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INTRODUCTION

The concurrent growth and development of the information highway and New Media technologies has profoundly changed the world's exposure to, and study of, African and diaspora people. The proliferation of websites, CD-ROM's and other New Media resources has been both rapid, and uncensored. As a result, it is often difficult to determine whether or not materials are appropriate for academic use.

This essay serves as a resource guide for Africana Studies students. It explores the importance of New Media Technologies to the preservation and perpetuation of Africana Studies; the difference between commercial and academic websites; the need for evaluating sites and strategies for engaging in that process; negative uses of the web; and topical and general resources for Africana Studies students. As a consequence of the rapid changes in electronic and digitized resources, the materials referenced by the authors have been carefully selected for both quality and reliability.

THE POLITICS OF KNOWLEDGE

Global access to information about people of African descent has been manipulated and constrained throughout most of the modern age. Although documents, pictures, and material culture reveal that European/African interactions were relatively free of bias before the advent of the Atlantic Slave Trade,(1) many studies reveal that the characterizations of people of African descent as "barbaric, uncivilized, and childlike" increase in direct proportion to the growing fiscal benefits garnered from Europe and America's "free labor."(2) This restricted access to information about Africana people remained the norm for over 400 years, and in recent times this process has come to be described as "the politics of knowledge."

Throughout the modern era, Western society's definition(s) of knowledge; structuring of educational institutions; publishing and media production decisions; and media imagery all have been shaped and informed by politics and power. Although discussions of "objectivity" have often been at the core of academic conversations, in reality a homogeneous group of privileged, male power brokers have defined knowledge. Moreover, the academy's oft-heralded objective of "universality" has often been skewed by the biases of the creators of the theoretical models.

Nevertheless, post WWII paradigm shifts, independence movements among the colonized, and the equal opportunity initiatives of the 1960s and 70s led to a more heterogeneous student body, graduate student body, junior faculty, arts community, work force, and cadre of elected officials. As these "newcomers" challenged the validity of the many theoretical "truths" of the academy, a more inclusive global prototype evolved. These activists have been in the vanguard of initiatives emphasizing inclusion and efforts to eliminate the perpetuation of racial, gender, ethnic and religious stereotypes.

AFRICANA STUDIES, NEW MEDIA AND SHIFTING PARADIGMS

The Information Highway has been a great boon to the advocates of a more inclusive academy. Access to technology has dramatically reduced the "gate keeping" power wielded by editors, publishers, and producers. As mainstream technological access has increased, so too has information about the history and culture of people of African descent. Global access to information about Africana people is more accessible today than ever before. But the flood of data presents a problem; the very absence of "gatekeepers" that has been so beneficial constitutes a "double-edged sword." Inaccurate information can just as readily be posted on a website. Consequently, it is incumbent upon those pursuing academic inquiry to acquire the skills needed to discern whether a website is commercial, academic, or personal.(3) All of these factors influence a site's appropriateness for a specific project. Twenty-first century scholarship is going to be very different. Students and researchers will be challenged to assess the quality and veracity of the digitized sources that they choose to utilize.(4) Teleconferencing and real-time on-line conversations will erode the fiscal constraints that heretofore have limited Pan-African research agendas. Instant contact will be possible for faculty and students throughout the diaspora. As more archival resources are digitized, post-secondary teaching and learning will also be enhanced. Increased undergraduate use of primary source materials will alter the research and critical thinking skills associated with Baccalaureate education.

In sum, new technologies will be quite beneficial to proponents of Africana Studies. The explosion of Afrocentric New Media marks the first time that a significant cohort of Africana scholars will control both the production and the distribution of intellectual property. The late 1990's explosion of Afrocentric commercial and academic websites, and the release of CD-ROMS like Encarta Africana, Art and Life in Africa, and Who Built America(5) offer clear evidence of an Africana presence in cyberspace.

Unfortunately, most Africana people still can not reach that presence, and policy analysts on the issue urge the government and the private sector to make sure that black people do not become "road kill" on the information highway.(6) Meanwhile, a 1998 study reveals another concern, for "blacks were significantly less likely to be interested in articles about global news and did not exhibit a significant difference in whether or not they had ever purchased an item online or in the amount of money they spent during the last six months on online purchases."(7) This means that disproportionately larger numbers of students of African descent are likely to approach research about Africana Studies subjects less prepared. Many will have had limited access to the hardware and software that will shape and inform 21st Century research. Others will be familiar with commercial products but will have limited analytical skills.

This essay is designed to help bridge those gaps. In recognition of cyberspace's fluidity, the authors have selected sites based on quality of authorship, reliability of content, and accessibility; and anticipated timelessness. For example, archival sites housing slave narratives may increase their holdings, but the quality of the materials will endure. Similarly, the census data that was until recently only available at selected repositories now has a website. CD-ROM's and websites specific to Africana Studies are organized by discipline or category while general resources, such as guidelines for evaluating websites and citing electronic resources, are listed in a separate webliography. The section concludes with activities that correspond to topics common to Africana Studies survey courses.

NEW MEDIA AND THE STUDY OF AFRICANA PEOPLE

Twenty-first Century scholars will not be limited by the geographic boundaries of their predecessors. Virtual classrooms will give scholars instant global access. As primary source materials are digitized, many inquiries formerly reserved for "monied" graduate students will become the province of undergraduates.(8) Instruction will change as the World Wide Web engenders as a more learner-centered academy.

Learner-centered curricula compel students to take more responsibility. This requires familiarity with Africana Studies resources. Therefore, the next section will survey the myriad digitized materials that can enhance student learning. In addition to giving examples of different types of commercial, academic, institutional and organizational resources, we will also highlight examples of student constructivism-i.e. new media projects created by undergraduate learners.

AFRICANA STUDIES NEW MEDIA RESOURCES

CD-ROMS

CD-ROM's are discs that contain digitized information. They hold text, pictures, music, video and graphics. Some, like Ethnic Newswatch(9) are text based and usually found in libraries. Others, like Encarta Africana are interactive. They contain music, text, video clips, photos, and animation. Resources that will be beneficial to Africana Studies students include:

INTERACTIVE CD-ROM

Who Built America -- http://www.ashp.cuny.edu/WBAcd-roms.html). Who Built America CD-ROM is a narrative of U.S. history from the Centennial Celebration of 1876 to the Great War of 1914. Engaging text, photo links and original recordings (such as Booker T. Washington's "Atlanta Exposition Speech") make this a particularly exceptional resources.

Art and Life in Africa -- (http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/). The Art and Life in Africa program is an interactive CD-ROM that recontexualizes African art in cycle of life. Using text, objects, fields photos, video and music, the program explores the way Africans make and use art at important events throughout their lives to solve problems overcome adversity, and meet the unique challenges of life."(10)