Collection Development Policy: Africana Studies (Afro-Americana)
- Subject Librarian(s):
Rosemary Cullen
- Departmental Library Representative (DLR):
Anthony Bogues
- Description of the Academic Program
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The Africana Studies Department focuses on theoretical, historical, and artistic exploration of the culture, philosophy, and literature of Africa and the African Diaspora, embracing North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean and their historic and present linkages to continental Africa. The department 's course offerings and other academic activities are supplemented by extra-curricular activities which emphasize the global reach and implications of Afro/Africana-America without losing sight of the specific concerns of Afro/Africana-America USA. An important outgrowth of the global nature of the department's concerns is the emphasis placed on the acquisition of competency in those languages in addition to English which are spoken in the Africana Studies, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. Since all these languages are taught at Brown, concentrators are strongly urged to acquire competency, that is a minimum of two semester's study, to enable them to avail themselves of the extensive written material on the Africana-Americas available in these languages. While no continental African language is presently offered at Brown, students who study abroad and acquire certified competency in any African language could petition the department for credit.
Current courses with an African-American focus include classes on black feminist thought, retrospective justice, 20th century African-American music, African-American folk traditions, and Native-American/African-American relations, among others. The Department offers an undergraduate concentration, and an honors program.
- Overview of the Collection
The interests of the Deparrtment are found in many classifications and collections within the Library system. Literature and creative art by and about African-Americans, American history, histories of colonialism, sociological studies, population and census data, works on issues related to education, health, gender roles, language, legal matters and international relations are all potentially of interest.
Reviewing Library of Congress classification numbers and ranges covering topics as varied as history of the United States, Africa, and Latin America, American literature, and the arts, gives a total of approximately 15,000 titles. About 3,400 of these are in the primary classification, E185 (African-Americans in the United States). The Library currently holds over a hundred periodicals in this classification focused on Afro-American matters. There are several strong microfilm collections, including FBI files on Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, the papers of figures like W.E.B. DuBois and Carter Woodson, and runs of early black journals and newspapers. - General Collecting Guidelines
The Africana Studies Department (Afro-Americana) shares collecting interests with many other departments and programs at Brown. Materials acquired to support American Civilization, the Center for Race and Ethnicity, Anthropology, English, History, Latin American Studies, Political Science, Portuguese and Brazilian Studies, Religious Studies, Sociology, Theatre, Speech, and Dance, and many other areas also support its teaching and research. In support of undergraduate education, the collections are at the study level; however owing to relationships with many graduate degree conferring departments and to the extensive holdings of Special Collections, the effective collecting level will, in most areas, be at research strength. Owing to the existence of Rites and Reasons theatre, there is a particular interest in Afro-American drama and theatre. - Specific Collecting Guidelines
- Language: Primarily English, but works in other languages may be acquired to support research and teaching in areas of specific interest, primarily in Portuguese, Spanish, and French.
- Chronological Span: The Department's interests span the exploration and colonizing period in the Americas to the present day.
- Imprint Date: Most will be current imprints, but selected older works will be acquired at need, including back issues of journals.
- Geographical Range: The Afro-Americana component of the Department's interests includes Latin America and the Caribbean as well as the United States.
- Types of Material Included: Books, journals, electronic resources, microforms, media. Excluded: Introductory textbooks and classroom anthologies.
- Language: Primarily English, but works in other languages may be acquired to support research and teaching in areas of specific interest, primarily in Portuguese, Spanish, and French.
- Areas of Distinction
Electronic resources that support the Department include African American Poetry, American Civil War: Letters and Diaries, Black Drama, Ethnic News Watch, Alternative Press Index and Archive, America History and Life, American Slavery: A Composite Autobiography, Cross-Cultural Database, Sociological Abstracts, and Women and Social Movements in the United States. Electronic journals of interest to the Department are found in such categories as arts and humanities, anthropology, family, gender and sexuality, United States history, social science and statistics, and population studies, among other areas. For detailed descriptions and links to these important resources, see the Library Resource Guide for Africana Studies (Afro-Americana) - Special Collections
Special Collections in the John Hay Library is one of the country's most distinguished repositories of rare books and special collections. Its collections of printed books, manuscripts and archives, and graphic materials, numbering well over 2,500,000 items, provide a wealth of resources in support of undergraduate instruction and faculty research in Africana Studies (Afro-Americana). Notable collections include the Harris Collection of American Poetry and Plays, at 250,000 volumes the largest of its kind in existence. Historical collections include materials on Afro-American soldiers in the Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection, the Schirmer Collection on Anti-Imperialism, and the Dupee Mexican History Collection. The Archives of the University support research into African-Americans in higher education, and specifically at Brown University. The Hall-Hoag Collection of Dissenting and Extremist Political Propaganda provides a wealth of information about African-Americans, particularly with regard to politics and protest movements in twentieth century America. See Collections A to Z for more detailed information about holdings in Special Collections. - Related Collections
Third World Center. Through its events, publications, and programs, the TWC provides collegial support for the Center.
John Carter Brown Library. The JCB's holdings on Western Hemisphere colonialism through the early 19th century are unsurpassed, and provide a historical context for many of the interests of the Center for Race and Ethnicity.