Why pursue a Major or Minor in Africana Studies?
Africana Studies offers a multi-dimensional interdisciplinary course of study. Students pursuing the major or minor have particularized interests in African Studies or African Diaspora Studies that typically intersect with other major courses of study, including music, dance, theater, communication, English, history, public health, international development, anthropology, psychology, political science, and sociology. Attaining a major or minor in Africana Studies broadens the range of critical insight, experience, and skills that are needed for professions that engage diverse populations, urban communities, and developing nations. Africana Studies students learn about laws, structures, and institutions that impact the lives of in Africa and throughout the African Diaspora. They have opportunities to pursue grassroots organizing and community-based research. In addition to traditional research papers, Africana Studies students are often encouraged to generate course products that have practical utility beyond the classroom, for example in the performing and visual arts. To consult with an Africana Studies faculty member about pursuing a major or minor, e-mail africana@tulane.edu.
What are some creative ways of pursuing a Major or Minor in Africana Studies?
Africana Studies students have a high degree of flexibility in choosing their courses. It is perhaps most useful to exercise this flexibility by thinking in terms of special interests, or concentrations; terminal, or other professional, degrees that you might want to pursue; and skills sets you want, or need, to have upon graduating.
The research and teaching interests of Africana Studies affiliated faculty span the humanities, the social & behavioral sciences, public health, and education. In addition, the program has many strengths in service-learning and/or community-based course offerings. The following is a sample list of possible focuses, or emphases, your coursework might reflect:
- Culture & Community
- History & Culture
- Language & Literature
- Theory & Praxis
- Policy & Politics
- Science & Health
- Education & Law
Internships
Africana Studies encourages students to pursue internship experiences under the supervision of faculty members affiliated with the Program. Please email africana@tulane.edu with questions about internship opportunities each semester and during the summer.
Study Abroad
There are a variety of opportunities to pursue study in African countries or regions of the African Diaspora. Please visit the websites of the Center for Global Education and Office of Study Abroad. Africana Studies particularly encourages students to consider the Tulane Programs which offer Study Abroad in Ghana, Senegal, South Africa, Cuba and Brazil.
Africana Studies majors and minors studying abroad are eligible for up to $500 of support from the program. For more information, please download and complete the "Request for Funding" form and submit it as an e-mail attachment to africana@tulane.edu. Download the "request for funding" form here. Note that students must formally declare their Major or Minor in Africana Studies before applying.