Our History
Our Past
The Department of African American Studies has been an explicitly interdisciplinary field of study from its very beginnings when formulated at the turn of the 20th century by W. E. B. Du Bois, Carter G. Woodson, and other scholars. Over the years, it has developed as a coherent field of study with well-developed methods, theories, and pedagogy. We believe that the African American Studies Department at the University of Maryland, College Park has a distinctive intellectual and programmatic focus that continues in this tradition and extends it through situating the study of peoples of African descent at the intersection of the social sciences and cultural and historical studies.
Since its inception in 1969, the University of Maryland’s African American Studies Department (AASD) has evolved into a leading undergraduate program that has become an integral part of the University of Maryland and the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. The AASD faculty strive for excellence in scholarship and teaching and provide considerable service to the campus and community. The department has been a cornerstone in the diversity efforts of the university. Faculty recruitments in AASD have been central to the College’s and University’s celebrated achievements in diversity and the department provides substantial service in its teaching of CORE/Diversity courses in the university. Until recently, the program taught over 2000 students per year in what are mostly CORE requirements for Maryland students.
Our Present & Future
The Department of African-American Studies (AASD) at the University of Maryland offers a rigorous and truly interdisciplinary program of excellence focused on the Black experience in the U.S., Africa, and the African Diaspora. Our students develop an in-depth understanding of the historical and contemporary contexts of the social, political, and economic challenges that affect people of African descent as well as the long tradition of resistance and intellectual/cultural prominence. AASD offers our undergraduate majors the option of emphasizing either a cultural-social concentration or one in public policy. Additionally, all UMD students have the opportunity to earn a certificate in African American Studies and/or minor in African Studies or Black Women’s Studies.
AASD works closely with the Departments of Sociology, Anthropology, Government and Politics, Criminology, History, and Psychology as well as American Studies and The Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. In addition, our faculty have productive collaborations with The Nyumburu Cultural Center, The David C. Driskell Center, The Consortium on Race, Gender and Ethnicity (CRGE), and the Maryland Population Research Center. We also have close ties to off-campus resources such as the U.S. Census Bureau, National Institutes of Health, Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture.
