Epilogue

Abstract

Western epistemologies had for a long time in the history of scholarship denied the existence, validity, or legitimacy of African indigenous ways of knowing. It is an academic discipline which investigates experiences of black people in Africa and its diasporas, especially North America. In seeking an understanding of complex nature of the discipline, this volume explores its history, subject matter, mission, scope, methods, theories, and concepts. In one sense, Global North scholars have been accused of a paternalistic approach to the study of Africa through perspectives, theories, and discourses rooted in hegemonic Eurocentric epistemologies. Yet, for Africana Studies to remain relevant and a respected discipline in the academy, it must not lose focus of engaging with critical and rigorous research methodology and theoretical perspectives, the hallmark of authenticity and scholarship. In the last few years, at least in the United States, it has seen contraction as programs have either been scrapped altogether or downgraded through merger with some other disciplines.