Introduction to Africana / African American / Black Studies
The field of Africana / African American / Black Studies emerged as an academic site of inquiry and struggle in response to the needs of the ongoing movements for racial justice and civil rights. Within the institution of higher education, Africana / African American / Black Studies provides a comprehensive and interdisciplinary home for the intellectual work being done by scholars to uncover, document, analyze, and explain the complex and varied experiences of people of African origin. It also works in conjunction with efforts to increase diversity and inclusion within higher education at all levels, including students, faculty, staff, and administrators, as well as supporting broader movements for justice and inclusion that advance change in different institutions throughout society.
In this chapter, the terms Africana Studies, African American Studies, and Black Studies are used throughout. These terms often refer to the same body of academic scholarship and community practice, but there are important differences to note. While Africana and Black Studies refer broadly to the experiences of people with African heritage throughout the world, African American Studies are explicitly focused on the experiences of people whose family lineage includes African peoples who were enslaved in the United States. These realities differ from the experiences of African people who were never enslaved, African migrants living in various parts of the world, or the descendants of enslaved people in countries outside of the United States. For the sake of inclusion, the terms “Africana Studies” or “Black Studies” are used to signal these multiple disciplinary names.
This chapter charts an overview of relevant and foundational history that shapes the development of Africana / African American / Black Studies. In the first section, you will have the opportunity to understand the broader political and historical contexts that shaped struggles for Black liberation in the 1800s and 1900s, which had many implications for society, including the creation of Black Studies programs. This is followed by a more focused examination of how the dynamics of exploitation and resistance have been more effectively studied and understood using a Black Studies framework. In the remaining two sections, these tools are brought to life in the context of systemic, cultural, and political dynamics that are the focus of Black Studies scholars and practitioners today.
