UNDERGRADUATE BULLETIN 1999 - 2002	[ Previous Page | Table of Contents | Next Page ]

Africana studies is the study, research, interpretation, and dissemination of knowledge concerning African-American, African, and Caribbean affairs and culture. Using the tools of the social sciences and humanities, Africana studies examines the structure, organization, problems, and perspectives of blacks in Africa and the African Diaspora. Africana studies also stresses analytical interpretations and policy prescriptions for social change in African-American communities and in various African and Caribbean nations. The term "Africana" incorporates the three-tier interdisciplinary thrust of the department: African, African-American, and Caribbean social sciences and humanities.

Africana studies prepares social science majors for advanced graduate studies in international affairs, education, social work, social policy studies, and legal and professional training. In the humanities, preparation in the creative arts and literature gears students to practical development in such fields as communication, teaching, theatre, and dance. Africana studies occupies a central role in understanding modern American life and African and Caribbean linkages. As an interdisciplinary major, Africana studies is a paradigm for the multicultural approach to historical, political, and economic reality. It is also critical and corrective of the inadequacies, omissions, and distortions of mainstream American education leading into the 21st century. Africana studies is committed to producing liberally educated women and men, with a lifetime dedication to working on African- American, African, and Caribbean affairs. For more information on the major and the Department of Africana Studies, see the departmentās Web site at http://www.pitt.edu/~bjgrier/bj.htm.

• Major Requirements

  Students are urged to meet with the departmental advisor no later than the beginning of the junior year to confirm a plan of study. The Africana studies major requires the following:

  • A total of 30 credits with a focused area of study in either humanities or social science.
  • A 2.00 quality point average for all Africana studies courses. (The department recommends that courses for the major not be taken on an S/N basis.)
  • Students who choose social sciences must take two humanities courses: one lower level and one upper level. Students concentrating in the humanities are required to take two social sciences: one lower level and one upper level.
  • All majors, regardless of concentration, are required to take three core courses:
    
    AFRCNA 0031 (Introduction to Africana Studies)
    AFRCNA 1068 (African American Community Research)
    AFRCNA 1900 (Internship (Field Placement).)

    For the CAS-required related area outside the major, students might consider completing the related area in a single department as it may lead to the option of a double major.

UNDERGRADUATE BULLETIN 1999 - 2002	[ Previous Page | Table of Contents | Next Page ]