When you look through individual journals you get a good sense of what the academic discussions are in the field of Black/Africana Studies. You know what the main issues are in the field at any given time just by picking up a journal and looking at the articles, or by just the tables of contents.
This is a good way to get introduced to a field with which you may not be familiar. It is also a good method to use when you are trying to decide on a topic for your research papers; by looking at a few journals you may come across some interesting topics that you feel are worth pursuing on your own.
Ratings used in this list:
= Content is relevant for a broad array of Black Studies topics and issues
= Content is more specialized
Journals may be in print format in Seymour Library, or they may be online in full text in one or more databases. Use the links below to browse or search in individual journals. To do comprehensive searching to retrieve citations to articles in many Africana/Black Studies journals, use the methods described under the Article Databases tab above.
African American Review
Online: Ebsco 1990- (with 1 yr. embargo); JSTOR 1992- (with 4 yr. embargo)
Description from JSTOR: As the official publication of the Division on Black American Literature and Culture of the Modern Language Association, the quarterly journal African American Review promotes a lively exchange among writers and scholars in the arts, humanities, and social sciences who hold diverse perspectives on African American literature and culture. Between 1967 and 1976, the journal appeared under the title Negro American Literature Forum and for the next fifteen years was titled Black American Literature Forum. In 1992, African American Review changed its name for a third time and expanded its mission to include the study of a broader array of cultural formations. Currently, the journal prints essays on African American literature, theatre, film, the visual arts, and culture generally; interviews; poetry; fiction; and book reviews.
Black Scholar
Online Availability: Ebsco 1991-present
Description from Ebsco: African-American essays on a broad range of issues of concern to scholars in sociology, history, literature, political science, health, art, women's studies and ethnic studies.
Journal of African History
Online: JSTOR 1960-2015
Description from JSTOR: The Journal of African History publishes articles and book reviews ranging widely over the African past, from the late Stone Age to the present. In recent years increasing prominence has been given to economic, cultural and social history and several articles have explored themes which are also of growing interest to historians of other regions such as: gender roles, demography, health and hygiene, propaganda, legal ideology, labour histories, nationalism and resistance, environmental history, the construction of ethnicity, slavery and the slave trade, and photographs as historical sources. Contributions dealing with pre-colonial historical relationships between Africa and the African diaspora are especially welcome, as are historical approaches to the post-colonial period.
Journal of Black Psychology
Online: Sage collection 1999-present
Description: The Journal of Black Psychology has been the leading forum on the psychological study of Black populations for close to 35 years. Founded and sponsored by the Association of Black Psychologists, The Journal of Black Psychology presents the most innovative scholarly research and theory on the behavior of Black and other populations from Black or Afrocentric perspectives.
Journal of Black Studies
Online: Sage collection 1999-present; also JSTOR 1970- (with 4 yr. embargo)
Description from JSTOR: For the last quarter century, the Journal of Black Studies has been the leading source for dynamic, innovative, and creative research on the Black experience. Poised to remain at the forefront of the scholarship in the field, the Journal of Black Studies explores the most vital issues facing African American and Black populations.
Research in African Literatures
Online: JSTOR: 1970- (with 4 yr. embargo)
Description from JSTOR: Premier journal of African literary studies worldwide and provides a forum in English for research on the oral and written literatures of Africa.
Transition
Online: JSTOR 1961-2019
Description from JSTOR: Transition is a unique publication, written in sharp, sensible, accessible prose, profusely and sassily illustrated with contemporary art and photography. Each issue of Transition features book reviews and essays on topics such as Mike Tyson, Theodor Adorno, the Zapatista rebellion, visual anthropology, bisexuality, British history, African art, and Haitian film. Issues also contain award-winning interviews with personalities from Angela Davis and Ice Cube to Maxine Hong Kingston, Tony Kushner, Spike Lee, and Louis Farrakhan.
Western Journal of Black Studies
Online: Ebsco 1996-present
Description from Ebsco: Publishes articles that report original investigations & contribute new knowledge & understanding to the field of Black/African American studies.