Handbook of Black Studies

The Handbook of Black Studies is the first resource to bring together research and scholarship in the field of African-American studies in one volume. Editors Molefi Kete Asante and Maulana Karenga, along with a pre-eminent group of contributors, examine various aspects of the field of Black Studies. Organized into three parts, this Handbook explores historical and cultural foundations, philosophical and conceptual bases, and critical and analytical concepts.

Key Features:  

• Presents Historical and Cultural Foundations: More than a chronicle of black culture or black people, this volume examines the emergence and maturity of the Black Studies field. Designed to be the principal reference work for the state of the field in African American Studies, this handbook covers the intent, function, and scope of the field with some suggestions about its future directions.
• Explores Philosophical and Conceptual Bases: Numerous theoretical and methodological adventures are examined, as well as research practices among scholars. A comprehensive, Pan-African approach to the field is provided as the contributions to this volume are not limited to discussing one area of the African world.
• Addresses Critical and Analytical Concepts: Researchers demonstrating intellectual rigor through unique and interesting projects are contributors to this volume. Black Studies is portrayed in a world context, not an "ethnic" volume, but a resource dealing with an important modern discipline whose practitioners and interests cross many borders.

Intended Audience:  
Perfect resource for any academic library; as well as graduate students and researchers seeking to ascertain the current state of the research in African American Studies

Molefi Asante is a distinguished scholar and is best known for creating the discipline of Black Studies over 25 years ago.  He is the Editor for the Journal of Black Studies (Sage) and the Encyclopedia of Black Studies (Sage Reference, 12/04  933 units, $82k LTD).  His recent research has centered on the history and present developments of African religions. Dr. Maulana Karenga is professor of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach.  He received his B.A. and M.A. in  political science from UCLA, a Ph.D. in political science from United States International University and a second Ph.D. in social ethics from the University of Southern California.  An activist-scholar, he is chair of The Organization Us, National Association of Kawaida Organizations and executive director of the Kawaida Institute of Pan-African Studies.  He is also creator of the pan-African holiday Kwanzaa and author of numerous scholarly articles and books, including Introduction to Black Studies, Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture; Kawaida: A Communitarian African Philosophy; Odu Ifa: The Ethical Teachings; Selections From The Husia: Sacred Wisdom of Ancient Egypt; and Maat, The Moral Ideal in Ancient Egypt: A Study in Classical African Ethics. A leading scholar in the development of the discipline of Black Studies, his fields of teaching and research are: Black Studies theory and history, Africana (continental and diasporan) philosophy; ancient Egyptian (Maatian) ethics; ancient Yoruba (Ifa) ethics; African American intellectual history; ethnic relations and the socio-ethical thought of Malcolm X.  He is currently writing a book on Malcolm X and the Critique of Domination: An Ethics of Liberation.