Africanist

[ af-ri-kuh-nist ]

noun

1. a person who specializes in and studies the cultures or languages of Africa.

Africanist

/ ˈæfrɪkənɪst /

noun

1. a person specializing in the study of African affairs or culture

Word History and Origins

Origin of Africanist¹

First recorded in 1890–95; African + -ist

Example Sentences

Two political parties - the African Transformation Movement and the Pan Africanist Congress - are calling for the expropriation of Mr Stoman’s farm following the incident.

From BBC

“In many Africanist and other worldviews,” she said, “the past, present and future exist together and communicate with one another. That colors a lot of my work.”

From New York Times

“Having this Africanist, Afro-diasporic training, but also being who I am, being this white girl — and not in a demeaning way, but just understanding what that is — what do I do with this information?” she said.

From New York Times

An early supporter of her choreography, Anderson admires how open she is; how her work is inspired by Africanist forms but doesn’t appropriate them.

From New York Times

This also matches my interpretation of a lot of Africanist practices, where, during initiations, you are on your own individual search.

From New York Times