Africana Studies

What does it mean to call something, or someone, “African”? How can we even begin to talk about such a huge place—a place that’s actually many places with so many people and such a vast story? A place that’s the been the source and center of so much of the world’s history, art, culture, and politics?

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Minor

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Sociology

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Program Focus Options

The African Diaspora or African Americans in the U.S.

Africana Studies is an interdisciplinary minor that provides students with the opportunity to study, from multiple perspectives, the culture and experiences of peoples from Africa and its diasporas. Drawing from the humanities and social sciences, this minor engages a variety of topics such as language and culture, social struggle and inequality, and social advancement and artistic creativity. It provides students with the opportunity to explore the diverse backgrounds of African-origin people all over the world.

Africana Studies is designed for students of all backgrounds and majors who are interested in learning more about the cultures and heritages of this varied group, including people from differing countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and North, Central, and South America.

Distinctive Courses

A comparative approach to race and ethnic relations in the United States. The course compares and contrasts the experiences of multiple racial and ethnic groups. Special attention is paid to issues of privilege and power and the underlying historical and contemporary symbolic and structural factors affecting both intra and inter-group interactions.

This course examines the long view of the civil rights era, beginning with Reconstruction in the aftermath of the Civil War and continuing on to the climactic events of the 1960s.

An examination of Black Music from slave songs to rap. In this course students explore the sounds, contexts, and receptions of African-American musical cultures and their impact on other American cultures.

ENG 2250 - Post-Colonial Literature

An exploration of literature written in English by people of the variety of races and cultures that once were part of the British Empire. Works covered reflect and represent their experiences and creative genius. Writers studied include Conrad, Rushdie, and Chinua Achebe.

African studies Program Requirements

African Studies Minor

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Department Faculty

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The McDaniel Commitment in Action

The McDaniel Commitment—a series of opportunities guaranteed to all students—provides enhanced mentoring and coaching, and ensures every undergraduate student completes at least two meaningful experiential learning opportunities.

Study Abroad

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Internships

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Research

FACULTY SPOTLIGHT Linda Semu, Ph.D. Professor of Sociology

Professor and Comparative International Sociologist Linda Semu strives to show how her advocacy work as one of the founding members of the Malawi Washington Foundation can prompt students to seek change. Before coming to McDaniel, Semu was a lecturer in Sociology at the University of Malawi where she did research and consultancy work for both local and international organizations, as well as the Malawi government. She has taught courses like Introduction to Sociology: A Global Perspective, Food, Culture and Society, Love and Marriage: A Cross-Cultural Perspective, Global Social Change, Urban Sociology, and Urban and Community Studies.

Read a Q&A with Linda L. Semu, Ph.D.

Arabic & Middle Eastern Studies History Political Science Sociology Asian Studies

See Yourself Here

Take your first steps on the Hill! Visiting campus is one of the best ways to determine if McDaniel is right for you.

Visit McDaniel

Keep in Touch

Tell us a little about yourself and we'll share updates & information. (We'll also make sure you don't miss any important deadlines.)

Keep in Touch

Department Faculty

Learn more about the faculty and staff behind this program.

See Sociology faculty

Africana Studies

Distinctive Courses

SOC 3429 - Race and Ethnic Relations in the U.S.

SOC 3429 - Race and Ethnic Relations in the U.S.

HIS 2236 - Black America and the Civil Rights Era, 1865-1968

HIS 2236 - Black America and the Civil Rights Era, 1865-1968

MUL 2232 - Black Music: Slave Songs to Rap