Afro-American Studies, BS

The Department of Afro-American Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison offers students an opportunity to study those aspects of black history, culture, and society in ideal interdisciplinary models that reconstruct Afro-American life. It challenges students to critically examine facts and issues that are historically and contemporaneously relevant to the Afro-American experience.The department offers undergraduate majors in five areas: literature and culture; theater, music and the visual arts; history; Black Women’s studies; and inter-group relations. The M.A. program is based on personalized programs of study shaped to meet the needs of individual students, many of whom participate in the “Bridge” programs which enable them to move directly into Ph.D. programs in English and history. Faculty members and students are active in a broad range of activities, including hip-hop programs for at-risk youth, community theater, college classes for low-income adults, and various support activities for the National Voting Rights Museum in Selma, Alabama. The department prides itself on positive working relationships with our colleagues in traditional disciplines as well as the Women’s Studies Program and the Department of African Cultural Studies. A vibrant community of scholars and students who believe in the ideal of unity without uniformity, we welcome all those committed to the deeper understanding of race in America and the world.