Eastern Michigan University issued the following announcement on June 22.
A new academic program that seeks to equip students with resources for understanding the implications of living in a multiracial, democratic and diverse society was approved by the Eastern Michigan University Board of Regents today (June 22).
The Master of Arts in Africology and African American Studies – the first program of its kind in Michigan – is designed to prepare students from any cultural background for professional and academic careers in relevant areas, by offering a combination of practical and theoretical training.
Rhonda Longworth, provost and executive vice president of academic and student affairs, said, “We are excited to introduce a strong program that speaks to the intellectual traditions, cultural contours, and philosophical and social issues that comprise the African American community.”
The program provides Eastern’s academic community with a two-year graduate curriculum that prepares students for administrative positions in industry, government, finance, social work, healthcare, and various community organizations. It also supports students who plan to engage in a life-long scholarly development of the discipline as teachers, professors, researchers, or creative artists.
Students will be able to choose a complementary focus from among the participating disciplinary programs/departments based on their vocational orientation or undergraduate degrees.
Core courses will include Foundational Issues in Africology and African American Studies, African Philosophical Thought and Aesthetics, Theory and Analytical Methods in Africology, and Researching Black Communities.
The Africology and African American Studies scholarship is comparable to that found in advanced academic programs in other disciplines.
“With that said, the innovative stance of this program’s faculty is that applied and cross-disciplinary orientation sets the program apart, and reflects the University's commitment to interdisciplinary teaching, excellence, and diversity,” Longworth said.
The program will begin in 2019.
Original source can be found here.
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