Welcome to Kent State University’s Department of Africana Studies (DAFS). The Department of Africana Studies (DAFS) is located in Oscar Ritchie Hall (ORH), an academic building named in honor of one of the first African Americans to hold a tenured position in the state of Ohio’s system of Higher Education.
Our Mission
The Department of Africana Studies (DAFS) has a dual mission:
- Offer a comprehensively radical African centered approach to learning.
- Educate and inform Kent State University and the larger community about African & African derived cultural expressions.
Africana Studies graduates develop core career competencies that are applicable to many careers.
Learn more about what I can do with aN AFRICANA Studies Major
Discovering Purpose
Listen to Aiden Taylor explain how his involvement with the Africana Studies degree program provided him with an outstanding opportunity to work with the digital humanities project.
Watch as Dr. Kumah-Abiwu talks about classroom engagement and how Africana Studies changes the lives of our students.
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Courses
Both our major and minor concentrations draw from perspectives and sources in the humanities, fine arts, and social sciences and advance critical analysis of contemporary global world politics, culture, history and community development.
- Black Experience I and II Courses
- Supports the Kent Core Requirement and are offered online as well as traditional classroom settings.
- Communication Skills and Arts Program
- Teaches college writing courses in an innovative and student-centered manner through reading and writing assignments relevant to the people of African descent.