Program Overview
Africana Studies - B.A.
Overview
Explore the rich history and culture of Africa and the African diaspora with Kent State University's Africana Studies program. Develop a deep understanding of the social, cultural and political issues that have shaped the African world.
Contact Information
- Mwatabu S. Okantah | | or
- Speak with an Advisor
- Chat with an Admissions Counselor
Program Delivery
- Delivery: In person
- Location: Kent Campus
Examples of Possible Careers and Salaries
- Area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary
- 4.9% about as fast as the average
- 13,400 number of jobs
- $78,840 potential earnings
- Social services
- Parenting
- Social work
- Government
- Probation officer
- Counseling
- Community education
- Community activism
- Case management
- Rehabilitation
- Volunteer services
- Programming
- Advocacy
- Crisis services (pregnancy, housing, etc.)
- Nonprofit and social services organizations
- Immigrant and refugee service providers
- Migrant service providers
- Hospitals and hospices
- Residential treatment facilities
- Youth organizations and campus including YMCA, YWCA, Young Life, etc.
- Churches, synagogues and mosques
- Lobby agencies
- International areas
- Nongovernmental organization staffing
- International diplomacy
- Humanitarian services
- Economic and community development
- Policy development
- Foreign affairs
- International security
- International aid and relief organizations
- Think tanks
- Business
- Public relations
- Public administration
- Personnel management/diversity/inclusion
- Nonprofit management
- Human resources: training and development, recruitment or equity and diversity functions
- Sales
- Management
- Staffing agencies
- Education
- Teaching
- Research
- Student affairs administration
- Multicultural programming
- Programs/study abroad administration
- Arts and communication
- Journalism
- Creative writing
- Theater
- Music management
- Visual arts
- Arts education
- Dance
- Film making
- Museum curating
Admission Requirements
The university affirmatively strives to provide educational opportunities and access to students with varied backgrounds, those with special talents and adult students.
- First-Year Students on the Kent Campus: First-year admission policy on the Kent Campus is selective. Admission decisions are based upon cumulative grade point average, strength of high school college preparatory curriculum and grade trends. Students not admissible to the Kent Campus may be administratively referred to one of the seven regional campuses to begin their college coursework. For more information, visit the admissions website for first-year students.
- First-Year Students on the Regional Campuses: First-year admission to Kent State’s campuses at Ashtabula, East Liverpool, Geauga, Salem, Stark, Trumbull and Tuscarawas, as well as the Twinsburg Academic Center, is open to anyone with a high school diploma or its equivalent. For more information on admissions, contact the Regional Campuses admissions offices.
- International Students: All international students must provide proof of proficiency of the English language (unless they meet specific exceptions) through the submission of an English language proficiency test score or by completing English language classes at Kent State’s English as a Second Language Center before entering their program. For more information, visit the admissions website for international students.
- Former Students: Former Kent State students who have not attended another institution since Kent State and were not academically dismissed will complete the re-enrollment process through the Financial, Billing and Enrollment Center. Former students who attended another college or university since leaving Kent State must apply for admissions as a transfer or post-undergraduate student.
- Transfer Students: Students who attended an educational institution after graduating from high school or earning their GED must apply as transfer students. For more information, visit the admissions website for transfer students.
Program Requirements
Major Requirements
- AFS 20300: BLACK IMAGES
- AFS 23001: BLACK EXPERIENCE I: BEGINNINGS TO 1865 (DIVG) (KHUM)
- AFS 23002: BLACK EXPERIENCE II: 1865 TO PRESENT (DIVD) (KHUM)
- AFS 37000: ORAL AND WRITTEN DISCOURSES IN AFRICANA STUDIES (WIC)
- AFS 37001: THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO AFRICANA STUDIES
- AFS 37010: RESEARCH METHODS IN AFRICANA STUDIES (ELR)
- AFS 47144: BLACK SOCIAL AND POLITICAL THOUGHT
- Major Electives, choose from the following:
- AFS 22200: INTRODUCTION TO THE AFRICAN ARTS
- AFS 24407: INTRODUCTION TO CARIBBEAN STUDIES (DIVG)
- AFS 26010: BLACK LIVES MATTER: THE CONTINUED STRUGGLE FOR BLACK LIBERATION
- AFS 30001: CULTURAL EXPRESSIONS I
- AFS 30310: BLACK HOLLYWOOD
- AFS 30311: HIP HOP: THE SOCIAL, POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC INFLUENCES
- AFS 32001: AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE TO 1900
- or ENG 33010: AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE TO 1900
- AFS 33110: BLACK WOMEN, CULTURE AND SOCIETY: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES (DIVD)
- AFS 33120: THE BLACK MAN: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES
- AFS 33130: GENDER AND SEXUALITY IN AFRICA AND THE AFRICAN DIASPORA
- AFS 33310: AFRO-LATINX COMMUNITIES IN THE U.S. (DIVD)
- AFS 34000: INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN WORLD VIEW (DIVG)
- AFS 37100: AFRICANA WOMEN’S LITERATURE (DIVG)
- or ENG 33013: AFRICANA WOMEN'S LITERATURE (DIVG)
- AFS 37150: SECRET AND MAROON SOCIETIES IN THE STRUGGLE AGAINST THE INSTITUTION OF SLAVERY
- AFS 43095: SPECIAL TOPICS IN PAN-AFRICAN LITERATURE, ARTS AND CULTURES
- AFS 47100: RACE, GENDER AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
- AFS 47122: SEMINAR IN ACTIVISM AND SOCIAL CHANGE
- PACS 30000: MAY 4 1970 AND ITS AFTERMATH
- or POL 30000: MAY 4 1970 AND ITS AFTERMATH
- WMST 30001: ARENAS FOR FEMINIST THOUGHT: TOUCHY SUBJECTS, UNSETTLED MATTERS AND FEMINIST RESPONSE-ABILITY
Additional Requirements
- UC 10001: FLASHES 101
- Foreign Language (see Foreign Language College Requirement below)
- Kent Core Composition
- Kent Core Mathematics and Critical Reasoning
- Kent Core Fine Arts
- Kent Core Social Sciences (must be from two disciplines)
- Kent Core Basic Sciences (must include one laboratory)
- Kent Core Additional
- General Electives (total credit hours depends on earning 120 credit hours, including 39 upper-division credit hours)
Graduation Requirements
- Graduation Requirements Summary
- Minimum Major GPA: 2.000
- Minimum Overall GPA: 2.000
University Requirements
- All students in a bachelor's degree program at Kent State University must complete the following university requirements for graduation.
- NOTE: University requirements may be fulfilled in this program by specific course requirements. Please see Program Requirements for details.
Bachelor's Requirements
- Flashes 101 (UC 10001)
- Course is not required for students with 30+ transfer credits (excluding College Credit Plus) or age 21+ at time of admission.
- Diversity Domestic/Global (DIVD/DIVG)
- Students must successfully complete one domestic and one global course, of which one must be from the Kent Core.
- Experiential Learning Requirement (ELR)
- Students must successfully complete one course or approved experience.
- Kent Core (see table below)
- Writing-Intensive Course (WIC)
- Students must earn a minimum C grade in the course.
- Upper-Division Requirement
- Students must successfully complete 39 upper-division (numbered 30000 to 49999) credit hours to graduate.
- Total Credit Hour Requirement
- 120 credit hours
Kent Core Requirements
- Kent Core Composition (KCMP)
- Kent Core Mathematics and Critical Reasoning (KMCR)
- Kent Core Humanities and Fine Arts (KHUM/KFA) (min one course each)
- Kent Core Social Sciences (KSS) (must be from two disciplines)
- Kent Core Basic Sciences (KBS/KLAB) (must include one laboratory)
- Kent Core Additional (KADL)
- Total Credit Hours: 36-37
Roadmap
This roadmap is a recommended semester-by-semester plan of study for this program. Students will work with their advisor to develop a sequence based on their academic goals and history. Courses designated as critical (!) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation.
- Semester One
- AFS 20300: BLACK IMAGES
- AFS 23001: BLACK EXPERIENCE I: BEGINNINGS TO 1865 (DIVG) (KHUM)
- UC 10001: FLASHES 101
- Foreign Language
- Kent Core Requirement
- Credit Hours: 14
- Semester Two
- AFS 23002: BLACK EXPERIENCE II: 1865 TO PRESENT (DIVD) (KHUM)
- Foreign Language
- Kent Core Requirement
- Kent Core Requirement
- General Elective
- Credit Hours: 16
- Semester Three
- Major Elective
- Foreign Language and/or General Elective
- Kent Core Requirement
- Kent Core Requirement
- Kent Core Requirement
- Credit Hours: 15
- Semester Four
- Major Elective
- Foreign Language and/or General Elective
- Kent Core Requirement
- Kent Core Requirement
- Kent Core Requirement
- Credit Hours: 15
- Semester Five
- AFS 37001: THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO AFRICANA STUDIES
- Kent Core Requirement
- General Electives
- Credit Hours: 15
- Semester Six
- AFS 37000: ORAL AND WRITTEN DISCOURSES IN AFRICANA STUDIES (WIC)
- Major Electives
- General Electives
- Credit Hours: 15
- Semester Seven
- AFS 37010: RESEARCH METHODS IN AFRICANA STUDIES (ELR)
- General Electives
- Credit Hours: 15
- Semester Eight
- AFS 47144: BLACK SOCIAL AND POLITICAL THOUGHT
- General Electives
- Credit Hours: 15
- Minimum Total Credit Hours: 120
Program Learning Outcomes
Graduates of this program will be able to:
- Understand the historical experiences of people of African descent at the advanced level of the core.
- Interact with diverse communities and be informed and engaged global citizens.
- Relate current political and social issues facing the Africana world to global historical events.
- Read, analyze and critically articulate the contemporary socioeconomic, political and cultural issues facing people of African descent.
Program Policies
Foreign Language Requirements
In general, students may elect any foreign language taught through the Department of Modern and Classical Language Studies. However, certain majors, concentrations and minors require specific languages or limit the languages from which students may choose. In addition, students who plan to pursue graduate study may need particular languages for that study. In such cases, students should seek the advice of the appropriate department before selecting a language.
Progress Toward Fulfillment
College of Arts and Sciences students are encouraged to begin meeting the foreign language requirement as early as possible in their program to ensure timely degree completion.
Mandatory Outcomes Assessment
In addition to the other General Requirements of the college, candidates for an undergraduate degree in the College of Arts and Sciences are required, as a condition of graduation, to participate in an outcomes assessment. These outcomes assessments are conducted by each undergraduate degree program in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Full Description
The Bachelor of Arts degree in Africana Studies offers an in-depth exploration of the histories, cultures and experiences of people of African descent across the globe. The program provides students with interdisciplinary knowledge in areas such as African history, politics, literature and social movements, fostering a critical understanding of African and African diasporic contributions to global society. Through a blend of theoretical and practical study, the program prepares graduates for careers in education, public service, international relations and cultural advocacy, while also laying the groundwork for advanced academic pursuits.