About African and African American Studies at UT

Since its inception at the University of Texas at Austin in June 1969, the Center for African and African American Studies has been a focal point for campus and community life around the cultural, sociopolitical, economic, and historical experiences of Africans and their descendents.

In collaboration with other university departments, centers, and schools, CAAAS offers courses and programming across a broad variety of disciplines focused on black people in Texas, the United States, and the African Diaspora: including Africa, North, South, and Central America, the Caribbean, and Europe.

Through this engagement with Africa and the African Diaspora, the CAAAS seeks to establish an activist intellectual community that considers the processes of race, gender, power and culture operating within and upon Black communities. Faculty and students affiliated with the CAAAS engage in research and coursework in four principal areas: Africa, The African Diaspora, Blacks in the U.S., and Expressive Culture, Cultural Politics and Representation.

Operating in the Texas capital and flagship institution of higher education, the CAAAS brings together a wealth of graduate and undergraduate course offerings, cultural and intellectual programming, library resources, research fellowships, and conferences to create a strong foundation in African and African American Studies.