New Department of Africana Studies established | News | Notre Dame News | University of Notre Dame






	
	





  	Skip To Content
	Skip To Navigation
	Skip To Search






  
  
    University of Notre Dame

    
      
      Notre Dame News

      
      
    


    
    
      
        
        
        	
	Experts
	ND in the News
	Subscribe
	About Us
	


      
        
          
          
          
          
          
        

      


      
    


    
    
      	 Home
	 Contact
	 Search
	
          
          
            
            
          
          Menu
        
        


      
        
          
          
          
          
          
        

      

    

  

  
  

  

  
    	Home › 
	News › 
	New Department of Africana Studies established


    
      
        
          New Department of Africana Studies established

          
            
              
                
                Published: June 01, 2005
              

              
                Author: Erik Runyon
              

              







          

          
          
          

          
        
        
        
          

The University of Notre Dame has established a new Department of Africana Studies, effective July 1.The new department will replace the existing African and African-American Studies Program (AFAM) and will enhance the Universitys efforts to promote diversity and multiculturalism.

Housed in the humanities division of theCollegeofArtsand Letters, the Department of Africana Studies will offer an interdisciplinary curriculum in which undergraduates study the African-American experience; the histories, literatures, political systems, arts, economies and religions of the African continent; and the African diaspora – the global dispersion of people of African descent.

“The Catholic Church is growing faster in Africa than in any other part of the world, and a department dedicated specifically to the interdisciplinary study ofAfricaand the African diaspora is at the heart of the Universitys Catholic mission,” said Mark W. Roche, I.A. O’Shaughnessy Dean of Arts and Letters.“The research, teaching and service initiatives of the new department will build upon Notre Dame’s deep and longstanding ties to countries such asGhana,Kenya,TanzaniaandUganda.”

Richard B. Pierce, the Carl E. Koch Jr. Assistant Professor of History, has been appointed chair of the Africana studies department. Pierce specializes in African-American, urban and civil rights history, and examines social and political protest in urban environments.

A member of the Notre Dame faculty since 1996, Pierce previously served asassociate director of the former AFAM program and is a fellow in the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies.

He will hold a joint appointment in the Department of Africana Studies and the Department of History.Faculty members affiliated with the former AFAM program will continue teaching in the new department, and a search for additional faculty will continue.

TopicID: 11642

        

        
        
          
            

          

        
      
      
    
  
  
    	Home
	Experts
	ND in the News
	Subscribe
	About Us


  

  
  
    
     
  
  

  
  
    
      	For the Media
	Contact


    
            
    
      
	Office of Public Affairs and Communications


      Notre Dame News

      
        
          
            500 Grace Hall
 
            Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA
          
          
          
          
        

        
          	 Facebook
	 Twitter
	 Instagram
	 YouTube
	 Pinterest


        
      

      
© 2022 University of Notre Dame

    
    
      

        
      
      
        
          	Search
	Mobile App
	News
	Events
	Visit
	Accessibility


        
        
          	 Facebook
	 Twitter
	 Instagram
	 YouTube
	 LinkedIn