Africana Studies

Doctoral candidates enrolled at The Graduate Center can pursue an Interdisciplinary Studies (IDS) Concentration in Africana Studies. The concentration was conceived and is sustained by IRADAC and the student-run Africana Studies Group (ASG).

The study of the African Diaspora as it is manifested in social and cultural structures outside of the continent of Africa has emerged over the last decade and a half as one of the academic world's most active interdisciplinary arenas. The primary goal of the concentration in Africana Studies at The Graduate Center is to produce scholars who are fully cognizant of the diverse field of Black Studies. This concentration will provide them with the analytic and research tools to navigate and articulate the black experience, furthering the ongoing dialogue on race and identity.

New York City is an extremely important locus for primary sources. Its convergence of music, literature, art, politics, and history —along with its myriad ethnic tapestry— offers scholars the opportunity to analyze black culture in a uniquely fertile context. The 1741 "Great Negro Plot" by slaves to burn down New York City, the establishment in 1838 of Weeksville in Brooklyn, the towering achievement of the Harlem Renaissance, and contemporary cases with national implications (for example, policies on police brutality and immigration) are a few examples of the wealth of opportunities to be further studied. A concentration in Africana Studies reflects and enhances the diversity of both subject matter and community found in CUNY at large.

REQUIREMENTS: Students are required to be matriculated in one of the established doctoral programs and must take the IDS core course, Introduction to Africana Studies, as well as four electives within the Concentration's course lists. No more than two of those four electives may be from the same discipline. Course offerings are from a broad spectrum of disciplines including Anthropology, Art, English, Film Studies, History, Music, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, Social Welfare Policy and Women's Studies.

Further inquiries about the Concentration in Africana Studies should be directed to Professor Robert Reid-Pharr, Coordinator, in Room 7114 of the Graduate center (212) 817-2076.