African American Studies is an interdisciplinary field that draws on history, literature, politics, sociology, and the arts to study the experiences, cultures, and contributions of people of African descent in the United States and across the African diaspora. It grew out of Black artistic, intellectual, and political work that came long before it became a formal academic field, and it became part of US colleges.
Why This Matters for the AP African American Studies Exam
This opening topic sets up how you will think for the entire course. AP African American Studies is built around analyzing sources from many fields and using evidence to build arguments, so understanding what makes this field interdisciplinary helps you across every unit.
This topic supports exam thinking in a few ways:
- It frames why early Africa belongs in the study of African American experiences, which connects directly to the rest of Unit 1.
- It gives you the background to analyze required sources tied to the rise of Black Studies, such as the 1968 San Francisco State College strike photo, the 1972 Hunter College course schedule, and the 1975 National Council for Black Studies conference program.
- It builds your ability to explain causation and continuity, since the field grew out of older Black traditions and was formalized through 1960s and 1970s activism.
Key Takeaways
- African American Studies is interdisciplinary, combining fields like history, literature, politics, sociology, and the arts with serious scholarly inquiry.
- The field studies people of African descent in the United States and throughout the African diaspora.
- It emerged from Black artistic, intellectual, and political work that came before it became a formal academic field.
- Black student activism in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Black Campus movement, pushed colleges to create Black Studies programs.
- In 1968, San Francisco State College established the first Black Studies department at a four-year college.
- The field treats Africa as the birthplace of humanity and the ancestral home of African Americans, and it challenges the false idea that early Africa had no documented or knowable history.
What Is African American Studies?
African American Studies combines an interdisciplinary approach with the rigor of scholarly inquiry to analyze the history, culture, and contributions of people of African descent in the United States and throughout the African diaspora. Instead of using one subject, it pulls together tools from many fields to give a fuller picture of Black experiences.
A key point is that the field did not start when colleges gave it a name. It grew out of Black artistic, intellectual, and political work that came long before its formalization. That history is why the field offers a lens for understanding contemporary Black freedom struggles, both inside and beyond the academy.
The field also examines how ideas about Africa's history developed over time and how the continent stays connected to communities across the African diaspora. This is why a course about African American experiences begins with early Africa.
How African American Studies Became a College Field
Toward the end of the Civil Rights movement and during the Black Power movement in the 1960s and 1970s, Black college students entered predominantly white institutions in large numbers for the first time in American history. Their presence on these campuses helped fuel demands for courses and support that reflected Black history and experiences.
During the Black Campus movement (1965 to 1972), hundreds of thousands of Black students, along with Latino, Asian, and white supporters, led protests at over 1,000 colleges nationwide. They demanded greater opportunities to study the history and experiences of Black people and greater support for Black students, faculty, and administrators.
This activism produced real institutional change. In 1968, San Francisco State College, now San Francisco State University, established the first Black Studies department at a four-year college.
Why Early Africa Matters Here
Africa is the birthplace of humanity and the ancestral home of African Americans. African American Studies examines developments in early African societies across fields like the arts, architecture, technology, politics, religion, and music. That long record of innovation informs African Americans' experiences and identities.
Interdisciplinary analysis also corrects a damaging misconception. By drawing on multiple fields of research, the discipline dispels the false idea that early Africa had an undocumented or unknowable history. The evidence shows early Africa as a diverse continent with complex societies that made lasting contributions to humanity and that were globally connected well before the transatlantic slave trade began.
Required Sources
Photo of Black Student Union Strike for Black Studies at San Francisco State College, 1968
This image documents the student-led strike that pushed San Francisco State College to create the first Black Studies department at a four-year college. Use it as evidence of how student activism, not just faculty or administrators, drove the creation of the field.
Schedule of Courses for Black and Puerto Rican Studies, Hunter College, 1972
This course schedule shows what newly created programs actually looked like in practice. The pairing of Black and Puerto Rican Studies in one department points to shared organizing among different communities and the interdisciplinary range of early ethnic studies offerings.
Program for the First National Council for Black Studies Annual Conference, 1975
This conference program reflects how Black Studies moved from campus protests to an organized academic field with shared standards and scholarly networks. It is useful evidence of the field becoming institutionalized and professionalized in the 1970s.
How to Use This on the AP African American Studies Exam
Using Sources Effectively
When you analyze the required sources, connect each one to a clear claim. The San Francisco State strike photo supports an argument about student activism. The Hunter College schedule supports a point about what programs taught and the interdisciplinary nature of the field. The conference program supports an argument about institutionalization.
Causation and Continuity
Be ready to explain two linked ideas. First, the field is older than its formal name because it grew from earlier Black artistic, intellectual, and political work. Second, it became part of colleges through specific 1960s and 1970s activism. Strong responses connect those threads instead of treating the field as something that appeared suddenly.
Common Trap
Do not reduce African American Studies to just history. Show that it is interdisciplinary by naming more than one field, such as literature, politics, sociology, and the arts, when you describe what the discipline does.
Common Misconceptions
- African American Studies is not only about history. It is interdisciplinary and combines fields like literature, politics, sociology, and the arts with scholarly inquiry.
- The field did not begin in the 1960s out of nowhere. It grew from Black artistic, intellectual, and political work that came before it became a formal academic field. The 1960s and 1970s are when it was formalized in colleges.
- The Black Campus movement was not only Black students. Latino, Asian, and white supporters also took part in protests at over 1,000 colleges.
- Studying early Africa is not a side topic. The field treats Africa as the birthplace of humanity and the ancestral home of African Americans, which is why the course starts there.
- Early Africa was not an unknowable or undocumented place. Interdisciplinary evidence shows complex, globally connected societies that existed well before the transatlantic slave trade.
Related AP African American Studies Guides
Vocabulary
The following words are mentioned explicitly in the College Board Course and Exam Description for this topic.Term | Definition |
|---|---|
African American Studies | An interdisciplinary field of scholarly inquiry that analyzes the history, culture, and contributions of people of African descent in the United States and throughout the African diaspora. |
African diaspora | The dispersal and communities of people of African descent throughout the world, particularly resulting from the transatlantic slave trade and subsequent migration. |
Black artistic endeavors | Creative and cultural expressions produced by Black people that contributed to the intellectual and political foundations of African American Studies. |
Black Campus movement | A student-led movement from 1965-1972 in which Black students and allies at colleges nationwide protested for greater opportunities to study Black history and experiences and for increased support for Black students, faculty, and administrators. |
Black freedom struggles | Historical and contemporary movements and efforts by Black people to achieve liberation, equality, and self-determination. |
Black intellectual endeavors | Scholarly and philosophical contributions made by Black thinkers that predate and inform the formal discipline of African American Studies. |
Black political endeavors | Organized political movements and activism by Black people that shaped the emergence and development of African American Studies as a field. |
Black Power movement | A social and political movement in the 1960s-1970s that emphasized Black self-determination, cultural pride, and economic independence. |
Civil Rights movement | The social and political movement from the 1950s-1960s aimed at ending racial segregation and discrimination against African Americans. |
early African societies | Complex civilizations and communities in Africa prior to the transatlantic slave trade, characterized by innovations in arts, architecture, technology, politics, religion, and music. |
interdisciplinary approach | A method of study that combines perspectives and methods from multiple academic disciplines to analyze a subject. |
predominantly white institutions | Colleges and universities where white students and faculty comprised the majority of the student body and academic staff. |
transatlantic slave trade | The forced migration of millions of Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas, beginning in the 16th century and lasting until the 19th century. |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is African American Studies?
African American Studies is an interdisciplinary field that studies the history, culture, and contributions of people of African descent in the United States and across the African diaspora.
Is African American Studies only a history course?
No. It uses history, literature, politics, sociology, the arts, and other fields to analyze Black experiences and contributions with scholarly evidence.
When did African American Studies become part of colleges?
African American Studies became formalized in colleges and universities mainly during the Black Campus movement of the 1960s and 1970s, though the ideas behind the field are much older.
What was the Black Campus movement?
The Black Campus movement from 1965 to 1972 involved Black students and allies demanding Black Studies programs, stronger support for Black students, and more Black faculty and administrators.
Why does AP African American Studies begin with early Africa?
The course begins with early Africa because Africa is the birthplace of humanity and the ancestral home of African Americans. The field uses interdisciplinary evidence to show Africa’s complex societies and global connections.
Which required sources matter for Topic 1.1?
Topic 1.1 includes sources such as the San Francisco State College strike photo, the Hunter College Black and Puerto Rican Studies course schedule, and the first National Council for Black Studies conference program.