African American studies is the systematic study of the historical, cultural, intellectual and social development of people of African descent, the societies of which they are a part and their contribution to world civilization. Its principal geographic domains are the United States, the Caribbean, Latin America, the African continent and increasingly western Europe where large communities reside.
The field features a diversity of approaches as well as intellectual and practical interests and draws upon the humanistic, social and behavioral sciences to make up its interdisciplinary framework. Students can obtain a bachelor's with either a major or a minor in African American studies.