Faculty at Williams College, the highly selective liberal arts educational institution in Willliamstown, Massachusetts, have overwhelmingly approved the creation of an Africana major at the college, beginning next fall.
The nine-course major will consist of three required courses and six electives. Currently, there has been a five-course concentration in Africana studies that consists of two required courses and three electives. With the addition of African studies as a major, the concentration will be eliminated by 2026.
LeRhonda Manigault-Bryant, chair and professor of Africana studies at Williams College, led the effort to establish the new major. Dr. Manigault is a graduate of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. She holds a master of divinity degree and a Ph.D. from Emory University in Atlanta. Her latest book is Fat Religion: Protestant Christianity and the Construction of the Fat Body (Routledge, 2021).
