Mission Statement

The African American and African Diaspora Studies Department trains students to engage and shape contemporary intellectual conversations and debates about the study of the African Diaspora as well as address always important policy concerns around a variety of pressing issues as they affect the global black experience.

Department faculty represent multidisciplinary humanistic and social scientific frameworks, as well as cross-regional/ approaches to the study of Black peoples throughout the Americas, the Caribbean and other parts of the African Diaspora. Faculty conduct research on the history and culture of the African Diaspora and provide a forum for programming and collaborations at Columbia, Harlem, and beyond.

The Department features undergraduate and graduate degree programs with curricular offerings, primarily in the social sciences and humanities, but which also reflect the broader expertise within university. Department courses prepare students to be critical thinkers and global citizens who bring academic rigor and social engagement in ways that reflect the history of Black Studies. Both graduate and undergraduate programs equip students with a thorough grounding in the literature and research of African American and African Diaspora Studies, and enable them to produce critical analysis and research about the complex and historically specific experiences of Africans in the Diaspora.

The Department pursues cutting edge research that engages theoretical and policy debates in the United States and throughout the African diaspora. Our faculty of renowned scholars and dedicated teachers employ an array of theoretical approaches and methodological strategies to examine historical and contemporary formations in black culture, politics, and society.