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Learning Goals in the Africana Studies Major

Learning Goals in Africana Studies Major

The Africana Studies major at Connecticut College began in 1987 as a result of the student movement. Africana Studies is an interdisciplinary and transnational approach to the study of people of African descent in the diaspora. Prior to Africana Studies, traditional majors had marginalized the intellectual contributions of black scholars. African Studies is designed to place the experiences of people of African descent at the center of inquiry. Moreover, Africana Studies was created from a long intellectual activist tradition, which includes W.E.B. DuBois and Audre Lord. Africana Studies majors are encouraged to use their knowledge for social change. Our courses are divided into three themes, cultural production and expression, historical investigation, and social and structural analysis; and we cover three regions, United States, Caribbean, and Africa. As an Africana Studies major you will develop your critical reading, writing, critical thinking, and oral communication skills. The Africana Studies major is in the forefront of inclusive excellence at Connecticut College because of its unique history at Connecticut College and the nation.

Africana Learning Objectives
  • Africana Studies examines the cultural, historical, political, economic, and psychological consequences of the dispersal of Africans from their ancestral continent to various regions of the world.
  • The interdisciplinary approach prepares students to effectively analyze issues and complex problems within the diverse Africana communities of the world from a variety of theoretical and practical perspectives.
  • Building a body of knowledge with an international, interdisciplinary curriculum about peoples and cultures in Africa and in the African diaspora.
  • Improving ability to recognize and develop connections between historical issues and realities of contemporary life.
  • Providing students with experiences in communal cooperation and networking through internships and by fostering interdepartmental, interdisciplinary and intercollegiate collaboration as on-going, programmatic activities of Africana studies.
  • To understand the variety of theories in Africana Studies, such as Afrocentricity, Kawaida Theory, Africology, Black Radicalism, and Black Feminism.
  • Analyze qualitative and quantitative date to explain the political, economic, and social factors on the experiences of people of African descent.
  • Compare and contrast the historical experiences of people of African descent in the diaspora.
  • Be able to write and communicate nuanced interpretations of race, gender, culture, class, sexual orientation, and identity in the African Diaspora.
  • Be able to evaluate and locate information that is germane to the discipline of Africana Studies.
  • Recognize the cultural and intellectual contributions of black scholars to modern western thought.
  • Understand the historical and political issues surrounding the production and circulation of knowledge by and about people of African descent.
  • Develop collaborative projects that foster critical dialog and build transformative experiences.
  • Locate information using research databases, blogs, and credible on-line sources.