The research, analysis and critical thinking skills students build by examining the historical and contemporary experiences of Africana women and men around the world gives them the ability to pursue careers in public policy, business, law, education, the arts and more. A truly interdisciplinary department, Africana Studies introduces students to perspectives by and about people of African descent that are not covered in other departments. The College of Wooster’s Independent Study requirement means that students graduate with mentored research on a topic they are passionate about, such as a comparative analysis of James Baldwin and Frank Ocean or an analysis of racial and economic inequalities in schools.
For more than 40 years, Africana Studies has helped prepare Wooster graduates to succeed in a multicultural world. Africana Studies majors can choose courses within the department, along with select interdepartmental courses, on topics ranging from Black feminist thought, Black nationalism, the social construction of race, the Black religious experience, African American music, to Africana art and history. The small-college atmosphere facilitates informal conversation between students, their peers, and faculty. Africana Studies can be a major or minor and can be a double major for those who want to pursue more than one area of inquiry.
As part of Wooster’s International Education Week, the Africana Studies Department hosted a screening of Dahomey. The film focuses on the 2021 return of 26 artifacts from the former Kingdom of Dahomey, which were sent back from Paris to present-day Benin. Through this story, the film highlights how a nation receives treasures taken from its ancestors and how these objects speak to a society changed in their absence. The event invited the campus community to gather for food, drinks, and discussion.
Administrative Coordinator - Africana Studies, Archaeology, East Asian Studies, Middle Eastern & North African Studies, Religious Studies, Sociology and Anthropology, South Asian Studies, Urban Studies, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Department Chair and Josephine Lincoln Morris Associate Professor of Africana Studies
Mitchell Ecklund ’25, a history and English double major and Africana studies minor at The College of Wooster, presented his junior Independent Study topic […]
Josephine Wright, professor emerita, Africana studies and music, may be 80 years old and retired from teaching after 40 years at The College of […]
Ethics and Insurrection: A Pragmatism for the Oppressed, a book by Lee A. McBride III, professor of philosophy at The College of Wooster, is […]
The College of Wooster will welcome alumna Ayesha B. Hardaway ’97 to celebrate Constitution Day by giving a lecture titled “The Constitution and Policing” […]
A major in Africana Studies provides students with an Africa-centered perspective on the societies, history, politics, and culture of African descended people, with a special focus on the United States.
List of Africana Studies major courses:
List of Africana Studies minor courses:
The Independent Study requirement at Wooster provides an opportunity for students to pursue in depth a topic of their own choosing, with the one-on-one guidance of a faculty member. Africana Studies opens exciting avenues for student research in a wide variety of areas.
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A major in Africana Studies makes graduates attractive to graduate schools, companies, and other institutions that focus on diversity. It can lead to or support careers in a variety of areas, including law, education, public policy, and business.
