Africana Studies Catalytic Consciousness (ASCC) Theory: A Cosmic Understanding of the Impact of Africana Studies

Earth: Creating Space

Africana studies departments and programs create space at institutions of higher education in ways that bear similarities to the function of the element of earth in Dagara cosmology. Earth, among the Dagara, represents the grounding of people’s sense of identity, visibility, and belonging. In institutions of higher education, classrooms are typically associated with walls, doors, chairs, boards, educational technology, and even virtual locations. These spaces are transformed by Africana studies faculty, pedagogy, curricula, and other Black students in ways that increase Black students’ sense of belonging, safety, and freedom to be their authentic selves. These spaces are protective and welcoming because they foster a complex interaction between faculty members who see Black students as capable, serve as mentors to them, are more likely to be of the same race and/or ethnicity, and hold them to high standards; pedagogies that are equitable, culturally relatable, and able to deconstruct systems of oppression; and Black students who are more likely than most of their peers to share common racial identities, experiences, or cultures, allowing them to affirm their experiences and realities (Beasley et al., 2016; Chapman-Hilliard & Beasley, 2018; Guiffrida, 2003). The approaches to teaching in Africana studies often make use of various styles of instruction, and professors often make an effort to ensure that everyone is learning (McDougal & Fischer, 2018). It is important to note that these environments are more than safe: They also provide a sense of belonging that makes students more academically involved. The fact that the curriculum has more relevance to their own lives leads Black students to become more engaged in Africana studies classes than in many non-Africana studies classes. On many college and university campuses, Black students are exposed to an array of socially and psychologically toxic forces, including but not limited to cultural alienation, social isolation, racist microaggressions, low expectations, stereotyping, racist curricula, and intersectional forms of mistreatment, which can negatively affect them both physically and psychologically (Marie, 2016). Africana studies classes and programming can serve as safe spaces or “clean rooms,” shielding Black students from high levels of exposure to these toxic forces (Oliver et al., 2017). As a result, Black students who are engaging in Africana studies courses are more likely to enjoy uninterrupted academic aspirations, racial and ethnic identification, motivation, self-confidence, and self-expression. Further, the creation of space in Africana studies classes naturally facilitates community-building on campuses (McDougal et al., 2019). Within this space, Black students form relationships with likeminded peers, same-race/ethnicity peers and faculty, and supportive faculty and staff. Black students form a Black campus community within the safe spaces created by Africana studies. In fact, the majority of the students mentored by Africana studies faculty are not even Africana studies majors and minors (McDougal & Fischer, 2018).

However, in Dagara cosmology, while people who are lacking in the earth element experience a sense of hopelessness and absence of visibility, those with too much earth element can become overly territorial and exclusive. The knowledge and experiences produced in Africana studies are not the private property of Africana studies; rather, the discipline is meant to enhance the African world. The consequences of losing track of collective identity (cultural grounding) and social responsibility can lead to thinking and behaviors that are characterized by exclusivity, antagonism, and competitiveness with those outside of the networks, knowledge bases, and experiences that Africana studies students gain from this creation of space. Staying true to the foundational principles of academic excellence, social responsibility, and cultural grounding helps Africana studies departments and programs to maintain healthy relationships with the broader off-campus Black community. Africana studies students and faculty can and do translate the space created in Africana studies into experiences and organizations across Black campus communities and within off-campus Black organizing and institution-building. The spaces created by Africana studies also make students feel more comfortable engaging in sensitive practices such as self-examination.

Mineral: Enhancing Self and Identity

“Kwenda kwa kolokofwa ne nzubo yanji.”

The journey of a snail and its house.

The above saying, “The journey of a snail and its house,” is a Kaonde proverb that means that a wise person carries wisdom everywhere, just as a snail travels everywhere with its shell. The fourth element of the Dagara cosmic wheel is mineral, which represents memory, resources, stories, and symbolism. The element mineral serves as the storage place for information and history, which gives a person a sense of uniqueness and purpose in life. Similarly, Africana studies can have the powerful effect of restoring or regenerating Black students’ cultural memory and thus their perceptions of their individual and collective selves. Like the snail’s shell, this cultural memory serves as critical wisdom through which Black students can understand themselves, their uniqueness, and their own sense of purpose. Although Black people are generally underrepresented in higher education curricula, in Africana studies, Black students gain exposure to the history, culture, experiences, and intellectual heritage of people of African descent in various areas of knowledge while challenging anti-Black stereotypes, misrepresentations, and notions of Black inferiority. This knowledge, combined with the safe space created in Africana studies (a quality associated with the element mineral), allows Black students to feel comfortable enough to interrogate and explore their own identities. It affords them the space to investigate their own internalized racism and other oppression-related harmful self-perceptions. As a consequence, students gain a greater sense of cultural self-awareness; a more positive evaluation of people of African descent, including themselves; an understanding of themselves not just racially, but also culturally; and a sense of belonging and commitment to people of African descent. They gain knowledge that allows them to better understand and appraise their own individual lives and experiences as well as the lives and current conditions of other people of African descent without engaging in victim blaming. The knowledge they gain from Africana studies curricula gives them the ability to draw connections between themselves and their ancestral heritage.

Mainstream society influences many Black students to evaluate themselves based on the cultural standards and definitions of the groups that hold a disproportionate share of power (Kambon, 2003). Through the ability to draw upon the resources of their own cultural and intellectual heritage and history, Black students in Africana studies gain the psychological resources to resist the imposition of Eurocentric and non-African/Black worldviews and value systems on their evaluation of people of African descent (Akbar, 1995). Instead of seeking mainstream validation, they can use internal resources to shape their own personal values, vision, and sense of purpose. Colonization and racism have splintered relationships and fostered division and disunity among people of African descent. However, the pedagogy and curricula of Africana studies allow Black students to gain an appreciation of both the uniqueness and the commonalities among people of African heritage. As a result, they can use their cultural memory to identify and tear down artificial divisions between one another, paving the way for authentic unity (Nobles, 2006). In Dagara cosmology, individuals seeking to remember or recover what has been lost, stolen, or forgotten are in search of the element mineral. However, too much mineral without the balance of the other elements can lead people to become stuck in the past and their newfound knowledge; prevent them from producing their own knowledge, creative projects, or research; cause them to ruminate and become overly self-critical; or lead them to retreat into their shell of wisdom (Akbar, 1985). Finding proper mentorship and remembering the principle of social responsibility will prevent Africana studies scholars from becoming imprisoned by what has already been studied and created or getting caught in the harmful inertia that hinders the formation of new ideas, practices, and products. Instead, they will learn to produce their own knowledge and endeavors while merging their scholarship and production with an effort to meet the needs and challenges of communities of African descent.

Water: Promoting Intellectual Engagement

“Do not drift, rather steer” (Karenga, 1989, p. 31).

In Dagara cosmology, when the original burning sphere of fire encountered a huge body of water (the second element in the wheel), fire (the first element) was forced below the surface, leaving the surface hot, steaming, and fertile. Water cleanses, seeks to reconcile the unreconciled, and aims to add balance to disorder and danger. It cools the burning psyche and calms that which is in a state of volatility (Somé, 1999). People in crisis are believed to seek out water, which brings resolution and removes impurities (Nehusi, 2011; Somé, 1999). In Ancient Kemet, Nun, the primeval waters, represented divine potential, containing all possibilities (Nehusi, 2011). Like water, Africana studies has a strong influence on students’ intellectual engagement. The theories and paradigms in Africana studies are used to answer research questions and solve problems, bringing about resolution and clarification in a way that is similar to how water removes impurities and reconciles the unreconciled. In such ways, Africana studies brings about the development of knowledge, ideas, and creative products. Going beyond the enhancement of self and identity, the intellectual engagement it encourages leads students to systematically interact with the world outside of themselves, answer questions, and create their own knowledge, ideas, or products.

Africana studies is, in part, defined by unique and culturally-grounded theories and paradigms: that is, culturally-grounded approaches to understanding the world in ways that center on the cultures, values, and perspectives of people of African descent. Black students in the Africana studies discipline gain exposure to perspectives grounded in the histories, cultures, and socio-political realities of people of African descent (Chapman-Hilliard & Beasley, 2018). This exposure shapes their intellectual interests, increasing their desire to learn more about people of African descent and connect new information to the lives of people of African heritage. Black students’ intellectual engagement is influenced by central aspects of Africana studies, such as the safe space it provides and the nature of the knowledge in the curriculum. For example, because the curriculum in Africana studies pertains to their own histories, cultures, and intellectual heritage, Black students are often more intellectually invested in and excited about their educational experiences in this field (Adams, 2014; Chapman-Hilliard et al., 2016; McDougal & Fischer, 2018). In addition, the added elements of having space to learn, safety from racism-related anxiety, and cultural affirmation result in improved academic achievement. The enhanced academic engagement and achievement that Black students experience in Africana studies results in increased academic confidence and motivation (Adams, 2014; Beasley et al., 2016). According to ASCC theory, they carry this confidence and motivation into their other classes and intellectual engagements outside of class, resulting in intellectual empowerment. Due to this empowerment, students become more sensitive to and less tolerant of cultural bias and the marginalization of their intellectual heritage in classes and spaces outside of Africana studies.

The approaches to viewing the world that students become exposed to in Africana studies are cleansed of Eurocentric or other racist assumptions, yet informed by the histories, cultures, and socio-political realities of people of African descent. Simply put, like water, the intellectual engagement produced by Africana studies facilitates focus. However, in Dagara cosmology, too much water leads to a lack of ambition, a limited sense of urgency, and the failure to accomplish goals (Somé, 1999). Too much emphasis on intellectual engagement can lead students to become satisfied with asking and answering questions. Satisfying intellectual curiosity, developing ideas, and creating knowledge or products is not enough in Africana studies. Rather, Africana studies scholars must remember to connect their scholarship and production to solving problems, building institutions, and empowering people and communities of African descent. Dagara cosmology resolves this lull caused by the calmness of water with the heat of fire.

Fire: Developing Agentic Social Responsiveness

Fire is the first element in the Dagara cosmic wheel. According to Dagara cosmology, fire is present in everything. Providing a doorway to the ancestors, it is essentially a spiritual energy. When focused and guided, fire drives us to fulfill our life’s purpose (Somé, 1999). In Dagara cosmology, the element of fire clashed with water to produce life on earth (Lilly, 2011). Similarly, based on the ASCC theory, knowledge of self and culturally valid intellectual engagement collide with agency and social responsibility to produce meaningful collective empowerment and advancement for people of African descent. Africana studies kindles fires (i.e., will and drive) within Black students because social responsibility serves as a grounding principle of the discipline itself.

Africana studies teaches students that knowledge should not only be used for exploration, description, and explanation; instead, it must ultimately be leveraged for prescription, intervention, and collective advancement. As a result, Africana studies students will place a greater value on using knowledge to engage in service in order to act as agents of change (Adams, 2005; Livingston et al., 2010). They will then become more critical of society’s institutions and more motivated to apply their intellects to the challenges, needs, concerns, and goals of African/Black communities. In the words of Maulana Karenga (2010), Africana studies curricula involve Africana people’s efforts to take initiative as active agents in shaping the world in their own image and interests. Thus, the curriculum itself exposes students to critical analyses of how and why people of African descent have not only experienced oppression and subjugation, but also fought against it successfully and unsuccessfully in social movements for racial and ethnic advancement, development, freedom, and liberation. Students therefore gain a greater belief in their own ability to catalyze change, partly through the mission, vision, and curricula of Africana studies programs, which all influence students’ interest in igniting change and challenging injustice (Adams, 2014). This enhanced sense of voice and agency prevents Black students from remaining unaware of what is possible and what they can achieve (Clausewitz et al., 1984). Moreover, it inspires them to challenge the world around them and become more involved in efforts to develop and advance their communities (Beasley et al., 2016; McDougal et al., 2018). Learning about Black liberation movements equips Africana studies students with ideas about how to effectively advance the interests of the African world.

The fire of agentic social responsiveness is critical because the safe spaces created in Africana studies classrooms are merely silos of protection in a warzone, outside of which lie damaging forces of oppression on a large scale. Thus, it is incumbent upon African/Black people with specialized knowledge to actively challenge the social structures that are the sources of Black oppression (Harrell, 1999). Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963) taught that it is easy to be like a thermometer, assessing and reporting the current temperature or social climate; the greater challenge is to serve as a thermostat, changing the temperature of the society in which we live. Africana studies teaches students to act as thermostats, using their knowledge to change the conditions of African/Black people’s lives in society for the better.

There are challenges to the dominance of the courage of fire. There are issues related to the dominance of agentic fire without the balance created by the other elements of Africana studies. Fire needs the safety of earth, the memory of mineral, and the calmness and perspective brought on by water. These other elements nurture good judgement. According to Dagara cosmology, too much fire may produce high levels of passion and courage, but ultimately lead to restlessness and destruction (Lilly, 2011). Good leadership, deep knowledge of self (the mineral element), and wise intellectual engagement (water) prevent fire from creating a culture of destruction. Not only do knowledge, wisdom, and proper guidance direct the intelligent movement of agency; agency also improves scholarship, as ideas must be studied and implemented to gain external validity and to guard against artificiality.

Nature: Enacting Change in African/Black Communities

The aforementioned four elements represent the influence of Africana studies on Black students. They typically have an indirect impact on African/Black communities, yet the conditions of African/Black communities serve as the ultimate measure of the work of Africana studies. In Dagara cosmology, the element nature is related to community. Nature represents the principle of change, as it possesses the ability to adjust, shift, and transform its shape. Nature challenges Africana studies students to be their real, authentic selves. For Africana studies, the academic discipline gains its relevance from its ability to guide constructive and positive change in Black communities. African/Black communities demand that Africana studies students and professionals be authentic and organic. Like the element nature, Black communities have served as a source of nourishment, shelter, and growth for Africana studies, which emerged not from the demands of professionals and professors, but from the demands of Black students with the support of the Black community and its allies (Stewart & Anderson, 2015). Carter G. Woodson (1933) claimed that education involves more than information: It also includes the shaping of consciousness and, consequently, behavior. In his classic work The Miseducation of the Negro, Woodson (1933) claimed that Black people had been exposed to a form of education that distanced them from the needs and concerns of Black communities and discouraged them from using their knowledge to serve their communities. Africana studies represents the solution to this “miseducation of the Negro” because it does just the opposite. However, it must maintain organic relationships with African/Black communities; if it does not, then these communities cannot serve as an effective source of nourishment and shelter. Black communities are the soil where the seeds of Africana studies ideas, scholarship, creative products, programs, and services are planted. The results of the seeds planted by Africana studies have yet to be fully appreciated. Current Black social movements and Africana studies departments and programs are instrumentally related to one another (Finley et al., 2017). Often, the leaders and membership of Black student movements at universities and in national Black social movements are Africana studies majors and minors, as Africana studies has provided the intellectual rationale for many of these movements. As such, African/Black communities are the ultimate proving grounds for Africana studies.

Human beings often mistakenly think that modernity requires moving away from nature (Somé, 1999), leading to neglect that has resulted in environmental degradation and climate change. Instead, humans must realize that we can combine technological advancement with respect for nature. Similarly, Africana studies students learn that they can merge their intellect and professional success with service to their communities. They also learn the harmful consequences of distancing themselves from or neglecting African/Black communities.