Flight: In Search of Vision chronicles the evolution of Black/Africana Studies and explores its potential for spearheading contemporary efforts to confront various intellectual and social challenges. The essays explore a wide breadth of subject matter and challenge persisting misconceptions that Black/Africana Studies is simply the uncoordinated study of the experiences of people of African descent. The author argues forcefully that its full potential as a discipline can only be realized by approaching it as a freestanding academic and activist enterprise.

The volume is made up of several essays and poems, which are arranged into six sections focusing on the following themes: The Field and Function of Black/Africana Studies; Historical Perspectives in Black/Africana Studies; Racial/Cultural Group Identity and Family Dynamics; Analyzing Popular Culture; Issues in Curriculum Development; and New Challenges: Confronting Science, Technology, and Global Economic Transformation. In conclusion the author presents an evaluation of how well Black/Africana Studies is currently positioned to address the various challenges confronting people of African descent.

"This is a much needed exposition on Africana Studies. It deserves to be widely read by students of American culture and history, as well as by anyone who would better understand the contributions of Africana Studies to all of the 'other studies' as it sets the stage for the current multicultural explosion in education and the wider American society."

—Delores Aldridge
Grace Towns Hamilton Professor of Sociology andAfrican American Studies, Emory University

"Flight: In Search of Vision . . . represents some of the best thinking about the theoretical implications of African American Studies in the academy. Stewart's essays are brilliant and his analyses contain novel insights. Stewart's originality is refreshing and his command of the numerous theories and ideologies of culture, class, and gender places him in the top ranks of comprehensive African scholars."

—Molefi Kete Asante
Professor of African American Studies, Temple University

CATEGORY
Africana Studies, Political Science