California State University, Dominguez Hills
Africana Studies - Historical and Political Development
Carson, USA
Bachelor's degree
DURATION
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
TUITION FEES
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Key Summary
About: The Africana Studies Historical and Political Development concentration at California State University, Dominguez Hills examines African peoples, societies, and nations from antiquity to the present. It covers political thought, institutional formation, economic systems, leadership, ethnicity, race, color, gender relations, and local to international politics, emphasizing Africana worldviews and interdisciplinary inquiry.
Career Outcomes: Graduates often pursue teaching, academic research, international relations, and community development; some roles require graduate study. Employers also hire them in counseling, social work, foreign service, public relations, media, law, and urban planning, applying skills in historical and political analysis, cultural competence, and community engagement, policy work.
Africana Studies - Historical and Political Development
The Department of Africana Studies in the College of Arts and Humanities offers a major and a minor in Africana Studies. Africana Studies is primarily a discipline which investigates the social, cultural, political and aesthetic dimensions of Africana peoples' experiences. These experiences range from earliest human civilizations through the tragic era of enslavement, colonization and involuntary dispersal through forced migration and displacement of African peoples. The intellectual framework that sets Africana Studies apart from other disciplines is that it explores the subject area from the perspective of Africana peoples' interests, aspirations, possibilities, and envisioned destinies. The foundation of the discipline rests on an understanding and appreciation of African peoples' worldview and philosophy of life as the starting point for all Africana intellectual inquiry. The BA degree and minor program offered by the department emphasizes an examination of the theoretical and empirical characteristics of the African world experience from both a contemporary and historical perspective.
The Department of Africana Studies participates in the University's M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies (Special Major) program. Interested candidates should contact the chair of Africana Studies or the Coordinator of the M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies program.
This concentration focuses on examining African peoples, societies, and nations from the perspective of their historical and political experiences from antiquity to the present. The concentration covers ancient civilizations, institutional formation, political thought, political and economic systems; leadership, ethnicity, race, color and gender relationships; and local, national, regional and international politics in Africana societies and nations. Related seminar may be chosen from other disciplines with the approval of the advisor and the chair of Africana Studies.
Several scholarship options are available. Please visit the university website for more information
In addition to the Africana Studies major requirements, modules for the Historical and Political Development concentration include:
- African American History from Africa to Reconstruction
- African History to the 1880's
- African American History: Reconstruction to the Present
- African History from the Colonial Era to the Present
- The African American Experience in the US
- Afro Latinidad and the Caribbean
- Cultural Plurlism: Ethnic and Global Society
- Africana Leaders Seminar
- Government and Politics in Sub-Saharan Africa
- Africana Political Thought
- African World Religions
Recently nationally recognized employers gave advice to CSU students regarding the skills necessary to be successful in the workplace after graduation. Some of the skills that were highlighted were the type of qualities we reinforce in the Africana Studies Department:
- Oral Communication
- Written Communication
- Leadership Potential
- Research Skills
- Global, Multicultural, Multiethnic, Multilingual and International Skills
The Department of Africana Studies provides undergraduate training for students interested in developing careers in teaching, academic research, international relations and community development. Often graduate work is required in certain job categories. However, persons with an Africana Studies background are employed in a wide range of careers such as counseling, social work, international consultant, foreign service , public relations , educational administration, media, management, urban planning, librarianship, law, and law enforcement.