Our world is a global community, and it is more important than ever before to learn about the unique experiences of those with differing backgrounds from our own. By approaching Africana Studies from an interdisciplinary perspective, students gain valuable insight into the cultures and traditions associated with the African diaspora while also further developing their critical thinking, research and writing abilities. 

The Center for Africana Studies (CAfS) serves first and foremost as a space of intellectual community, and as a primary scholarly resource for the OSU community and the broader public, seeking to understand the past, present and future of the Black diaspora in all its dimensions. Blackness, in all its dimensions and locations, is the subject of central inquiry. Who and what is the Black, or African, diaspora? The people, histories, cultures, experiences and contributions of those from Africa, or African-decent, wherever they reside in the world. And since Black people live just about everywhere, this makes Africana Studies a field of global study, covering the United States, Africa and the world around.