfricanaEncyclopedia AfricanaAfricana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African-American Experience edited by Henry Louis Gates andAnthony Appiah is a compendium of Africana studies including African studies and the "Pan-African diaspora" inspired by W. E. B. Du Bois' project of an "Encyclopedia Africana"...
- Identity politicsIdentity politicsIdentity politics are political arguments that focus upon the self interest and perspectives of self-identified social interest groups and ways in which people's politics may be shaped by aspects of their identity through race, class, religion, sexual orientation or traditional dominance...
- MulticulturalismMulticulturalismMulticulturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
External links
- Africana - A multidisciplinary journal based at the African Studies Center at Boston University
- Africana Studies - OpenCourseWareOpenCourseWareOpenCourseWare, or OCW, is a term applied to course materials created by universities and shared freely with the world via the internet. The movement started in 1999 when the University of Tübingen in Germany published videos of lectures online in the context of its timms initiative...
from the University of Notre DameUniversity of Notre DameThe University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States... - Contributions in Black Studies - A Journal of African and Afro-American Studies from the University of Massachusetts Amherst