The Department of African and African American Studies (DAAAS) at Stanford University focuses on the core principles of furthering excellence, encouraging critique, and pursuing the positive social transformation of people of African descent in Africa and the diaspora not only through multiple scholarly perspectives and models, but also through the study of art practices and the creation of art works.
DAAAS promotes an understanding of how history informs the present and inspires an engagement with the past in order to collectively dream a more just and equitable future. The department of AAAS trains new generations of students with the knowledge and skills to contribute to enhanced appreciation of African, African American, and African diasporic experiences, as well as enhanced racial understanding and justice.
Our faculty, staff, and students value the interrelated nature of the personal and the political and aim to create a community that allows for intellectual and personal flourishing. DAAAS has a core mission to foster excellence in research, education, and leadership training in the field of Black Studies and is a vibrant center of community among Stanford students, faculty, and staff with strong interests in Black experiences.
