Africana Studies Program - Western Michigan University

Sub-categories:
Mission | Overview

MISSION STATEMENT

Africana Studies is the study, research, interpretation, and the dissemination of knowledge concerning African American, African, and Caribbean affairs and cultures. Using methodologies from the humanities, fine arts, and social sciences, Africana Studies examines the structure, organization, problems, and perspectives of Blacks in America and the African Diaspora. The academic major provides a meaningful liberal arts training for students from any racial, ethnic, or cultural background.

WMU’s Mission states: “. . .the institution should be a place for the creation of knowledge, the analysis of and debate of important issues, as well as the exploration of new ways to address critical issues confronting all human life as our world/globe shrinks and our population expands.” Africana Studies prepares students to think critically, to express themselves creatively, to respect cultural diversity, and to make independent contributions to the intellectual, cultural, and spiritual growth of the world community.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

AFS at Western Michigan University is an interdisciplinary and comparative program leading to a baccalaureate degree (major) in Africana Studies with a choice in one of two emphases/tracks: (1) Black Studies or (2) African Studies. This academic unit also offers the “minor” as an academic option. Using methodologies from humanities, fine arts, and social science disciplines, our courses introduce students to examine the structure, organization, problems, and perspectives of Blacks in North America and throughout the African diaspora. They learn how to read texts that demand deep critical assessment. Their critical faculty is developed with demanding writing assignments that test their ability to analyze arguments and to define with care basic terms, complex theories, and central concepts. The pedagogy of the Africana Studies Program curriculum engages students in theoretical, practical, and applied learning through classroom, experiential/cultural, and field experience.

Africana Studies is first and foremost concerned with quality instruction that leads to a better understanding of the historical and contemporary dynamics of the African world. The Program exists:

to provide an excellent university education while challenging and stimulating students to contribute to the development of their communities’ cultural, aesthetic, and economic environments;
to generate new knowledge and research opportunities within the discipline of Africana Studies;
to serve the university’s external community with programming that contributes to life long education.

We have two core tenured faculty and one joint-appointed faculty (in History) who teach, mentor, and/or advise undergraduate majors and minors. One member holds administrative position within the university and teaches, mentors, and/or advises graduate students and contributes greatly to the liberal arts/general education mission in the College of Arts and Sciences. Africana Studies works collaboratively on research, policy, diversity, and programming with the Lewis Walker Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnic Relations, the Division of Multicultural Affairs, other academic units at WMU as well as local, state, and regional constituents.