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Molefi Kete Asante
 
 
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Molefi Kete Asante (born August 14, 1942) is a contemporary American scholar
Academia

Academia, Academe, or the Academy are collective terms for the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research....
 in the field of African studies
African studies

African studies is the study of Africa, and can encompass such fields as social development and economic development, politics, history, culture, sociology, anthropology or linguistics....
 and African American Studies
African American studies

African American studies is a subset of Black studies or Africana studies. It is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to the study of the history, culture, and politics of African Americans....
. He is currently Professor in the Department of African American Studies at Temple University
Temple University

Temple University is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Temple University was founded in 1884 by Dr....
, where he founded the first PhD
PHD

PHD may refer to:* Parisada Hindu Dharma, an Indonesian reform organization* PHD, a track on The Crystal Method album Tweekend* PHD finger, a protein sequence...
 program in African American Studies. Asante is known for his philosophy of Afrocentricity and transracial, intercultural, and international communication. He is the founding editor of the Journal of Black Studies
Journal of Black Studies

The Journal of Black Studies is, in the words of its publisher, a ?leading source for dynamic, innovative, and creative research on the Black experience....
 and is the author of more than 65 books.

fi Kete Asante was born Arthur Lee Smith Jr.






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Molefi Kete Asante (born August 14, 1942) is a contemporary American scholar
Academia

Academia, Academe, or the Academy are collective terms for the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research....
 in the field of African studies
African studies

African studies is the study of Africa, and can encompass such fields as social development and economic development, politics, history, culture, sociology, anthropology or linguistics....
 and African American Studies
African American studies

African American studies is a subset of Black studies or Africana studies. It is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to the study of the history, culture, and politics of African Americans....
. He is currently Professor in the Department of African American Studies at Temple University
Temple University

Temple University is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Temple University was founded in 1884 by Dr....
, where he founded the first PhD
PHD

PHD may refer to:* Parisada Hindu Dharma, an Indonesian reform organization* PHD, a track on The Crystal Method album Tweekend* PHD finger, a protein sequence...
 program in African American Studies. Asante is known for his philosophy of Afrocentricity and transracial, intercultural, and international communication. He is the founding editor of the Journal of Black Studies
Journal of Black Studies

The Journal of Black Studies is, in the words of its publisher, a ?leading source for dynamic, innovative, and creative research on the Black experience....
 and is the author of more than 65 books.

Biography

Molefi Kete Asante was born Arthur Lee Smith Jr. in Valdosta, Georgia
Valdosta, Georgia

Valdosta is the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, United States. It is the principal city of the Valdosta, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, USA, one of sixteen children of laborers Arthur and Lillie Smith. His father worked first in a peanut warehouse and then on the Georgia-Southern Railways.

Asante changed his name because he considered his former name a slave name
Slave name

A slave name is a term for a name given to a person who is or has been slavery or a name inherited from enslaved ancestors. Modern use of the term applies mostly to African-Americans and West Indians who are descended from slaves, and can be used in a derogatory manner....
. The first member of his family to graduate from college, Asante received his B.A.
Bachelor's degree

A bachelor's degree is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or major that generally lasts for three, four, or in some cases and countries, five or six years....
 from Oklahoma Christian University
Oklahoma Christian University

Oklahoma Christian University is a four-year Private school comprehensive coeducational Christian school university founded in 1950 by members of the Church of Christ....
 in 1964, his M.A.
Master's degree

A master's degree provides a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of profession. Within the area studied, graduates possess advanced knowledge of a specialized body of theory and applied topics; high order skills in analysis, Critical thinking and/or professional application; and the ability to problem solving a...
 from Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University

Pepperdine University is a private university of higher learning affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The university's location overlooks the Pacific Ocean and is adjacent to the city limits of Malibu, California in unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, California, United States....
 in 1965, and his Ph.D.
Ph.D.

Ph.D. or PHD may stand for:* Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group* Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip...
 from UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles

The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, California, United States....
 in 1968, all in communication studies
Communication studies

Communication studies is an academic field that deals with processes of communication, commonly defined as the sharing of symbols over distances in space and time....
. He was appointed a full professor at the age of 30 at SUNY Buffalo
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly known as the University at Buffalo or , is a public university research university which has multiple campuses located in Buffalo, New York and Amherst, New York, USA....
.

Asante holds an Afrocentric
Afrocentrism

Afrocentrism or Afrocentricity is a world view that emphasizes the importance of African people in culture, philosophy, and history. The roots of Afrocentrism lay in a reaction to the repression of Black people throughout the Western world in the 19th century and as a backlash against the scientific racism of the period, which tended t...
 view and has described Africa and particularly Egypt, as the birthplace of civilization. He has been criticized for these views and also for his disparaging attitude "about the right of white professors to teach Black American history." One of his main influences is the late Senegalese anthropologist-scientist Cheikh Anta Diop
Cheikh Anta Diop

Cheikh Anta Diop was a Senegalese historian, anthropologist, physicist and politician who studied the human race's origins and pre-colonialism African culture....
.

Asante has appeared in the documentary film
Documentary film

Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to "document" reality. Although "documentary film" originally referred to movies shot on film stock, it has subsequently expanded to include video and new media productions that can be either direct-to-video or made for a televis...
s The Faces of Evil and 500 Years Later
500 Years Later

500 Years Later is the title of an independent documentary film directed by Owen 'Alik Shahadah, written by M.K. Asante, Jr. released in 2005....
. The latter was written and produced by his son, author and filmmaker M.K. Asante Jr., and he is appearing in its sequel, directed by Owen Alik Shahadah and titled Motherland
Motherland (film)

Motherland is an independent documentary film directed and written by Owen 'Alik Shahadah. Motherland is the sequel to the multiaward winning film 500 Years Later....
, in 2009.

Partial bibliography

  • African American History: A Journey of Liberation (Peoples Publishing Group, 2001, 1995)
  • Afrocentricity: The Theory of Social Change (African American Images/Africa World Press, 2003, 1988)
  • An Afrocentric Manifesto: Toward an African Renaissance (Polity Press, 2007)
  • Cheikh Anta Diop: An Intellectual Portrait (University of Sankore Press, 2007)
  • Classical Africa (National Press Books, 1994)
  • Contemporary Black Thought: Alternative Analyses in Social and Behavioral Science (Sage, 1980)
  • Contemporary Public Communication: Applications (Harper & Row, 1977)
  • Culture and Customs of Egypt (Greenwood Press, 2002)
  • Egypt vs. Greece and the American Academy (African American Images, 2002)
  • Encyclopedia of African Religion (Sage, 2009)
  • Encyclopedia of Black Studies (Sage, 2004)
  • Erasing Racism: The Survival of the American Nation (Prometheus, 2003)
  • Handbook of Black Studies (Sage, 2006)
  • Handbook of Intercultural Communication (Sage, 1979)
  • Handbook of International and Intercultural Communication (Sage, 1989)
  • Kemet, Afrocentricity, and Knowledge (Africa World Press, 1990)
  • Language, Communication, and Rhetoric in Black America (Harper & Row, 1972)
  • Malcolm X as Cultural Hero and Other Afrocentric Essays (Africa World Press, 1993)
  • Mass Communication: Principles and Practices (Macmillan, 1979)
  • 100 Greatest African Americans: A Biographical Encyclopedia (Prometheus, 2002)
  • Race, Rhetoric, and Identity: The Architecton of Soul (Humanity Books, 2005)
  • Rhetoric of Black Revolution (Allyn & Bacon, 1969)
  • Socio-Cultural Conflict between African American and Korean American (University Press of America, 2000)
  • The African American Atlas: Black History and Culture (Macmillan, 1998)
  • The Afrocentric Idea (Temple University Press, 1998, 1987)
  • The Book of African Names (Africa World Press, 1991)
  • The Egyptian Philosophers: Ancient African Voices from Imhotep to Akhenaten (African American Images, 2000)
  • The Global Intercultural Communication Reader (Routledge, 2008)
  • The History of Africa: The Quest for Eternal Harmony (Routledge, 2007)
  • The Painful Demise of Eurocentrism: An Afrocentric Response to Critics (Africa World Press, 1999)
  • The Scream of Blood: Desettlerism in Southern Africa (Sungai Books, 1998)
  • Thunder and Silence: The Mass Media in Africa (Africa World Press, 1992)
  • Transcultural Realities: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Cross-Cultural Relations (Sage, 2001)
  • Transracial Communication (Prentice-Hall, 1973)


Film List

  • Faces of Evil
    Faces of Evil

    character =|theme = y|character_name =|image = Faces of Evil.png|imagesize =|caption = Image promoting the Faces of Evil event...
     (2000)
  • 500 Years Later
    500 Years Later

    500 Years Later is the title of an independent documentary film directed by Owen 'Alik Shahadah, written by M.K. Asante, Jr. released in 2005....
     (2005)
  • The Black Candle
    The Black Candle

    The Black Candle is an independent film documentary film directed by M.K. Asante, Jr. and narrated by Maya Angelou. It is the first and only feature film about Kwanzaa....
     (2008)
  • Motherland (film)
    Motherland (film)

    Motherland is an independent documentary film directed and written by Owen 'Alik Shahadah. Motherland is the sequel to the multiaward winning film 500 Years Later....
     (2009)


External links