The African and African American Studies program (AAAS) is committed to the pursuit of knowledge, research, and reform.
It is an interdisciplinary program that offers a minor to George Mason University students.
AAAS works closely with members of the Mason community, including student groups, departments, programs, and faculty to provide students with unique ways to interact with scholars and social activists who research the past and present experiences of people of African descent in Africa, the United States, the Caribbean, and the Diaspora.
Students gain a comprehensive understanding of the cultural and historical experiences of people of African descent from an interdisciplinary perspective including history, literature, political science, sociology, psychology, philosophy, music, and art.
Courses and faculty are drawn from the program as well as from other units of the university.
The African and African American Studies program prepares students for understanding the black experience but also enables them to critically examine and better appreciate national and international events and the global struggle for social justice.
Throughout the year, AAAS sponsors numerous colloquiums, conferences, lectures (including the annual W. E. B. Dubois Lecture and the Sojourner Truth Lecture), Black History Month events and artistic performances that are open to the Mason community and metropolitan Washington, D.C., area.
