The Department
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. The Department is dedicated to the exploration and development of new knowledges about the cultures, histories, social formations and artistic expressions of Africa and various locations that comprise the African Diaspora.
The Department’s distinguished faculty consists of leading scholars who are at the forefront in 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.
Africana Studies Intellectual Strengths
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The Department is the only one in the Ivy League with an arts component, Rites and Reason Theatre. Since 1970 Rites and Reason has developed and produced over 100 plays ranging in subject matter from the black soldier in the Revolutionary War to the roles of Armenian-American women to the practice of ancient Chinese foot binding. Championing a multidisciplinary approach to theatre arts, Rites and Reason Theatre is anchored in tradition yet embraces innovation and fresh ideas that come with changing times.