History of African and African
American Studies at Towson
Originally called the Afro-American Studies Program, this program
developed out of the Civil Rights Movement of the late 1960s and early
1970s. Conceived as an interdisciplinary program, it drew faculty
principally from the College of Liberal Arts. The program initially was
offered as a concentration requiring 42 units. However, in 2002, the
African American Advisory Committee re-examined the program, and the
high number of requirements, and decided to reduce the required units
to 21, changing the concentration to a minor. Simultaneously, it
expanded its scope and title to African and African American Studies.
The objective was to attract more students and broaden its curriculum to
the African Diaspora, thereby including courses on Continental Africa
and the Caribbean, in addition to North America.
8000 York Road | Towson, MD 21252 | 410-704-2000
Originally called the Afro-American Studies Program, this program
developed out of the Civil Rights Movement of the late 1960s and early
1970s. Conceived as an interdisciplinary program, it drew faculty
principally from the College of Liberal Arts. The program initially was
offered as a concentration requiring 42 units. However, in 2002, the
African American Advisory Committee re-examined the program, and the
high number of requirements, and decided to reduce the required units
to 21, changing the concentration to a minor. Simultaneously, it
expanded its scope and title to African and African American Studies.
The objective was to attract more students and broaden its curriculum to
the African Diaspora, thereby including courses on Continental Africa
and the Caribbean, in addition to North America.
