Welcome to the Department of African & African American Studies!

About the Department

The University at Buffalo's Department of African & African American Studies emerged from the cultural and political energy of Black Power and the U.S Civil Rights Movement in the late 1960s. It was founded in 1969 by Dr. Hollis R. Lynch as the Program in Black Studies and was incorporated as a department five years later, in 1974. Then as now, it has been committed to the comparative and interdisciplinary study of the Black World, counting itself as perhaps the first interdisciplinary program at UB. Currently, faculty members have expertise on the United States and Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America, and the African continent, while specializing in history, sociology, political science, art history and visual culture, gender studies, literature and culture studies, jazz and hip hop studies, and political economy. Additionally, while the Department is committed to academic excellence and intellectual distinction, faculty members and students in AAS have long established ties to community and cultural organizations in Western New York and elsewhere in the African diaspora. Students pursuing the Major and Minor in African & African American Studies have used their experience as a base for graduate study in the humanities and social sciences and for preparation for teaching positions at various levels and careers in cultural and community service organizations.