Africana Studies (AFCA)

Africana Studies is an interdisciplinary program that focuses on the experiences of Africans and Africans in the Diaspora. This program incorporates courses that have long been an integral part of the Washington and Lee curriculum and includes such areas as art, history, literature, music, politics, and sociology. A minor in Africana Studies requires students to complete at least seven 3-credit courses (see Africana Studies Minor ). Students who complete this minor will develop a broad understanding of some of the key events, personalities, and issues that have shaped and continue to shape the experiences of Africans, African-Americans, and other African-descended peoples in the greater Diaspora.

Program Head: Mohamed Kamara

Core Faculty

First date is the year in which the faculty member began regular faculty service at the University. Second date is the year of appointment to the present rank.

Henryatta Ballah, Ph.D.—(2020)-2020
Assistant Professor of History
Ph.D., Ohio State University

Niels-Hugo Blunch, PhD.—(2006)-2018
Professor of Economics
Ph.D., George Washington University

Nneka Dennie, Ph.D.—(2020)-2020
Assistant Professor of History
Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Robert Matthew Gildner, Ph.D.—(2012)-2012
Assistant Professor of History
Ph.D., University of Texas, Austin

Lena Hill, Ph.D.—(2018)-2018
Professor of English and Dean of The College
Ph.D., Yale University

Michael Hill, Ph.D.—(2018)-2018
Professor of Africana Studies
Ph.D., Harvard University

Mohamed Kamara, Ph.D.—(2001)-2008
Associate Professor of Romance Languages
Ph.D., Tulane University

Diego A. Millan, Ph.D.—(2017)-2017
Assistant Professor of English
Ph.D., Tufts University

Lucas E. Morel, Ph.D.—(1999)-2009
Class of 1960 Professor of Ethics and Politics
Ph.D., Claremont Graduate School

Courses listed below meet the requirements of the Africana Studies minor, but other courses across the curriculum that include an appropriate proportion of material on Africans or Africans in the Diaspora may be substituted with the approval of the program’s advisory committee. In such cases, students may petition the committee to allow other relevant courses.

Africana Studies Courses

Africana Studies courses are as follows:

and when appropriate: