Learning Goals

Africana Studies majors and minors should:

• Be aware of important events and themes in African American, African Diaspora and African histories.
• Have exposure to the broad array of theoretical perspectives on black life and experience, including an understanding of the constructedness of race, gender, sexuality, and ethnicity in the study of black conditions, progress and social change.
• Have considered the roles of cultural forms (literature, art, religion, music, etc.) in the lives of peoples of African descent in Africa and the diaspora, and how cultural forms create links among those peoples.
• Develop an awareness of the political economy of race and power in national and transnational contexts.
• Have the ability to read, write, and argue with rigor and discipline.
• Have the ability to critically appreciate and analyze texts.
• Have the ability to conduct independent primary research.
• Have an understanding and capacity to employ various research methodologies.

Faculty

This area of study is administered by the Department of Critical Race and Political Economy:

Kristie Ford, Professor of Sociology and Critical Race and Political Economy

Lucas Wilson, Professor of Economics and Critical Race and Political Economy on the Ford Foundation

David Hernández, Associate Professor of Latinx Studies and Critical Race and Political Economy

Ren-yo Hwang, Associate Professor of Gender Studies and Critical Race and Political Economy

Vanessa Rosa, Associate Professor of Latinx Studies and Critical Race and Political Economy, On Leave 2024-2025

Maria Abello Hurtado, Assistant Professor of Africana Studies and Critical Race and Political Economy

Pilar Eguez Guevara, Visiting Assistant Professor in Critical Race and Political Economy

Alexis Holloway, Mount Holyoke Fellow and Visiting Instructor in Critical Race and Political Economy

Requirements for the Major

A minimum of 40 credits:

¹

Courses to be counted for the major are drawn from departmental and College offerings, as approved for Africana Studies. Students may also count courses taken at the other Five College institutions, subject to approval by the chair.

Other Requirements

• Concentration statement. Students who major in Africana Studies will construct their own concentrations with the guidance and advice of a faculty advisor who is affiliated with the program. The concentration statement must be approved by the program. The concentration statement will include a description of the concentration, which disciplines it draws on, a discussion of its intellectual merits and an explanation by the student of why the concentration has been constructed in the particular ways proposed. The student needs to list courses pertinent to the concentration, as well as any relevant experiential learning opportunities including Community-Based Learning (CBL) classes, community service, and internships.

Additional Specifications

• The Africana Studies major is available only to students who entered the College before fall 2023. Students entering fall 2023 or later should instead refer to Critical Race and Political Economy (CRPE).
• When declaring a major, each student chooses an advisor from the committee. In addition, the student must have the approval of the program chair.
• Students who declare an Africana Studies major automatically fulfill the College's "outside the major" requirement.

Requirements for the Minor

A minimum of 20 credits:

¹

CRPE-395 (AFCNA-395 if before fall 2023) may not be counted towards the minimum 4 credits at the 300 level.

Courses Meeting Requirements for the Africana Studies Minor