Africana Studies: A Disciplinary Quest for Both Theory and Method

by James L. Conyers Jr. (editor)

Known variously as African studies, black studies, African American studies, Afro-American studies, and Africology, the academic study of the African diaspora as a holistic discipline is a relatively new phenomenon. University programs have been created with reference to a disciplinary matrix, retarding the development of appropriate theory and methods throughout Africana studies. Fifteen leaders in the field of Africana studies provide the conceptual framework for establishing the field as a mature discipline. The focus is on four basic areas: administration and organizational structure; disciplinary matrix; Africana womanism; and cultural aesthetics. The work examines both the theory and the method of scholars in African and African-diaspora studies.

247 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

James Conyers, Jr., Ph.D., is Director of the African American Studies Program at University of Houston.