Locating Africa in Black Studies: Cultivating the Black Studies Africanist by Maria Martin, Ph.D. Assistant Professor History/Critical Race and Ethnic Studies University of California, Merced
As a Black studies Africanist, I have often wondered, how do Black studies scholars engage with Africa—and what are the implications of that engagement? Even as a doctoral student in Black studies, I began to think about Africa inclusiveness, or how Africa is included in Black studies. 16 As a researcher focused on Africa, I struggled to find acceptance in the face of the gatekeepers of African studies. 17 Meanwhile, in Black studies, it was relatively rare to find other African American students who focused solely on modern (post-WWII) or contemporary intra-Africa content. The question, for me, became, “Is there a means of cultivating and building interest in modern, contemporary, intra-Africa-focused research among students of Black studies? Furthermore, how has the way that Black studies scholars engage with the continent influenced overarching approaches to Africa in the field?” What follows are my reflections on these questions as a self-proclaimed Black studies Africanist. I argue that the cultivation of a Black studies Africanist paradigm can address these questions and expand the field of Black studies in engaging ways. “What is that?” is the usual verbal or nonverbal response exuded when I introduce myself as a Black studies Africanist. These scholars of Africa essentially use their Black studies training to inform their research on Africa. Thus, they are uniquely positioned to produce novel theories, Dr. Rita Edozie, former Director of Michigan State University’s African American and African Studies program, wrote about the Black studies Africanist paradigm in her article “The Emerging Black Studies Africanist: A Case Study of MSU’s Triple Heritage African American and African Studies PhD Program” (2012). She speaks to the idea of Africa inclusivity. 17 African studies scholars, such as Jean Allman in her 2018 ASA presidential lecture (https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=mSb_N2Ly8VY), are rightfully beginning to ask questions about expansion and inclusivity as conversations on decolonizing knowledge production, pedagogy, and thought increasingly occur in academic spaces of the current moment. L. A. Aubrey (2002) has written an article analyzing the issues that prevent or deter African American students from doing research on Africa, and sadly, it still rings true. Black studies has the potential to address this issue in earnest. In addition to the ways in which it expands knowledge on Africa, the Black studies Africanist paradigm can also address issues of inclusion in the study of Africa. 16
174
