African American Studies is an interdisciplinary program that examines black life and culture from a variety of intellectual perspectives. The program is broadly conceived, and its faculty is engaged in research dealing with the life and culture of African Americans in the United States and beyond. Drawing upon such traditional departments as history, sociology, political science, English, and others, our courses are selected from numerous fields of study and disciplinary perspectives. Building upon the methodologies of these disciplines and our core courses of study, our students will focus their investigations on the black experience, thereby gaining an interdisciplinary research and analytical framework.

Students can expect directed research opportunities as well as face challenging questions to engage them as critical thinkers, writers, and communicators. Consistent with the land-grant mission of Mississippi State University, they will also be expected to participate in the exciting community engagement activities of African American Studies. African-American studies appeals to students from any background and culture. It is not a program designed only for black people. With our diverse faculty, the program looks back for a broader perspective on how we became who we are; it looks at the present and offers opportunities for us to decide who we are; it looks forward to consider who we will become, given our choices today. Our intellectual and pedagogical feeling tone-our cultural code-is reconciliation.

Students seeking degrees in a variety of fields, including political science, journalism/publishing, history, sociology, psychology, film and media studies, and law will find that our program of study not only compliments much of the coursework for their primary major, but that it also offers important perspectives that perhaps are not fully explored in other classes. Naturally, African-American studies would appeal to students seeking a career in teaching at the secondary and post secondary level. It would be of value to students pursuing careers in the military, government, international relations, clinical psychology and social work, and industry. The interdisciplinary structure of the program offers students an opportunity to satisfy their intellectual curiosity as well as gain a broader prospective in a diverse world community.