Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Africana Studies

Africana studies is a unique and vibrant academic interdisciplinary program dedicated to the study of global Black experiences and perspectives. Its theoretical frameworks, research methodologies, and pedagogies are drawn from Black ways of knowing (epistemologies) and material realities (ontologies). Often described as Black studies, Africana studies emerged out of the Black Power, Black Arts, and Black student movements, largely as a project of Black intellectual insurgency that was also inspired by African Diasporic freedom struggles.

GW’s BA program is an extension of student protests for Black Studies since the 1960s, which often occurred in response to racist incidents on and off campus. With faculty support, student calls for a Black Studies program resulted in a minor in 1995, and a BA program in 2012 focused on the African Diaspora. Since 2025, GW’s Africana program has centered on the Black radical tradition (BRT), a theoretical paradigm of Black studies exploring the collective consciousness of global Black freedom struggles. As a Black internationalist idea of decolonization, the BRT threads together Black political and cultural resistances to slavery, colonialism, and racial capitalism, and movements including Black nationalism, Black Power, Pan-Africanism, Black feminism, Africana womanism, and Black Lives Matter. Africana students explore the global dynamics of the BRT via courses drawn from English, Music, Anthropology, American Studies, History, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and other related fields. Geographically, the major’s scope includes the Black Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Ocean worlds. 

Visit the program website for more information.

For information about the admission process, including deadlines, visit the Office of Undergraduate Admissions website. Applications can be submitted via the Common Application.

Supporting documents not submitted online should be mailed to:

Office of Undergraduate Admissions
The George Washington University
800 21st St NW Suite 100
Washington, DC 20052

For questions visit undergraduate.admissions.gwu.edu/contact-us.

Completion of 39 credits in courses for the major, with 9 credits taken at the 2000 level or above. These include major core, African Diaspora, women/gender, major concentration, and general elective requirements. Students must take three courses from each major concentration of Black epistemologies: culture, identity, and expression and Black ontologies: narratives, structures, and politics.

At least one Writing in the Discipline (WID) course and one University General Education/GPAC course that has an approved oral communication component must be taken as part of the major curriculum.

No course can be counted toward more than one requirement.

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Required for the major
Core courses
AFST 1001	Introduction to Africana Studies
AFST 2001	The Black Radical Tradition
African Diaspora
A total of 9 credits, with one 3-credit course centered on the history, culture, and politics in each of three geographic areas of the Black world: Africa America; Africa; and Caribbean/Latin American/wider diasporas.
Africa America
One 3-credit course selected from the following:
AMST 2011	Modern American Cultural History
AMST 3950W	Special Topics
AMST 4702W	Race, Medicine, and Public Health
CMUS 2110	History, Culture, and Aesthetics of Hip Hop Music
CMUS 2123	Musical Cultures of African Americans
HIST 3360	African American History to 1865
HIST 3361	African American History Since 1865
HIST 3362W	African American Women’s History
ENGL 2610W	Introduction to Black Literature of America I
ENGL 2611W	Introduction to Black Literature of America II
PSC 2221	African American Politics (Africa)
Africa
One 3-credit course selected from the following:
ANTH 3708	Anthropology of Africa
ANTH 3801W	African Roots from Australopithecus to Zimbabwe
CAH 2001	Special Topics
CAH 4169	Seminar in Contemporary Art
GEOG 3154	Geography of the Middle East and North Africa
GEOG 3164	The Geography of Africa
IAFF 2190W	Special Topics (North Africa and the World)
IAFF 3189	Special Topics in African Studies
IAFF 3904	The Middle East Since 1945: A History of the Present
PSC 2482	African International Politics
WGSS 3530W	Women in Africa
Caribbean/Latin America/wider diaspora
One 3-credit course selected from the following:
AFST 2002	Black Internationalism
ANTH 2750W	Latinos in the United States
ANTH 3702	Anthropology of Latin America
ANTH 3791	Topics in Regional Anthropology (Anthropology of the Caribbean)
ANTH 3891	Special Topics in Archaeology (The Black Atlantic)
ENGL 2711	Postcolonialism and Migration in Global Anglophone Literature and Film
ENGL 3570	Nineteenth-Century Black Literature
HIST 2520	Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World
IAFF 3210W	Migration, Gender, and International Development
SPAN 3430	Afro-Latin America in the Diaspora
WGSS 3890W	Black Women in the Twenty-First Century
Women and gender course requirement
One 3-credit course selected from the following:
AMST 1160	Race, Gender, and Law
ENGL 3940	Topics in African American Literary Studies
HIST 3362W	African American Women’s History
IAFF 3210W	Migration, Gender, and International Development
SOC 1000	Dean's Seminar (Sociology of Race, Class, and Gender)
SOC 2189	Special Topics in Criminal Justice (Black Feminist Perspectives )
WGSS 3170	Topics in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
WGSS 3481	Women in Islam
WGSS 3890W	Black Women in the Twenty-First Century
Major concentration electives
Black Epistemologies
9 credits (3 courses) selected from the following:
ANTH 3702	Anthropology of Latin America
ANTH 3708	Anthropology of Africa
ANTH 3791	Topics in Regional Anthropology (Anthropology of the Caribbean )
ANTH 3801W	African Roots from Australopithecus to Zimbabwe
AMST 3950W	Special Topics (US Black Radicalism)
CAH 2001	Special Topics (Introduction to the Arts of Africa)
CAH 4169	Seminar in Contemporary Art (Restitution, African Art & Museum)
CMUS 2110	History, Culture, and Aesthetics of Hip Hop Music
CMUS 2123	Musical Cultures of African Americans
CTAD 4592	Special Topics in Theatre Studies (History of African American Theatre)
ENGL 2610W	Introduction to Black Literature of America I
ENGL 2611W	Introduction to Black Literature of America II
ENGL 2711	Postcolonialism and Migration in Global Anglophone Literature and Film
ENGL 3570	Nineteenth-Century Black Literature
ENGL 3940	Topics in African American Literary Studies
ENGL 3950	Cultural Theory and Black Studies
FILM 2153	History of World Cinema I
FILM 2154	History of World Cinema II
FREN 3560	Topics in Contemporary Francophone Literature and Cinema
IAFF 2093	Africa: Problems and Prospects
IAFF 3188	Special Topics in Middle East Studies (Anthropology of Islam)
IAFF 3189	Special Topics in African Studies
SOC 1000	Dean's Seminar (Sociology of Race, Class, and Gender)
SOC 2152	Media, Power, and Politics
SOC 2173	Social Movements
SOC 2189	Special Topics in Criminal Justice (Black Feminist Perspectives)
WGSS 3170	Topics in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
WGSS 3481	Women in Islam
WGSS 3890W	Black Women in the Twenty-First Century
Black ontologies
9 credits (3 courses) selected from the following:
AFST 2002	Black Internationalism
ANTH 2750W	Latinos in the United States
ANTH 3891	Special Topics in Archaeology (The Black Atlantic)
ANTH 3991	Special Topics (Race and Policing)
AMST 1000	Dean's Seminar (Zombie Capitalism)
AMST 1160	Race, Gender, and Law
AMST 2011	Modern American Cultural History
AMST 2020W	Washington, DC: History, Culture, and Politics
AMST 4702W	Race, Medicine, and Public Health
GEOG 3154	Geography of the Middle East and North Africa
GEOG 3161	Geography of Latin America
GEOG 3164	The Geography of Africa
HIST 3360	African American History to 1865
HIST 3361	African American History Since 1865
HIST 3362W	African American Women’s History
HIST 3520	Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World
HIST 3710	History of Latin America I
HIST 3711	History of Latin America II
HSCI 2050	Foundations of Health Equity
IAFF 2190W	Special Topics (North Africa and the World)
IAFF 3210W	Migration, Gender, and International Development
IAFF 3904	The Middle East Since 1945: A History of the Present
PSC 2221	African American Politics
PSC 2482	African International Politics
SOC 2169	Urban Sociology
SOC 2170	Class and Inequality in American Society
SOC 2172	Institutional Racism: Policies and Prescriptions
SOC 2179	Race and Minority Relations
SPAN 3430	Afro-Latin America in the Diaspora
WGSS 3530W	Women in Africa
Culminating experience/capstone
One course (3-credits) for a culminating experience/capstone:
AFST 3001	Documenting Black Lives
AFST 3002	Capstone Project in Africana Studies
AFST 4001	Independent Study in Africana Studies
CCAS 2154	Elective Internship

In addition to the University General Education Requirement, undergraduate students in Columbian College must complete a further, College-specific general education curriculum—Perspective, Analysis, Communication (G-PAC) as well as the course CCAS 1001 First-Year Experience. Together with the University General Education Requirement, G-PAC engages students in active intellectual inquiry across the liberal arts. Students achieve a set of learning outcomes that enhance their analytical skills, develop their communication competencies, and invite them to participate as responsible citizens who are attentive to issues of culture, diversity, and privilege.

Coursework for the University General Education Requirement is distributed as follows:

• One course in critical thinking in the humanities.

• Two courses in critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, or scientific reasoning in the social sciences.

• One course that has an approved oral communication component.

• One course in quantitative reasoning (must be in mathematics or statistics).
• One course in scientific reasoning (must be in natural and/or physical laboratory sciences).
• UW 1020 University Writing
• After successful completion of UW 1020, 6 credits distributed over at least two writing in the discipline (WID) courses taken in separate semesters. WID courses are designated by a "W" appended to the course number. 

Coursework for the CCAS G-PAC requirement is distributed as follows:

• Arts—one approved arts course that involves the study or creation of artwork based on an understanding or interpretation of artistic traditions or knowledge of art in a contemporary context.
• Global or cross-cultural perspective—one approved course that analyzes the ways in which institutions, practices, and problems transcend national and regional boundaries.
• Local or civic engagement—one approved course that develops the values, ethics, disciplines, and commitment to pursue responsible public action.
• Natural or physical science—one additional approved laboratory course that employs the process of scientific inquiry (in addition to the one course in this category required by the University General Education Requirement).
• Humanities—one additional approved humanities course that involves critical thinking skills (in addition to the one course in this category required by the University General Education Requirement).
• CCAS 1001 First-Year Experience

Certain courses are approved to fulfill GPAC requirements in more than one category.

Courses taken in fulfillment of G-PAC requirements can also be counted toward majors or minors. Transfer courses taken prior to, but not after, admission to George Washington University can count toward the University General Education Requirement and G-PAC, if those transfer courses are equivalent to GW courses that have been approved by the University and the College.

Lists of approved courses in the above categories are included on each undergraduate major's page in this Bulletin.