Focusing on the problems and conflicts of doing African diaspora research from various disciplinary perspectives, these essays situate, describe, and reflect on the current practice of diaspora scholarship. Tejumola Olaniyan, James H. Sweet, and the international group of contributors assembled here seek to enlarge understanding of how the diaspora is conceived and explore possibilities for the future of its study. With the aim of initiating interdisciplinary dialogue on the practice of African diaspora studies, they emphasize learning from new perspectives that take advantage of intersections between disciplines. Ultimately, they advocate a fuller sense of what it means to study the African diaspora in a truly global way.

Known variously as African studies, black studies, African American studies, Afro-American studies, and Africology, the academic study of the African diaspora as a holistic discipline is a relatively new phenomenon. University programs have been created with reference to a disciplinary matrix, retarding the development of appropriate theory and methods throughout Africana studies. Fifteen leaders in the field of Africana studies provide the conceptual framework for establishing the field as a mature discipline. The focus is on four basic areas: administration and organizational structure; disciplinary matrix; Africana womanism; and cultural aesthetics. The work examines both the theory and the method of scholars in African and African-diaspora studies.

"The African Diaspora" uses essays from a variety of disciplines to introduce students to the African Diaspora and the contributions of African peoples at a time when these are being marginalized on a global scale. The text explores the origins of the Diaspora, and unearths evidence about the development of the Diaspora in the New World. It discusses the transformative role of cultural art forms in people s lives, and details how Twentieth Century Africans navigated time and space in a new environment. The material also emphasizes how ideology provided a framework for constructing new identities, and highlights the formation of the Black Power ideology. The final section makes the journey back to Africa to examine setbacks and challenges affecting the Motherland. Throughout the text, students are encouraged to read critically to understand the various methodologies and perspectives of the writers. Godfrey Vincent earned his Ph.D. from Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Vincent is an assistant professor of history in the Department of History and Political Science at Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama. His current research includes labor studies and focuses on the Caribbean, imperialism, colonialism, and decolonization in West Africa and the Caribbean, the African Diaspora, radical political formations in the Americas, neoliberal globalization, and social movements and change. Dr. Vincent is currently working with a group to develop alternative models of development that place subaltern groups at the center rather than the periphery."

Decolonizing the Academy asserts that the academy,is perhaps the most colonized space. At the same,time the academy is a place of knowledge and,transformation. As we move into the 21st century,it is becoming clear that the academy is one of,the primary sites for the production and,reproduction of ideas that serve the interests of,colonising powers. This collection of essays,argues the possibility of re-engaging the,decolonizing process at the level of knowledge and,asserts that this is an ongoing project worthy of,being undertaken in a variety of fields.

The African Diaspora uses essays from a variety of disciplines to introduce students to the African Diaspora and the contributions of African peoples at a time when these are being marginalized on a global scale. The text explores the origins of the Diaspora, and unearths evidence about the development of the Diaspora in the New World. It discusses the transformative role of cultural art forms in people's lives, and details how Twentieth Century Africans navigated time and space in a new environment. The material also emphasizes how ideology provided a framework for constructing new identities, and highlights the formation of the Black Power ideology. The final section makes the journey back to Africa to examine setbacks and challenges affecting the Motherland. Throughout the text, students are encouraged to read critically to understand the various methodologies and perspectives of the writers. The African Diaspora can be used in classes on the history of Africa, Afro-American history, and Caribbean politics.

Fast growing in population, African immigrants in the United States have become a significant force, to the point that the idea of a new African diaspora is now a reality. This thriving community has opened new arenas of scholarly discourse on Black Atlantic history beyond the trans-Atlantic slave trade and its legacies. This book investigates the complex dynamic forces that have shaped, and continue to shape, this new diaspora. In eleven original essays, the volume examines pertinent themes, such as: immigration, integration dilemmas, identity construction, brain drain, remittances, expanding African religious space, and how these dynamics impact and intersect with the African homeland. With contributors from both sides of the Atlantic that represent a diverse range of academic disciplines, this book offers a broad perspective on emerging themes in contemporary African diasporan experiences. The book will be of interest to scholars and students of African and African-American Studies, Sociology, and History.

A Companion to African-American Studies is an exciting andcomprehensive re-appraisal of the history and future of AfricanAmerican studies. Contains original essays by expert contributors in the field ofAfrican-American Studies Creates a groundbreaking re-appraisal of the history and futureof the field Includes a series of reflections from those who establishedAfrican American Studies as a bona fide academic discipline Captures the dynamic interaction of African American Studieswith other fields of inquiry.