Africana Studies

2 students at desks
2 students at desks
The Black Intelligentsia Panel included Dr. Charles McKinney, the Neville Frierson Bryan Chair of Africana Studies at Rhodes, Dr. Ernest Gibson of Auburn College, Dr. Andre E. Johnson of the University of Memphis, and Professor Kiese Laymon of the University of Mississippi. 

The mission of the Africana Studies Program is to understand and appreciate the integral yet distinct experiences of people of African heritage throughout the world. The program’s curriculum aims to emphasize diasporic connections between Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas in an effort to enrich our understanding and appreciation of our complex and diverse world. As such, the program encourages students to seek appropriate ways to integrate content and analysis in this broad subject matter with their work in other disciplines and programs.

The Africana Studies Program at Rhodes brings together disciplines such as sociology, history, and religion to help students understand they are citizens in a world of diverse cultures. 

Spring 2023 Africana Studies Courses and Electives:  

Core Courses in Africana Studies:  

 

AFS 205 Black Queer Thought and Life 

AFS 220: Malcolm, Martin, Baldwin, and America 

AFS 305: Africana Theory 

AFS 485/HIST 405 Black Madness, Mad Blackness: The Psychic Life of Race  

Africana Studies Electives:  

 

ANSO 235: Sociology of the South 

EDU 225: African American Experiences in US public schools 

HIST 105.02 Photography and African American History 

HIST 243 The Civil Rights Movement 

HLEQ 210, Introduction to Health Equity 

INTS 253: Identity Conflict in Africa 

MUSC 118: African American Music  

MUSC 120: History of the Blues  

PLAW 206: Urban Politics and Policy 

RELS 102: The Bible & Black Women’s Experiences 

SPAN 328: The Black Experience in the Hispanophone World 

A young woman intently studying a computer screen.
Resources

The Rhodes library offers a variety of resources for students researching topics in African-American Studies.

Related Links

Faculty & Staff

Cara Djonko-Moore
Associate Professor of Educational Studies
Katherine Clay Bassard
Professor of English and Africana Studies
Charles Hughes
Director of the Lynne and Henry Turley Memphis Center
Laura Loth
Associate Professor, French and Francophone Studies; On Sabbatical
Duane T. Loynes Sr.
Assistant Professor of Urban Studies and Africana Studies, Associate Director of Equity & Culture (Institute for Health Equity & Community Justice)
Abou-Bakar Mamah
Associate Professor, French and Francophone Studies
Charles McKinney
Neville Frierson Bryan Chair of Africana Studies and Associate Professor of History
Shadrack Nasong'o
Professor of International Studies
Samson Ndanyi
Assistant Professor of History and Africana Studies
Evelyn Perry
Associate Professor of Sociology
Earl Wright II
Professor of Sociology; Chair, Anthropology/Sociology

 

 

Departmental News and Events

image of Charles McKinney standing in front of a window
Dr. Charles McKinney, chair of Africana studies and an associate professor of history at Rhodes, has co-edited a new book with Brown University history professor Françoise N. Hamlin titled From Rights to Lives: The Evolution of the Black Freedom Struggle.
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head and shoulder image of Charles McKinney
Dr. Charles McKinney, chair of Africana studies and associate professor of history at Rhodes, has contributed a wealth of information to The Balcony Project, which is a new educational exhibition organized by the Orpheum Theatre Group.
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head and shoulder image of Regina Bradley
Rhodes Institute for Regional Studies has welcomed Dr. Regina N. Bradley, associate professor of English and African diaspora studies at Kennesaw State University, as its scholar-in-residence to engage with its fellows this summer.
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