Africana Studies
Africana Studies is the study, research, interpretation, and the dissemination of knowledge concerning African American, African, and Caribbean affairs and culture. Using the tools of the social sciences and humanities, Africana Studies examines the structure, organization, problems, and perspectives of the peoples of Africa and the African Diaspora. Africana Studies also examines issues of politics and social change in African American communities and various African and Caribbean nations. The term "Africana" incorporates the three areas of concentration within the department--African, African American, and diaspora/comparative social sciences and humanities. The African diaspora comprises people of African origin outside the African continent, and is studied in comparative context.
The Department of Africana Studies is an interdisciplinary department encompassing the study of the history and culture of Africa and the African Diaspora. Its professors are trained in a broad range of disciplines including anthropology, folklore, history, language and literature, musicology, political science, and sociology, among others. The Department of Africana Studies at Rutgers University is committed to “scholarship in the service of social justice worldwide.” The nexus of intellectualism, culture, and activism embodied by Paul Robeson is of central concern to our faculty and is reflected in our scholarship, teaching, and student opportunities.
