Welcome to the Department of Africana Studies at
Brown University
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Images of Africana Studies @ Brown
Located in the historic Churchill House on the campus of Brown University, the Department of Africana Studies is the intellectual center for faculty and students interested in the artistic, historical, literary, and theoretical expressions of the various cultures of Africa and the African Diaspora. Central to the intellectual work of the department is the close collaboration of artists and scholars in examining relationships between academic and artistic knowledge about the world and human experience.
The Department’s distinguished faculty consists of leading scholars who are at the forefront in advancing the discipline by researching and teaching new and innovative knowledge produced by the critical study of the intersections of class, gender, nation, race, and sexuality informed by multiple theoretical and methodological perspectives. The faculty is especially interested in the impact of slavery, colonialism, and racialization and the multi-faceted responses that have emerged in the cultural, literary, political, intellectual and social arenas throughout the African diaspora.
The Department’s forum for arts and ideas, Rites and Reason Theatre, brings together artists and scholars to colloborate in communicating new and innovative thought forms and creative expressions. Since 1970 Rites and Reason has developed and produced over 100 plays and a wide range of artistic projects that have uniquely explored the breadth and depth of the histories, experiences, and ideas of the cultures of Africa and the African diaspora as well as other cultures from around the world.
With the dynamic growth and evolution of the discipline, the Brown University Department of Africana Studies will remain at the forefront in creating new knowledge through the critical and comprehensive study of the peoples and cultures of Africa and the African Diaspora.