Department of Pan African Studies

Welcome to Kent State University's Department of Pan-African Studies (DPAS). The Department is located in Oscar Ritchie Hall (ORH), an academic building named in honor of the first African-American Professor employed in the state of Ohio's system of Higher Education.

The Department of Pan-African Studies (DPAS) has a dual mission. Its academic mission is to offer a comprehensive, holistic, academic experience  grounded in the knowledge base, cultural norms, traditions, and histories of diverse groups of people of African descent, whether on the African continent or within  the African Diaspora.

The DPAS curriculum  reflects our pedagogic approach that is multidisciplinary  and interdisciplinary. DPAS offers a major with a choice of three concentrations, and two minors: one in Pan-African Studies and the other in African Studies. Both draw from perspectives and sources in the humanities, fine arts, and social sciences. Also, the Department of Pan-African Studies provides support to the Kent Core Courses, particularly our survey courses, Black Experience I and Black Experience II, which are offered both in classroom settings and on line.

The second part of the DPAS mission is to educate and inform the Kent State University and larger community about African and African derived cultural expressions, and in so doing, strengthening student and departmental  ties with the larger community.