Reviews Maulana Karenga's "Introduction to Black Studies" (1982). Discusses the academic and social relevance of the discipline and its growth out of economic, political, and historical forces. Concurs with Karenga's Afrocentric approach but notes the difficulties in its implementation within the current academic climate. (GC)

Considers Black Studies as a vital social science, and recommends Afrocentrism as the guiding principle for Black Studies. Identifies the mission of Afrocentrism discipline as a solution to the cultural problems of the African diaspora. (DA)

Discusses how Afrocentricity entered the picture in the western world. Afrocentricity seeks to obliterate the mental, physical, cultural, and economic dislocation of African people by thrusting Africans as centered, healthy human beings in the context of African thought. Examines Eurocentric approaches (dialectical materialism, structuralism, and…

Discusses new directions for African-American studies curricula. Argues that the Afrocentrist perspective presents a static model that does not adequately address the dynamic interaction of Afrocentric sensibility with Western-dominated economic, cultural, and political structures. The African-American studies discipline should be conceptualized…

Most teachers do not realize that an African-American or a Hispanic person has had to experience the death of his/her own culture to master white cultural information. By centering or empowering their students of color, teachers can reduce feelings of dislocation engendered by our society's predominantly "white self-esteem" curricula.…

Challenges social workers to understand the nature of privilege as it relates to oppression and to develop a profound multicultural literacy that is carefully translated into practice imperatives. Africentric theory provides a framework within which social workers can challenge the invisible hegemony of privilege. (FC)

Argues that traditional sociology has treated Black studies as peripheral to the study of human behavior. Proposes a paradigm that includes an emphasis on Afrocentric perspective and a methodology that combines positivist and critical methodologies. (FMW)

Examines the scope of African American studies, its origins, and its development and autonomy as an academic discipline. The meaning of Afrocentrism, the concept of centrism that lies at the core of the discipline of African American studies, the Africalogical method of criticism, and what constitutes the mission of Africalogy are discussed. (GR)

The article describes Temple University's doctoral program in African-American studies, notes the awarding of the first Ph.D. in the program, and discusses controversy surrounding the Afrocentric emphasis of the program. (DB)

Provides several viewpoints on whether black studies departments are considered academically respectable or prestigious if they take a separatist or Afrocentrist approach to the study of black history and culture. Additionally, the article examines whether certain areas of black research are dismissed because they are considered scholarly unsound.…

The Afrocentric theories of Molefi Kete Asante are examined as they relate to drama. It is argued that the fundamental principle in understanding African-American drama rests on viewing it as a means of total creation deriving power from the interaction of the self, the community, and the cosmos. (SLD)

Huggins' report lacks serious data collection on college Black Studies Departments, omits the strongest ones, fails to record their history accurately, and does not assess the research achievements of its scholars. Huggins overlooks the importance of applying an Afro-centric perspective to phenomena related to people of African descent. (PS)

Explores how theories of Afrocentricity can affect the arrangement of knowledge and the dissemination of information in libraries. Various aspects of cataloging are discussed, including controlled vocabularies, computer applications, and classification schemes; historical collections are reviewed; and examples of problems with Library of Congress…

Language planners assert that languages are tools that can be transformed into resources and managed by states through elaboration of language policies to be carried out through language planning. Language planning is explored from the Afrocentric point of view, considering it as part of pro-Western propaganda. (SLD)

Reviews the history of African-American studies and explores its future. Three groups of scholarly practitioners in African-American studies are discussed as (1) traditionalists; (2) authentists and/or Afrocentrists; and (3) African-American feminists. Contributions of each group are examined, and the role of each in the future is considered. (SLD)