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
Malês: Film Screening and Director Discussion
Roquinaldo Ferreira, Antonio Pitanga, Camila Pitanga
Malês, a soon-to-be-released movie out of Brazil, tells the story of the Malês Revolt, a slave revolt that took place in Salvador, Brazil, in 1835 led by Muslim people who had been enslaved in the Bight of Benin. It…
2024 A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. Memorial Lecture
A Third Reconstruction: Toward a New Vision of Racial Justice
Damon T. Hewitt
Presenting this year’s Higginbotham Memorial Lecture will be Damon T. Hewitt, the President and Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
Hewitt has more than 20 years of civil…
24th Annual MLK Jr. Social Justice Lecture & Award
Dr. Orlando Patterson
Join as we honor the luminary Dr. Orlando Patterson and he has a conversation with Dr. Michael Hanchard pondering the "paradox of freedom".
Orlando Patterson, a historical and cultural sociologist, is the…