Professor Julian Kunnie

Welcome to the home page of Africana Studies at the University of Arizona!  Africana Studies is happy to announce that we finally have an undergraduate major, preparing students for four major vocational tracks: Education, in light of the critical shortage of trained teachers in our state and nation; Business and Economic Development, that gears students for the acquisition of skills in the construction of businesses and organizations that economically sustain viable Africana communities in view of the persistent economic inequality in the nation, and even lead to studying for the MBA; Public Health, given the critical need of health practitioners that serve Africana communities which continue to experience declining health indices; and Aesthetics, preparing students for vocations in the areas of dance, music, theater, and media, so vital for the spiritual invigoration  and social uplift of Africana communities in particular and the nation in general.  Additionally, Africana Studies degrees are excellent preparation for vocations in the diplomatic corps, international relations, law, counseling, social work, and graduate study for those interested in pursuing doctoral degrees in academia.  Africana Studies is directed toward the eradication of the pervasive social ignorance plaguing our nation that maintains social privilege for the elite while confining the vast majority of its citizens to the socio-economic periphery.  It was none other than renowned Africana educator W. E. B. Du Bois, one of the leading scholars of the twentieth century, who declared, “We want our children educated….Either the United States will destroy ignorance or ignorance will destroy the United States.”

Africana Studies envisages the offering of a graduate degree in Comparative Ethnic Studies, with a focus on Africana Studies, within the next five years, in conjunction with programs in American Indian Studies, Mexican American Studies, Asian American Studies, Latin American Studies, and Middle Eastern Studies, especially for those who are keen to deepen their knowledge about the complex nature and character of the world.  No longer can any graduate student in particular afford to graduate with a masters or doctoral degree without possessing visceral knowledge of the civilizations, cultures, cosmologies, and histories of communities of color in the United States and around the globe, the majority of the world’s people.

Over the past year, Africana Studies has seen significant developments in its overall programmatic advancement: