Africana Studies is a developing field that brings a global frame of reference and a variety of disciplinary perspectives to the study of Africa and the African diaspora. Drawing on the analytical perspectives of anthropology, economics, history, literature studies and linguistics, music, philosophy, political science and sociology, the field encompasses the study of African people and cultures against a background of global social and economic change, both in Africa and in societies worldwide.
Africana Studies is a bi-college program, supported jointly by faculty at both Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges. Bryn Mawr offers Africana Studies as a minor that the student can combine with any major. Haverford offers Africana Studies as an area of concentration anchored in the student’s major with additional courses taken in at least two other departments.
Consortium of Universities
The bi-college Africana Studies Program is part of a U.S. Department of Education consortium that also includes the University of Pennsylvania and Swarthmore College. Bryn Mawr and Haverford have the distinction of belonging, with Swarthmore, to the only Africana Studies national consortium that brings together a major research university and liberal arts colleges. As a result of this alliance, students are able to complement offerings at Bryn Mawr and Haverford by taking courses for credit at all four consortium institutions. This may include, for example, undergraduate courses in such areas as African dance and drumming or the study of African languages. Swahili is offered annually as a year-long course at Bryn Mawr. Bryn Mawr sponsors a study-abroad program at the University of Nairobi and participates, with consortium members and other colleges and universities, in similar programs in Zimbabwe, Ghana and Senegal. The bi-college program also offers students opportunities to do study in South Africa.
Both Bryn Mawr’s minor and Haverford’s concentration introduce students to theoretical perspectives and empirical studies of Africa and the African diaspora. In designing an intellectually coherent program, students are advised to organize their course work along one of several prototypical routes. Such model programs might feature:
- Regional or area studies; for example, focusing on Brazil, the English-speaking Caribbean or North America.
- Thematic studies; for example, exploring decolonization, class politics, ethnic conflicts and/or economic development in West and East Africa.
- Comparative studies; for example, problems of development, public health and governance.
Coordinators:
Robert Washington, at Bryn Mawr
Tracey Hucks, at Haverford College
Core Bryn Mawr Faculty:
Michael H. Allen
Linda-Susan Beard
Francis Higginson
Philip L. Kilbride
Lázaro Lima
Elaine Mshomba
Kalala Ngalamulume
Mary Osirim
Robert Washington
Affiliated Faculty:
Koffi Anyinéfa, at Haverford College
Kimberly Benston, at Haverford College
Jody Cohen
Alison Cook-Sather
Vernon Dixon, at Haverford College
Ignacio Gallup-Diaz
Harvey Glickman, at Haverford College
Tracey Hucks, at Haverford College
Anita Isaacs, at Haverford College
Paul Jefferson, at Haverford College
Emma Lapsansky, at Haverford College
Rajeswari Mohan, at Haverford College
Robert Mortimer, at Haverford College
Harriet B. Newburger
Zolani Ngwane, at Haverford College
Bi-Co Africana Bibliographers:
Florence Goff
Mary Lynn Morris, at Haverford College
Bryn Mawr's African Art and Ethnography Collections:
Carol W. Campbell
Tamara K. Johnston
Eric Pumroy
|
