The African American Studies Program

The African American Studies Program offers an interdisciplinary approach to studying the experiences of people of African descent in the Black Atlantic world, especially in the United States and the Caribbean. The major allows undergraduates to apply the methodologies and insights of many disciplines to understanding the cultural, historical, political, and social development of people of African descent. Our courses explore the social structures and cultural traditions that Africans in the Diaspora have created. They also provide students with the necessary tools for understanding western conceptualizations of race and the relationship between issues of race and identity.

Since its inception as a major in 1983, African American Studies has offered all Wesleyan students, and especially its majors, a solid grounding in theories of race and a deep understanding of the crucial role blacks have played in the political, economic, cultural, and social development of the Americas. There are currently about forty majors in our Program, some of whom also double-major in other disciplines. The interdisciplinary training provided by the African American Studies Program provides an ideal training for students who plan careers in academia, education, law, public policy, politics, and social work.

African American Studies is explicitly interdisciplinary. Majors are required to take courses from a variety of disciplinary areas, including literature, the social sciences, and the arts. Each major also concentrates in a specific discipline or in a particular thematic area. Students who complete the requirements for the major will receive a degree in African American Studies, with a concentration in a specific discipline or topical study.

The Center for African American Studies

The African American Studies Program is housed in the Center for African American Studies (CAAS). CAAS sponsors a wide variety of academic and cultural events every year. Programs include an annual fall lecture series, hosting a distinguished lecturer every spring, and holding poetry readings and artistic events. The Center also sponsors a series of events during Black History Month. All CAAS events are open to the general public, and our majors are not only encouraged to attend, but also frequently have the opportunity to meet major figures from the world of African American Studies.

Center for African American Studies
African American Studies Program
343 High Street
Middletown, Ct 06459
860.685.2190 (p)
860.685.2041 (f)