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
African Narratives: Hop
African Narratives Film Series
The Lauder Institute of Management & International Studies, The Center for Africana Studies and Wharton Africa are pleased to present African Narratives, a film series that showcases global African cinema. The…
To Fulfill the Unfulfilled, To Answer the Unanswered: The Revolutionary James Baldwin (Screening)
Presented by Lotus at Penn
Join Lotus, a student group dedicated to studying the Black Freedom Tradition at Penn, for the screening of an original documentary called To Fulfill the Unfulfilled, To Answer the Unanswered: The Revolutionary James…
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…