Department of Africana Studies
Africana Studies is an interdisciplinary field of study devoted to the critical and systematic examination of the cultural, political, social, economic, and historical experiences of African Americans, Africans, and peoples of African descent around the world.
Our intellectual work and programing highlight the impact of Africa and the African diasporas on humanity. Through its research, academic initiatives and public programming, the Center’s work seeks to explore the profound ways in which African peoples have functioned on a global scale and how their experiences have resonated around the world throughout history.
Africana Studies News
Upcoming Events
Brave Testimony 2025
Dancing on the Shore: Poems from Migration Letters
M. Nzadi Keita
M. Nzadi Keita's third book, Migration Letters: Poems, reflects on her upbringing and coming of age as a Black working-class woman in Philadelphia (originally Lenapehoking). Keita straddles the…
International Conference on Everyday Lives of Instability in the Global South
AbdouMaliq Simone
The international conference organized by the Center for Africana Studies in collaboration with the Provost’s Office, Department of South Asia Studies, Department of Anthropology, Center for Latin American and Latinx…
Becoming a Big Man in Africa: Subalterns, Elites, and Ethnic Politics in Nigeria
Presented by Penn Anthropology
Wale Adebanwi
Do subalterns have the capacity to transform themselves into members of the elite? If so, what are the means of accomplishing the transformation? What strategic improvisations are critical in the process of such…