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Teaching and Pedagogy in Africana Studies: Implications of an Teaching and Pedagogy in Africana Studies: Implications of an

African Worldview African Worldview

Karanja Keita Carroll CUNY Bernard Baruch College

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Teaching and Pedagogy in Africana Studies:

Implications of an African Woddview

Karanja Keita Carroll, PhD

Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Black Studies

State University of New York at New Paltz

Abstract

The African worldview has informed much of the African­centered scholarship produced within contemporary Africana/Black Studies. In doing so, the African worldview has functioned as the methodological foundation for the production, interpretation and dissemination of knowledge related to people ofAfrican ancestry. Africana Studies instructors and professors can also utilize the philosophical assumptions that infonn the African worldview to create and recreate dynamic, culturally­centered teaching practices. Given the central role of teaching at the undergraduate level within the discipline of Africana Studies it is crucial that instructors and professors concentrate on the development of discipline-specific pedagogical practices. This essay attempts to engage the ways in which the African

· worldview can positively impact teaching and pedagogy within Africana Studies.

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Introduction

The intellectual development of Africana Studies, while reflective of the libratory spirit of Africana intellectualism, is also reflective of certain issues that continue to plague the development and future growth of Africana Studies as an autonomous academic discipline within American institutions of higher education. Both scholars and students of Africana Studies have discussed the implicatipns of poor funding, joint

appointments, unequal tenure processes and the lack of newly developing departments of Africana Studies, to name a few of the issues affecting the current state of the discipline. However, scholars of Africana Studies must also be concerned with issues of pedagogy, theory development, curriculum design and curriculum standardization. While the latter are reflective of institutional issues that we must fight and invariably engage in the maintenance of Africana Studies as a component of modern­day institutions of higher education, the former are reflective of the academic work that deserves serious attention by Africana Studies. Each of the f01mer reflects extremely critical areas of Africana Studies that determine the future development of the

discipline. They also function as the means by. which Africana Studies can challenge the prevailing Eurostream 1 intellectual hegemony found within institutions of higher education.

Issues of curriculum design and standardization have been important for academic organizations such as the National Council for Black Studies (NCBS) which, beginning in the early- l 980s, took its first steps toward the process of having an open dialogue on curriculnm standards/ At the same rate, discussions of theory within Black Studies have been extremely extensive, from discussions of grand theories such as· Afrocentlicity, Marxism and Black Feminism to more

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subject/content area theory production in the areas of Africana psychology, Afiican literature, African history, etc. 3 Indeed while theory, curriculum design and cuniculum standardization are essential to the further development and continued professionalization of the discipline, it is also impo1tant to focus upon the major means by which we transmit the very essence of Africana Studies-what we. do in our classrooms, i.e. teach.

Given the relationship between teaching, pedagogy and

academic disciplines, it is essential that scholars in Africana Studies continue to engage central questions with our everyday practices within the classroom. Thus, the following discussion of teaching and pedagogy in Africana Studies intends to focus upon the centrality of teaching to the academic enterprise we call Africana Studies and the manner by which an African­centered conceptual framework can help towards these ends.

Defining Africana Studies

Before delving into our discussion on teaching and pedagogy (n Africana Studies, it is imperative to clarify what exactly is meant by "Africana Studies" and the role of an African-centered methodological framework within the discipline of Africana Studies. In short, Africana Studies is an academic discipline concerned with the critical analysis of the experiences of Africana people interpreted through their own culturallens (i.e. the African worldview), with the ultimate goal of changing the life chances of Africana people. There are three key components found within this definition; they include: (1)

subject matter, (2) perspective, and (3) goal/purpose. Regarding the subject matter of Africana Studies, our focus is upon the Africana experience, Africana culture and Africana people. Thus it is an investigation of all that is Africana. However, this

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is not just any investigation of Afiicana people and culture. Thus, the general perspective must be in tune with the cnliural reality of Afiicana people. The question of perspective focuses upon the overall philosophical framework that infonns the

general assumptions one brings to a given phenomenon.4

In Africana Studies, this has focused upon grand theories such as Afrocentricity, (Black) Marxism and Black Feminism. 5 Finally, the goal/purpose of Afiicana Studies focuses upon the use of

knowledge and information gained through this critical

investigation of the Africana experience to change the current conditions of Africana people. This is done through the

processes of knowledge production, transformation of consciousness and motivated action. 6 Knowledge production functions as a means of changing Africana people's life chances

by providing useful info1mation that can be used to transform

how they see themselves, the world and their place in it. The transformation of one's consciousness is the first step in

creating culturally responsible members of the Africana community who will contribute to its transformation.

Knowledge production and the transformation of consciousness

contribute to the final process of motivated action, whereby students 11re able to become productive contributors to society. 7

Thus, through the components of subject matter, perspective and goal/purpose, we come to an nnderstanding of Africana Studies that suggests that the discipline is a critical

investigation of the culture and experiences of Africana people, from the perspective of the African worldview with the ultimate goal of changing the conditions of Africana people. It is now necessary to engage a detailed discussion of the role of the African worldview for - an African-centered approach to

Africana Studies, since the role of perspective is an essential

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source of the disciplinary distinctiveness foimd within Africana Studies.

An African Worldview as a Methodological Framework in Afrlcana Studies

An African-centered approach within Africana Studies posits that culture and worldview are essential tools in the analysis of Africana life, history and culture. 8 These scholars, by doing so, suggest that the cultural variation that is pervasive

throughout all of humanity, significantly impacts the responses

one has to social phenomena. African-centered scholars argue

that only by taking into account these varied cultural realities does the social the01ist and social scientist truly engage in meaningful social analysis of the Africana experience across space and time.

Culture, as defined by Wade Nobles, refers to "a general design for living and patterns for interpreting reality." 9 African­

centered scholars have relied upon this understanding of culture to generate a model of culture based upon two levels. Nobles and otl1ers posit that we can understand culture as it relates to a

deep structure and surface structure of culture. From the above

definition, the surface structure correlates with "a general design for living," while the deep structure correlates with the "patterns for interpreting reality. "10 Together, the deep and

surface structures of culture encompass the depth and pervasiveness of culture, especially as it relates to tl1e investigation of the experiences, life and history of a people.

"A general design for living" or the surface structure of culture refers to any aspect of one's lived reality that is engaged through the five senses. Thus, most aspects that we use to define cultural differences are reflective of the surface structure.

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Whether we speak of food, dress or beauty, each aspect is accessible through reliance upon what we can see, touch, taste, hear or smell. Surface structure manifestations represent culture at its most simplistic level. While cultlll'al variance at the surface level is important, it is also important to recognize valiance on other levels.

The "patterns for interpreting reality" or deep structure of culture provides a more profotmd understanding of culture and refers to the manner in which we engage social and lived phenomena on a conceptual level. That is, how do we understand that which we engage with the five senses? Noble's understanding of deep structure is interchangeable with the concept of worldview. Both are concerned with philosophical questions that are essential for identifying experiences based upon that which is apprehended through the five senses. Marimba Ani argues that, "a worldview refers to the way in which a people make sense of their surroundings, make sense of life and of the universe." 11 Mack Jones adds clarity to this definition by stating that all "people have a worldview that is a product of [their] lived expelience and that constitutes the lens through which the world of sense perceptions is reduced to described fact."12 As the above definitions suggest, worldview can be understood on multiple levels, from a basic understanding of "how one sees the world" or "how one makes sense of his/her reality'' to a more complex articulation centeling on the role and function of philosophical questions/asslU'llptions. Building upon the work of Vernon Dixon, African-centered scholars ( especially those who have been called the "Black psychologists") posit that the concept of world view must center on the role of philosophical asslU'llptions and by doing so have developed a detailed model for the

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discussion of worldview systems.13 Relying upon the concepts of cosmology, ontology, axiology, epistemology, teleology and logic, African-centered scholars utilized a culturally-centered framework for the analysis of Africana life, history and culture.

Cosmology (cosmos--Greek, universe), ontology (ontos­

Greek, being), axiology (axios-Greek, values) and epistemology ( episteme-Greek, knowledge), function as the four core elements of worldview systems and are essential to

African~centered thought. 14 Distinctions between African and European cosmologies are based upon an African cosmology that,rests upon the universe as being interconnected, interrelated and interdependent and a European cosmology that assumes an independent and separate universe. 15 Disth1ctions between African and European ontologies are based upon an African ontology that posits that the nature of being/reality is fundamenta.lly spilitual with material manifestations and a European ontology which suggests that, reality is only matelial. 16 Distinctions between African and European axiologies are based upon an Aflican axiology that places the highest pliority upon interpersonal relationships among people and the collective group, and for the European axiology the highest pliority is on acquisition of objects and individual gain.17 Epistemological distinctions are found in relation to the previously mentioned philosophical assumptions, in that an African epistemology argues that knowledge can be acquired beyond the five senses (a direct outgrowth of an African ontology) and a European ontology posits that knowledge only comes from what you can apprehend within the fives senses (thus a direct outgrmvth of the European ontology). 18 Together, a cul!l,lral group's understanding of the universe ( cosmology), being (ontology), values (axiology), reasoning (logic) and

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knowledge (episteniology), all contribute to the ways in which a people make sense of their lived reality, i.e., their worldview.

Tiie worldview differences of Africans and Europeans

lead one to infer that social reality is not only lived a11d experienced differently, but it is also understood differently.

While tile Africa11 worldview prioritizes an interconnecte9 a11d interrelated reality that relies upon the immaterial aspects of

reality to make sense of the lived experience and favors

relations of the whole, the European worldview p1ioritizes the sep,µ-ation of social reality, only utilizing that which can be

apprehended with the five senses to validate a11d provide meaning for that which we engage through our Ii ved experience. It is iliese aspects of tl1e Europea11 worldview that directly correlate with the development and manifestation of racism and white supremacy. The components of the African worldview suggest a different model of viewing the world that

is beyond separation, hierarchy a11d control, some of the very basic components that are foundational for racism and white

supremacy.

TI1is comparative analysis of components of the African

and Europea11 worldviews implies basic distinctions at their

fundamental core. As Kobi Kambon argues,

our worldview system detennines our definitions, our

concepts and our values; [ and] whetl1er we consider events that we expe1ience important, true, good, etc. or whether we attend to them at all. Thus, we make assumptions about events that we experience based

on our "predisposed" values, beliefs a11d .attitudes

toward the nature of things. 111ese values, beliefs a11d attitudes comprise an organized body of ideas or a

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conceptual framework for viewing, defining and experiencing the nature and mea11ing of events that

constitute om phenomenal reality, and even determine what phenomenal reality will in fact be. 19

Thus one's worldview is essential to one's very being a11d the

basis of how one comes to know, make sense of and engage one's social reality.

Relia11ce upon the Africa11 worldview within Africana

Studies provides an essential element in the analysis and study of Africana life, history and culture, for it is through iliis

methodological grounding that the practitioner of Africana Studies is able to generate meaningful culturally-grounded interpretations of Africana reality and thus able to generate

solutions to better the life chances of Africana people. Stated

differently, usage of the Afiican worldview provides descriptive explanations through tlie proper lens of interpretation, but just

as in1portant reliance upon the Africa11 worldview provides prescriptive solutions ·· to the cummt conditions of African

descendant peoples. In addition, the African worldview can be useful in our attempt to engage the important questions of

teaching and pedagogy within Africana Studies.

Teaching & Pedagogy: The Case of Africana Studies

Helen Neville a11d Sundiata Cha-Jua are correct to argue that there is a paucity of literature on teaching and pedagogy

within Africana Studies. Writing in the late 1990s, Neville and Cha-Jua posit that "a quarter of a century has passed since the

birth of Black [S]tudies, a11d scholars have yet to fully address tile issue of how to teach in this new area of inquiry." 20 Since the late 1990s the amount of literature on teaching and pedagogy witl1in Africana Studies is still limited. 21 For

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example, Nathaniel Nonnent's African American Studies Reader-ananthology on research and scholarship in Africana/Black/ African American/ Afro-American/Pan African Studies-available today, has one contribution that focuses on "teaching Black Studies," along with an additional nine of the seventy-three contributions that tangentially engage issues of teaching and pedagogy within Africana Studies. The scarcity of literature on te~ching and pedagogy within Afticana Studies speaks to the necessity of producing literature that is not merely about the "why" and "what" of Black Studies, but, as Johnella Butler argues, also the necessity of producing scholarship on the "how" of Black Studies.22 As Butler correctly argues, "Just as surely as we need to clarify and define 'the what' of Black Studie,s, ... we need to [also] define 'the how.' An important pait of the 'how' occurs in the classroom, ai1d contributing a. foundation for classroom dynamics is pedagogy." 23 The current scarcity of literature on teaching and pedagogy in Africai1a Studies thus sets the context for this current review.

Nathan Hare has written extensively on the sociopolitical function of Black Studies, along with its rationale, origin and subsequent direction.24 In doing so, Hare provides a necessary starting point for this discussion of teaching and pedagogy within Black Studies. As the previous sections have explained, the role of perspective within the historical development of Black Studies is an essential component of its , intellectual history. In "What Should be the Role of Afro­American Education in the Undergraduate Cnrriculum," originally published in 1969, Hare declares that "Black [S]tudies must be taught from a black perspective. The spidt of blackness must pervade black education. "25

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Hare further argues, "Black education must be based on both ideological and pedagogical blackness."26 While within this particular context Hare is not extremely explicit on the "Black" in a "Black perspective" nor the specifics of ''pedagogical blackness," it is strikingly apparent that the manner in which Black Studies must be taught, according to Hare, is grounded in the unique histodcal experience and social reality of Africai1-descended people. Hare comes to similar conclusions related to the importance of ''black courses ... taught from a [B]lack perspective." 27 The scholarship of Nathan Hare provides a glimpse into a potentially umque aspect of courses taught within Black Studies.

By the early l 970s Black Studies departments and programs were coming under heavy questioning by outside forces, many of which merely paid lip service to the call for these academic units. However, it was through the professionalization of the discipline that many supp01ters and practitioners began to respond to critics. James Banks contributed to this discussion with his "Teaching Black Studies for Social Chan gt:," which attempts to engage issues of teaching in relation to Black Studies. Banks begins his analysis by stating that the institutionalization of Black Studies has brought with it many questions revolving around what is taught, how it is taught and by whom it shall be taught. As Baiurn argues,

classroom teachers are puzzled about [sic] Black [S]tudies and have sedous questions about who can teach Black [S]tudies because of the disagreement over goals among experts and social scientists. Needless to say, effective teaching strategies and sound criteria for judging materials caimot be fonuulated until goals are identified and explicitly stated. Unless a sound rationale

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for Black [S]tudies programs can be stated and new · approaches to their instruction implemented, these programs are quite likely to fail.28

Indeed, Banks' insight on the future of Black Studies and the centrality of pedagogy is accurate, and he provides food for thought as we begin this discussion of teaching and pedagogy within Africana Studies. While Banks' profound insight is useful, this work fails to specifically develop an argument for teaching Black Studies as a separate and distinct area of knowledge from such broad categories as Black history and/or social studies, thus leaving the reader questioning its overall relevance to the construction of a discipline-specific teaching methodology within Black Studies. While Banks' focus on decision--making and social actions skills are important qualities to cultivate within students, detached from the sociopolitical function of Black Studies these skills are merely lofty dreams and aspirations without any clear-cut application in the advancement of Black Studies.

In 1979, Johnella Bntler provided a number of works that engaged the rnle of pedagogy within Black Studies. TI1rough tl1e sub discipline · of Black Literature, Butler posits that an "Afro American sensibility'' allows for the use of a unique pedagogy that "puts into motion a process of the raising of critical consciousness which affects comprehension."29

Relying heavily upon the theorization of Paolo Freire in Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 30 Butler develops "ten key pedagogical principles applicable to disciplines both within and outside of Black Studies."31 While there is not enough time or space to analyze all ten principles, there are a number of points that should be stressed. First, Butler argues that "the process of teaching is just as important as the content of the teaching."32

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Thus, if Black Studies is more than just the blackenization of "traditional" academic disciplines, the development of a discipline-specific approach to what is taught is essential. Second, "the praxis of liberation, the action and reflection of [hnmans] upon their world in order to transfonn it becomes possible."33 Tirird, "academia must constantly seek to illumine its own relationship to tl1e world."34 And finally, "[l]iberation is as closely tied to comprehension as comprehension is to learning. "35 The second to final points mentioned above speak to the function/goal of Africana/Black Studies in that the transformation of the lives of African-descended people is the ultimate goal within the Africana/Black Studies project and this becomes the ultimate goal when teaching Africana/Black Studies ..

In "Black Studies and Sensibility: Identity, the Foundation of Pedagogy," Butler further expotmds upon what she refers to as an "African and/or Afro American sensibility'' and its relationship to pedagogy. The strength of Butler's work is found in her ability to place the notion of identity within this discussion of pedagogy and Black Studies. Butler argues that development of a student's identity is a foundational element to the pedagogical practices found within Black Studies-so much so that as instructors and professors of Black Studies we are prompted to engage questions of beingness in relation to an African and Afro-American understanding of self. It is throngh conscious engagement of this reality that we will be able to understand ourselves and thus our place within the world. Similar arguments are developed throughout much of Butler's pedagogically-focused work. In sum, it is painstakingly clear that Johnella Bulter has made considerable contributions to B)ack Studies as they relate to issues of teaching and pedagogy

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within Africana/Black Studies. However, as we move forward, the question now becomes, has anyone been reading her work?

Delores Aldridge, former president of the National Council for Black Studies and trained sociologist, has also contributed to this dialogue. Much like her predecessors, Aldridge recognizes the essentialness of teaching and pedagogy as it relates to the professionalization !!!1d institntionalization of Black Studies. She argues, "Black Studies as a field is at the stage of institutionalization-a stage in which one needs to address some hard questions vis-a-vis the issue of a particular crisis in Black Studies, a crisis summarized in two questions: 'Who is qualified to teach Black Studies?' and 'What is n;quired in order to teach Black Studies?"' 36 Central to answering these questions is what she terms "philosophical Blackness," which Aldridge differentiates from phenotypical Blackness. Thus she posits that "we might argue, therefore, that simply . because a person is black does not in itself indicate

anything except that this person is defined as black. What the person means by black, what the person's experiences have been as a black, and what the person's systematic fran1ework or

base of knowledge is concerning Blackness remains in question." 37 Yet, it is the philosophy of Blaclmess or a Black perspective, as Hare might argue, that must guide teaching within •Black Studies. One defining characteristic of Blackness is the ability and necessity of engaging social phenomena from · a holistic perspective. In doing so, Black Studies scholars and instructors are able to generate a unique frame of reference that they use in the classroom in their attempt at transmitting information on the life, history and culture of African descended peoples. As with Hare, Aldridge's focus upon the perspective of the instructor of Africana Studies is essential

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.because it lays a foundation to detem1ine not only the content of what is being taught, but more impmtantly the manner in which the material can be apprehended.

The more recent attempts at discussing pedagogy within Africana/Black Studies have reflected many central themes, most of which have been previously discussed. 38 These reflective and instructive essays, however, have not moved beyond the foundational arguments made by Hare, Butler and Aldridge. While Neville and Cha-Jua provide a pedagogical model and show its application within an actual class setting, and Regina Bernard provides a reflection on what she refers to as the "critical pedagogy" of Black Studies,39 both of these works provide limited new insights into the state of teaching and pedagogy within Africana/Black Studies and thus do not warrant further analysis.

The above review of literature on teaching and pedagogy within Africana/Black Studies reflects the past and present state of scholarship within this component . of the discipline. First, as stated above and by others, it should be noted that there is a paucity ofliterature. However, even among

the limited number of scholars who engage issues of pedagogy within Black Studies, there is no intradisciplinary dialogue. Therefore, the most recent works of Neville and Cha-Jua, along with Bernard's were written as if Hare, Banks, Butler and Aldridge did not engage in critically discussing issues of pedagogy within the discipline. This is evident from a review of the works cited by Neville and Cha-Jua, along with Bernard. It is also in the works cited, that we find another pressing issue as we attempt to develop a discipline-specific model of teaching and pedagogy in Africana Studies. Thus, what we find is an intense reliance upon the work of Paulo Freire. From Butler to

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Bernard to Neville and Cha-Jua, Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed has become a point ofreference. However, a critical exan1ination of this work, especially as it relates to people of African descent has not been carried out. As K wame Agyei Akoto cmrnctly argues "the fact that he [Freire] fails to acknowledge or factor into his theories the rich, varied and vigorous cultural traditions of Afrikan Brazilians, 50% plus of the population, can only be attributed to the theoretical limitations of his essential Eurocentric and · structural perspective." 4° Furthermore, Freire's conception of "the past [as] synonymous with oppression and psychic invasion by the oppressor cultute," 41 requires that . we critically engage pedagogical scholarship that relies upon Freire as an essential component of their argoment. · Yet all is not lost and the foundation provided by the work of Hare and AJdridge, along with others, minus their love affair with Freire, provides a fom)dation for discussing the intersection between the African worldview, teaching and pedagogy within Africana/Black

Studies.

Worldv_iew and Pedagogical Practices in Africaua Studies

The previous review of literature on teaching and pedagogy within Africana Studies will function as a foundation for this current overview of the implications of a worldview framework for pedagogical practices in Afiicana Studies. First, it is important to note that attempts at connecting worldview and pedagogy within Black Studies are not new. While Johnella Butler previously spoke of an "African and Afro American sensibility," her references returned to the work of Vernon Dixon, who initially introduced discussions of

worldview by a body of African-centered scholars, including Na'im Akbar, Cedric X. (Clark), Lewis M. King, D. Philip

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McGee and Wade Nobies.42 Secondly, Delores Aldridge's questions surrounding Blackness as it relates to instructors of Black Studies could have been engaged "from the point of view of multiple perspectives, including the ontological, axiological, epistemological and cosmological perspectives," according to Aldridge.43 TI1ough Aldridge centered her analysis on an ontological perspective, she was clearly aware of the worldview fran1ework as a potentially useful model as it relates to broad issues of pedagogy among instructors of Black Studies. Thus

the worldview framework, along with its subcomponents, is not a new contribution to discussions of teaching and pedagogy within Black Studies. However, the attempt at generating pedagogical practices directly from the worldview framework has yet to be done. What follows is a prelirninaiy application of the worldview framework to teaching and pedagogy within Africana Studies.

As previously stated, a worldview consists of concepts such as cosmology, ontology, axiology, epistemology and other philosophical assumptions. Together, a cultural group's understanding of the universe ( cosmology), nature of being (ontology), values (axiology), and knowledge (epistemology), all contribute to the ways in which a people make sense of reality, i.e., their worldview. At this juncture, it is important to stress the fundan1ental connection in concepts within the African worldview' s conception and construction of reality. Thus, an understanding of the essential connectedness of tl1e 1miverse through spirit/energy warrants a priority on community, and it is this stress on community that can be pedagogically useful and unique within Africana Studies classrooms. This focus for our present discussion will engage how the African worldview, centering on the above

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subcomponents, can positively impact teaching .and learning within Africana Studies. Thus, through African manifestations and understandings of cosmology, ontology, axiology and epistemology, we will come to a broad understanding of their impact upon teaching and pedagogy in Africana Studies.

An African understanding of cosmology suggests that . the universe is interconnected and interrelated. As it relates to teaching and pedagogical practices, an African cosmology puts forth the question: how does an interwoven, interconnected and interrelated understanding of the universe impact notions of education, knowledge and wisdom?

An African ontological understanding of reality suggests that everything in existence is fundamentally energy and even that which manifests as matter is, at its origin, energy. As this relates to teaching and pedagogical practices, an African ontology puts forth the question: how does energy, force and spirit work in the transmission of information?

An African understanding of axiology suggests that the highest value is on interpersonal and intergroup relational functioning, with a focus on unity. As it relates to teaching and pedagogical practices, an African axiology puts forth the question: how does the highest value placed upon the group and group functioning impact the transmission of knowledge and

information?

An African epistemological understanding of knowledge and knowledge acquisition suggests one gains knowledge and knows reality through that which can be acquired beyond the five senses and is a direct outgrowth of an African ontology which posits that the fundamental basis of all reality is spiritual. As it relates to teaching and pedagogical practices, an African

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epistemology puts forth the question: how, does the ability to grasp knowledge and infonnation beyond the five senses impact the transmission of knowledge and the basic means by which an instrnctor can gauge the acquisition of knowledge?

The initial and preliminary questions for each of the worldview subcomponents above can help assist in explaining a useable number of pedagogical principles for instructors and professors of Africana Studies. As preyiously stated, the subcomponents of the African worldview do not stand apart from one another, for this would be a contradiction of the African cosmology which posits the interrelatedness of all things within the universe. Thus, an understanding of the essential connectedness of the universe through spirit/energy warrants a priority on community, and it is this priority on community that can be pedagogically useful and unique within Africana Studies classrooms. It is the principle of the "classroom as community" that provides the foundational basis for the development of unique pedagogical practices within Africana Studies. The "classroom as community" posits that instructors of Africana Studies attempt to create, nurture and cultivate communities within the physical spaces in which we teach courses. By community, this author means a collective unit in which each member is responsible to not only each other or just the instrnctor but also to his/herself. For instance, in my classes, I ntilize a number of techniques to nurture community from circular seating arrangements, to random peer-reviews, to group-led debates to in-class oral exams. All of these teclmiques allow my students to know that they are not just accountable to me as the instructor, but they are accountable to their classmates because if the whole class fails to work together as a unit it will reflect negatively npon everyone in the class. While the above

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may represent techniques that are used by many within Africana/Black Studies classes today (and other academic

disciplines for that matter), the point stressed here is that this current interpretation comes from a philosophical framework which posits that the "classroom is a community" and members within the community must be fun~tional contributors, rather than passive observers or bystanders. Reliance upon the African worldview as a philosophical framework allows for such a basic explanation 'and has the potential to impact and provide a

rationale for other practices among instructors of Africana Stndies.

Conclusion

Discussions of teaching and pedagogies specific to Afiicana Studies have been conducted by a handful of scholars within Africana Studies. 44 Each has made a significant contribution to this current dialogue. The future development of Africana Studies is contingent upon its practitioners' continuous development of discipline-specific and discipline­grounded research that can advance Africana Studies. It must be the responsibility of Africana Studies practitioners to move

beyond merely discussing the "why" and "what" of Africana Studies and continuously focus upon the "how," as previously · suggested by Jolmella Butler.45 It is through the."hows" that we contribute to the continued institutionalization and professionalization of our field and continue in the transmission of holistic and interconnected explanations of Africana life, history and culture, across space and time.

The future of Africana Studies is clearly contingent

upon its current practitioners' forging of discipline-specific and discipline-grmmded dialogues that are consistent with the

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intellectual history and social conditions of Africana people. This discussion of teaching and pedagogy within Africana Studies has attempted to offer the context for a future dialogue on this pressing issue, especially for the future intellectual progression of Africana Studies and the transfo1mation of the cun-ent conditions of Africana people.

Brief Biographical Information

Karanja Keita Can-oil is currently an Assistant Professor and Department Coordinator of Black Studies at the State University of New York at New Paltz. He holds an MA and PhD in African American Studies from Temple University. His teaching and research interests include Africana intellectual history, the disciplinary structure of Africana Studies, African­centered Psychology, African-centered Social Theory and African-centered Theory & Methodology. He is also Associate Editor of the Journal of Pan African Studies.

Acknowledgements

Medasi to Danielle Wallace, DeReef J amioe,n, Sekhmet Ra Em Kht Maat, Tommy Curry, Geneva Moore and Jada Young, for their support and critical feedback.

Notes 1: Daudi Ajani Ya. Azibo, "Articulating the Distinction Between Black Studies and the Study of Blacks: The Fundamental Role of Culture and the African-Centered Wqr1dview," in The African American Studies Reader, ed. Nathaniel Nom1e11t, (Durham: Carolina Academic Press, 20.01)

1 420.

2. William A. Little, Carolyn M. Leonard and Edward Crosbv "Black Studies and Africana Studies Curriculum Models in the United S~ates" in The African American Studies Reader, ed. Nathaniel Norment, (Durham:

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Carolina Acadernic fress, 2007), 811-831; Gerald McVlorter and Ronald Bailey, "Black Studies Cuniculum Development in t.½.e 1980s" in The Afric~m American Studies Reader, ed. Nathaniel Norment, (Durham: Carolina Academic Press, 2007), 733-749; Clovis E. Semmes, "Foundations of an Afrocentric Social Science: Implications for Curriculum-Building, Theory and Research in Black Studies," Journal of Black Studies 12, no. I (1981) 3-17.

3. Philip T. K. Daniel, "Theory Building i~ Black Studies," in The AjNt..:an American Studies Reader, ed. Nathanial Norment, (Durham: Carolma Acadernic Press, 2001), 372-379; Maulana Karenga, "Black Studies and the Problematic of Paradigm: The Philosophical Dimension," in The African. Americm1 Studies Reader, ed. _Nathaniel Norment (Durham: Carolina Academic Press, 2001): 282-294; Russell Adams, "Epistemological Considerations in AfroRAmerican Studies," in Out of Revolution: The Development o(Afi·icana Studies, ed. Delores Aldridge and Carlene Young, (Lanham: Le~ington Books, 2000), 39-57; James E. Turner "Africana Studies and _Epistemology: A Discourse in the Sociology of Knowledge" in 'fhe ·Next Decade: Theoretical and Research Issues in Ajricana Studies, ed. James E. Turner (Ithaca: Africana Research and Research Center, 1984), v­xxv; James Stewart, "Reaching for Higher Ground: Toward an Understanding ofBlack/Africana Studies," in The African American Studies Reader ed. Nathaniel Norment (Durham: Carolina Academic Press, 2001), 349-367; James Stewart, "Social Science and Systematic Inquiry in Africana Studies: Challenges for the Twenty-First Century," in Afrocentric Traditions, ed. James L. Conyers, Jr. (New Brunswick:· Transaction Publishers, 2005), 83-11 0; Molefi Kete Asante, Kemet, Afrocentricity and Knowledge (Trenton: Africa World Press, 1990); Molefi Kete Asante,. The Afi'ocentric Idea (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1998); Molefi r(ete Asante, ''The Afrocentric Metatheory and Disciplinary Implications," in The Afi·ican Americun Studies Reader, ed. Nathaniel Non11e11t (Durham: Carolina Academic Press, 2001), 408-419; Lucious Outlaw1 On Race and Philosophy (New York: Routledge, 1996); Tahnadge Anderson, "Black Studies: Oveniew artd Theoretical Perspectives.," in The African American Studies Reader, ed. Nathaniel Norment, (Durham: Carolina Academic Press, 2001), 380-390; Ronald Taylor, "The Study of Black People: A Sun'ey of Empirical and Theoretical Models," in Black Stud,ies: T1:e01y, Method and Concept, ed. Talmadge Anderson (Pullman, WA: Wash~ngton State University Press, 1990), 11-15; Arthur Lewin, 'Towards a Grand Theory of Black Studies: An Attempt to Discern the Dynamics and the Direction of the Discipline,"• Westem Joumal of Black Studies 25, no. 2 (2001), 75-81; Clarence Mumford, Production Relations, Class and Black Liberation:A Marxist Perspective in Afro-American Studies (Amsterdam: B.

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R. Gruner Publishing. Company, !978); Beverly Guy-Sheftall, "Black Women/Black Studies," Phy/on 43, no. 3 (1982): 280-281; Gloria Hull and Barbara Smith, "The Politics of Black V/omeu's Studies," in The African American Studies Reader, ed. Nathaniel Norment (Durham: Carolina Academic Press, 2001), 144-156; Charles P. Hem·y & Frances Smith Foster, '

1Black Women's Studies: Threat or Challenge" in The African American Studies Reader, ed. Nathaniel Norment (Durham: Carolina Academic Press, 2001), 128-136.

4. Daudi Ajani Ya Azibo, "Africentric Conceptualizing as the Pathway to .African Liberation," International Journal of Africana Studies 5 (1999), 1-31; Azibo, ".A..rticulating the Distinction"; Karanja Keita Carroll, "Africana Studies and Research Methodology: Revisiting the Centrality of the Afrikan \Vorldview in Africana Studies Research and Scholarship," Journal of Pan Aji-ican Studies 2, no. 2 (2008): 4-27.

5 Molefi Kete Asante, Kemet, Afrocentricity and Knowledge (Trenton: Africa World Press, 1990); Molefi Kete Asante, The Afi·ocentric idea (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, I 998); Molefi Kete Asante, "The Afrocentric Metatheory and Disciplinary Implications," in The African

'American Studies Reader, ed. Nathaniel Nonnent (Durham: Carolina Academic Press, 2001), 408-419; Clarence Mumford, Production Relations, Class and Black Liberation: A lvfarxist Perspective in .Afro-American Studies (Amsterdam: B. R, Gruner Publishing Company, 1978); Abdul Alkalimat "Black Marxism in the White Academy: The Contours and Contradictions of an Emerging School of Black Thought," in Paradigms in Black Studies: Intellectual Histo,y, Cultural Me'aning and Political Ideology, ed. Abdul Alkalimat, (Chicago: Twenty First Century Books and Publications, 1990), 205-222; Abdul Alkalamit & Associates, Introduction to Afi·o-American Studies, http://eblackstudies.org/intro; McW'horter and Bailey, "Black Studies Cun'iculum Development in the 1980s;" Sidney Lemelle, "The Politics of Cultural Existence: Pan•Africanism, Historical Materialism and Afrocen!Iicity," Race & Class 35, no. 1 (1993): 93-112. Beverly Guy-Sheftall, "Black Women/Black Studies," Phy/on 43, no. 3 (1982): 280-281; Gloria Hull & Barbara Smith, "The Politics of Black \\'omen's Studies," in The African American Studies Reader, ed. Nathaniel Nonnent (Durham: Carolina Academic Press, 2001), 144,,\56; Charles P. Henry & Frances Smith Foster, "Black Women's Studies: Threat or Challenge" in f'he Afi'ican Ame1~ican Studies Reader, ed. Nathaniel Norment (Durham: Carolina Academic Press, 2001), 128-136.

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6, Daniels, "Theory Building in Black Studies," in T11e ,,4-frican American Studies Reader, ed. Nathaniel Norment (Durham: Carolina Academic Press, 2007), 461-468.

7. Daniels, "Theory Building in Black Sn1dies," 463-465.

8. Kobi Kambon (aka Joseph Baldwin), Irie African Personality in America: An African-Centered Framework (Tallahassee: Nubian Nation Publications, 1992); Kobi Kamhon, "TI1e Africentric Paradigm and African-American Psychological Liberation" in Aji·ican Psychology in. Historical Perspect~ve and Related Commt:ntary, ed. Daudi Ajani Ya Azibo (Trenton: Africa World Press, 1996), 57-69; Kobi Kambon, African/Black Psychology in the American Conte..'<f: An Aji-ican-Centered Approach, (Tallahassee: Nubian Nation Publications, 1998); Kobi Kambon, "The Worldviews Paradigm as the Conceptual Framework for African/Black Psychology" . in _Black Psychology, ed. Reginald Jones (Hampton: Cobb & Henry Publishers, 2004), 73-92; Linda James Myers, "Expanding the Psychology of Knowledge Optimally: The Importance of Worldview Revisited," in Black Psychology, ed. Reginald Jones (Berkeley: Cobb & Henry Publishers, 1991), 15-32; Linda James Myers, Understanding lln Afrocentric World View: Introduction to an Optimal Psychology (Dubuque: Kendal1'Hunt Publishing Company, 1988); William Curtis Banks, "The Theoretical and Methodological Clisis of the Africentlic Conception," Journal ~f' Negro Education 61, no. 3 (1992), 262-272; Wade Nobles, "Toward an Empilical and Theoretical Framework for Defining Black Families," Journal cf Marriage and the Family 40, no. 4 (1978), 679-688; Dona Richards, ''The Ideology of European Dominance," Weste1_-n Journal of Black Studies 3, no. 4 (1979): 240-255; Daudi Ajani Ya Azibo, "Africentric Conceptualizing as the Patlnvay to African Liberation," International Journal of AJNcana Studies 5 (1999): 1-31; Daudi Ajani Ya Azibo, "Articulating the Distinction Between Black Studies and the Study of Blacks: The Fundamental Role of Culture and the African-Centered Worldview," in The African American Studies Reader, ed. Nathaniel Norment, (Durham: Carolina Academic Press, 2001), 420-441; Jerome H. Schiele, "Afrocentricity as an Altemative WorldvieYv for Equality," Journal of Progressive Human Servic'es 5, no. 1 (1994): 5-25; Mekada Graham, "The African-Centered \Vorldview: Developing a Paradigm for Social Work." Journal of Black Siudies 30, no. 1 (1999) 103-122; Leahcim Semaj, "Towards a Cultural Science," in African Psychology in Historical Perspective and Related Commentcuy, ed. Daud1 Ajani Ya Azibo, (Trenton: Africa World Press, 1996), 193-202.

9. Wade Nobles, Afi'icani◊' and the Black Fami(y, (Oakland: A Black Family Jnstitute Publication, 1985), 102.

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10. Linda James Myers, ''Tb.e Deep Structare ofCultu.re: The Relevance of Traditional African Culture in Contemporary Times," Journal of Black Studies 18, no. I (1987), 72-85; Linda James Myers, "Expanding the PsychoJogy of Knowledge Optimally: The Importance of \Vor1dview Revisited," in Black P~ychology, ed. Reginald Jones (Berkeley: Cobb & Henry Publishers, 1991), 15-32; Linda James J\.1yers, Understanding an Afi·ocentric World View: Introduction to an Optimal P.s:vchology (Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 1993); \1lade Nobles, Aji·icanity and the Black Family; Daudi Ajani Ya Azibo, ''Afiicentric Conceptualizing as the PathW!IY to African Liberation," lntemational .Journal of Africana Studies 5,

. (1999): 1-31; Azibo, "Articulating the Distinction Between Black Studies and the Study of Blacks."

11. Marimba Ani, Let the Circle Be Unbroken, (New York Nkonimfo Publications, 1980), 4.

12. Mack Jones, "Political Science and the Black Political Experience: Issues in Epistemology and Relevance," Ethnic Politics and Civil Liberties (1992), 30.

13. Vernon J. Dixon, "African-oriented and Euro-Amelican-•oriented worldviews: Research Methodologies and Economics," Review of Black Political Economy?, no. 2 (1971), 119hl56; Vernon J. Dixon, "Worldviews and Research Methodology," in Ajh'can Philosophy: Assumption and Paradigms for Research on Black.Persons, ed. Lewis King, (Los Angeles: Farron R & D Center, 1976), 51-102.

14. Azibo, ".Articulating the Distinction"; Caffoll, "Afiicana Studies and Research Methodology"; Kobi Kambon, "The Africentric Paradigm and African-American Psychological Liberation"; Karnbon, "The V/orldviews Paradigm as the Conceptual Framework for African/Black F>sychology"; Myers, "Expanding the Psychology of Knowledge Optimally"; Myers, Understanding an Afrocentric World View.

15. Kambon, The A/dean Personality in America; Kambon, "The Afiicentric Paradigm and Africa,n-American Psychological Liberation"; Kambon, African/Black Psychology in the American Context; Kobi Kambon, "The Worldviews Paradigm as the Conc"eptual Framework for African/Black Psychology"; Myers, "Expanding the Psychology of Knowledge Optimally; Myers, Understanding an Afrocentric World T-,,.iew.

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16 Ani. Lei the Circle Be Unbroken; Kambon, The African Personality in Americ~ 1; Kambon, ''The Africentric Paradigm and African-American Psychological Liberation"; Kambon, Afi'ican1Bla~k Psycho!~gy in the American Context; Kobi Kambon, "The \VorldV1ews Parad1gm as the Conceptual Framework for African/Black Psychology"; Myer(,, "Ex~anding the Psychology of Knowledge Optimally; Myers, Understandmg an ~fi'ocentric World View.

17. Kambon, The African Personality in America; Kambon, "The Africentric Paradigm and African-American Psychological Liberation"; Kambon, Aji·ican/Black Psychology in the American Context; Kobi Kam?on,, "The \Vorldviews Paradigm as the Conceptual Framework for Afncatl!Black Psychology"; Myers, "Expanding the Psychology of Knowledge .Optimally;" Myers, Understanding an Afrocentric f-Vorld View.

18. Kambon, The African Personality in America; Kambon, "The Africentric · Paradigm and African-American Psychological Liberatiori"; Kambon_, African/Bluck Psychology in the·American Context; Kobi Kambon, l<The Worldviews Paradigm as the Conceptual Framework for African/Black Psychology"; Myers, "Expanding the Psychology of Knowledge Optimally; Myem, Understanding an ~frocentric World View.

19. Kambon, The Afi·ican Personality in America, 4.

20. Helen A. Neville and Sundiata K. Cha-Jua, "Kufundisha: Toward a Pedagogy for Black Studies," Journal ofBlack Studies 40, no. 4 (1998): 449.

21. For example, see Regina Bernard, uThe Critical Pedagogy of Black St11dies," Joumal qf Pan Afi'ican Studies 2, no. 10 (2009): 12-29, along w_ith a mentions in The Afi·ican American Studies Reader, _ed. Nathaniel Norment, (Durham: Carolina Academic Press, 2007).

22. Johnnella E. Butler, Black Studies: Pedagogy and Revolution - A Study of ./4(,-0-American Studies and the Liberal Arts ·Tradition 17wough _the Di~cipline of .Afro-American Literature (University Press of Amenca: Washington, D.C., 1981), 88.

23. lbid., 88.

24. Nathan Hare, "Questions and, Answers about Black Studies," The Massachusetts Review 10 (1969): 727-736; Nathan Hare, "The Struggle of Black Students," Journal of Afi-o American Issues 1, no. 2 (1972), 111-130; Nathan Hare, "\Vhat Should be the Role of Afro-American Education in the

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Undergraduate Curriculum?" in New Perspectives in Bluck Studies, ed. John Blassingame (Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 1971 ), 3 .. 15.

25. Hare, "Role of Afro-American Education," 13.

26. lbid., 13.

27. Ha're, ''The Struggle of Black Students,'' 123.

28. James Banks, "Teaching Black Studies for Social Change," in The African American Studies Reader, ed. Nathaniel Norment (Durham: Carolina Academic Press, 2007), 672.

29. Johnnella E. Butler, "Black Studies: Pedagogy and Our Adventure with Western Cultme" paper presented at Association for the Study of Afro­American Life and Hist01y Meeting (October 27, 1979), 13.

30. Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed (New York: Continuum, 1970/1993/2000).

31. Butler, "Black Studies: Pedagogy and Our Adventure with \1/estem Culture/' 13.

32. lbid., 14.

33. Ibid., 14.

34. Ibid., 15.

35. Ibid., 15.

36. Delores Aldridge, "The Kitchen's Filled - But Who Are the Cooks?: What it Takes to Teach Black Studies," Phy/on 49, no. 1/2 (1992): p. 63.

37. Ibid., 63-64.

38. Helen A Nevme and Sundiata K. Cha-Jua, "Kufundisha: Toward a Pedagogy for Black Studies," Journal of Black Studies 40, no. 4 (1998): 447-470; Regina Bernard, "The Critical Pedagogy of Black Studies," Journal qf PanAfi'ican Studies, 2, no. 10 (2009): 12-29.

39. Bernard, "Critical Pedagogy of Black Studies."

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40, Kwame Agyei Akoto, Nationbuilding: Theory & Practice in Afrikan Centered Education (Washington, D.C.: Pan African World Institute, 1992), 97.

41. Akoto, Nation.building, 97,

42. Karanja Keita Carroll, "A Genealogical Review of the Worldview Framework in African-Centered Psychology," Journal of Pan African Studies 3, no. 8 (2010), 114.

43. Aldridge, "The Kitchen's Filled -But Who Are the Cooks?," 64.

44. Delores Aldridge, "The Kitchen's Filled - But Who Are the Cooks?: What it Takes to Teach Black Studies," Phy/o11 49, no. 112 (1992), 61-70; Jolumella E. Butler, ''Black Studies and Sensibility: Identity, the Foundation for a Pedagogy;• Western Journal of Black Studies 3, no. 4 (1979), 290-293; Johru1ella E. Butler, "Black Studies: Pedagogy and Our Adventure with Western Culture" paper presented at Association for the Study of Afro­American Life and History Meeting (October 27, 1979); Jolmnella E. Butler, Black Studies: Pedagogy and Revolution -. A Study of Afro-American Studies and the Liberal Arts Tradition Through the Discipline of ,/4,fro­American Literature, (Unive!'sity Press of America: Washington, D.C., 1981); Helen A. Neville and Sundiata K. Cha-Jua, "Kufundisha: Toward a Pedagogy for Black Studies," Journal af Black Studies 40, no. 4 (1998), 447-470: James A. Banks, "Teaching Black Studies for Social. Change" in The African American Studies Reader, ed. Nathaniel Norment (Durham: Carolina Academic Press, 2007), 792-81 0; Regina Bernard, "The Critical Pedagogy of_ Black Studies," Journal of Pan African Studies 2, no. 10 (2009), 12-29.

45. Blltler, Black Studies: Pedagogy and Revolution, 88.

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Chapters

Critical Reflections of an Edutainer:

Edutainment in the Teaching of Africana/Black

Studies

M. Keith Claybrook, Jr.

Lecturer

Department of Africana Stndies

Califomia State University Dominguez Hills

"Wake up all the teachers time to teach a new way,

Maybe then they'll listen to whatcha have to say,

Cause they're the ones who's coming up and the world is in · their handswhen you teach the children teach ' em the very best you can. " Wake Up Everybody, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes 1

Several years ago, as an undergraduate, I was exposed to Asa Hilliard's essay "To Be an African Teacher." 2 Hilliard draws upon the culture, history, and legacies of master teachers in African history. He advocates for knowledge and understanding of the cultural relevance and implications of teaching and leaming. I remember finding motivation and purpose in the article when he states, "vVhile it certainly is a

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