Through the prism of black psychology: a critical review of conceptual and methodological issues in Africology as seen through the paradigmatic lens of black psychology.

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Author: DeReef F. Jamison
Date: Mar. 2008
From: Journal of Pan African Studies(Vol. 2, Issue 2)
Publisher: Journal of Pan African Studies
Document Type: Report
Length: 8,179 words

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Abstract :

This paper attempts to address the invisibility of Africana psychological theory, research, and methodology in Africology by synthesizing the competing definitions, schools of thought, and research agendas in Black Psychology. Attention will be given to the various ways in which Black psychologists have attempted to deconstruct and reconstruct traditional psychological thought as well as construct new definitions, theories, measurements, and conceptual frameworks for understanding and interpreting the psychological experiences of people of African descent. Although psychology was identified by Karenga as one of the core components in the emerging discipline of African-American Studies, very few of the existing institutes, programs, and departments of African-American Studies include psychology as a major part of their curriculum. As a psycho-historical endeavor, a primary concern of Africana Psychology is with understanding how the historical experiences of being an African in America have impacted African-American psyches. Thus, it is argued that if the discipline of Africology is attempting to fully understand Africana experiences, Africology must reexamine the importance of psychology and its role in aiding Africana scholars interpret and understand the experiences of people of African descent in the Americas and throughout the diaspora.

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Gale Document Number: GALE|A192353332