Lincoln University's Pan-Africana Studies (PAS) Department, created in 2024, represents the latest iteration of a scholarly tradition of programs that evolved from “Negro Studies,” “Black Studies,” and “Pan-Africana Studies.” The department fosters Afrocentric and African-centered knowledge in our disciplinary approach toward African Unity and Black empowerment globally.
It aims at cultivating global citizens and leaders imbued with a great sense of humanity who commit to build a better world. It provides a comprehensive curriculum, which highlights the contributions of women to the Pan-African movement, Lincoln University's role in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, the achievements of alumni such as Nnamdi Azikiwe, Kwame Nkrumah, Sarah Ngungwe—all in keeping with the university's motto: “Learn, Liberate, Lead.” The PAS Department stands at the forefront of the field by being the blueprint of the essence of Pan-Africana Studies scholarship, by teaching ideologies indigenous to Africa, such as Maat and Ubuntu philosophy, and by leading the conversation on economic justice, international justice, and reparatory justice.
The PAS Department provides students with a variety of co-curricular opportunities including Peer Tutors and Professor Assistants. Our experiential learning flagship programs are the Old Testament Tour to Egypt, which teaches the Nile Valley Civilization, and the Study Abroad to Ghana, done in conjunction with other institutions such as Bryn Mawr College, Haverford College, and the University for Development Studies in the northern part of Ghana.
Associate Professor of Pan-Africana Studies
Chair of the Pan-Africana Studies Department
Dr. Gnaka Lagoke is an Associate Professor in Pan-Africana Studies and History (World, African and African-American) at Lincoln University. He is a specialist in African and global geopolitics, African and international development. He is the leading scholar and expert at Lincoln University of the Ubuntu Philosophy.
His research interests include comparative politics, international justice, Pan-Africanism, the Ubuntu philosophy, the question of reparation and the Ubuntu Corporate Social Responsibility. He promotes a new dispensation of Pan-Africanism rooted in the Ubuntu philosophy. He chaired the scientific committee of the 9th Pan-African Congress.
Dr. Gnaka Lagoke is a member of the Board of Directors of the African Heritage Studies Association (AHSA) and the founder of the Ubuntu Philosophy Foundation. He is also a member of the Committee for the Thomas Sankara Memorial.
As a political analyst, he has appeared on several international news outlets such as Deutsche Welle, BBC, RFI, Voice of America, Russia Today, HispanTV, Australian Broadcast Corporation, Democracy Now, Aljazeera, CCTV, TVC News, Sputnik Radio & TV, Afrique Media, For You Media, IvoirTV and eNCA. Dr. Gnaka Lagoké is the author of the book Laurent Gbagbo's Trial and the Indictment of the International Criminal Court: A Pan-African Victory and of Le Panafricanisme d'Hier à Demain et la Philosophie Ubuntu. He is fluent in English, French and Spanish.
Professor of Pan-Africana Studies and History
Dr. Zizwe Poe teaches in the Pan-Africana Studies and History programs at Lincoln University where he has taught for 23 years. He is a scholar/activist that has participated in Pan-African activity for more than a half-century. He is published widely in Pan-African publications but is probably best known for his work on Kwame Nkrumah's Contribution to Pan-Africanism: An Afrocentric Analysis. The French edition of this text was published in 2023 and is titled La contribution de Kwame Nkrumah en faveur du Panafricanisme: une Analyse Afrocentrique.
Dr. Poe was an active member of Nkrumah's second political party, the All-African People's Revolutionary Party, for 25 years. He has worked in academic institutions from 1984 until present, continuously focusing on the works of Pan-African liberation organizations, especially those connected to Nkrumah.
Dr. Poe has participated in several international endeavors and presented discussions on Pan-Africanism in the United Nations, African Union, Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana, Libya, and Egypt, where he leads tours known as Older Testament Tours. Professor Poe connects the importance of ‘historical consciousness’ to the understanding of Pan-African identity similar to Marcus Garvey and Kwame Nkrumah did.
He claims one of his most important achievements is his working relationship with KRS-ONE, the founder of the Temple of Hiphop. It was through KRS-ONE's relationship with Professor Poe that self-conscious hip hop culture was introduced to Kwame Ture (formerly known as Stokely Carmichael) and information on Pan-Africanism became a standard in international Hip Hop. Dr. Zizwe Poe is the president of the African Heritage Studies Association (AHSA).
Assistant Professor of Pan-Africana Studies
Jordan Denson is an Assistant Professor of Pan-Africana Studies at Lincoln University. Dr. Denson teaches and has taught the following courses:
He is a lifetime resident of Chester County, Pennsylvania, where he grew up in Oxford. He is passionate about learning, music, spending time with his family, sports, and teaching. He has worked in the university environment since 2011. His advising experience with Lincoln University students is extensive, as he has experience with the Act 101 Program as both a Counselor and Coordinator. He has also served as the Coordinator of the Early Monitoring Alert Program. Dr. Denson's experience with supportive writing training includes serving as Writing Tutor and teacher for the Upward Bound Program.
Dr. Denson's doctoral research focused on African agency in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and the surrounding area from 1850 to 1865. His favorite memory while attending Lincoln University as an undergraduate is when he traveled to Kemet (Egypt) in 2008 with a classmate, Dr. Zizwe Poe, Professor Evelyn Poe, and the Poe family to explore the culture, engineering, and Mdu Ntr (hieroglyphics) he studied while taking courses at the institution related to ancient Nile Valley civilizations.
Lecturer in History, Pan-Africana Studies, Philosophy and Religion
Professor Poe is a Lecturer in the Department of History, Pan-Africana Studies, Philosophy and Religion at Lincoln University. During her 21 years at Lincoln University, Professor Poe has held long-term positions in service areas, which include associate vice president of student success, academic support, associate director of the First-Year Program, and teaching in LU's former Education Department.
A highlight of her LU experience is her international work with students. Professor Poe traveled to Nigeria and was instrumental in collaborating with LU's International Programs office to award 20 students out of 2,000 applicants from Bayelsa State, Nigeria, as full scholarship recipients to matriculate through LU, the alma mater of Nigeria's first president, Nnamdi Azikiwe, '29. Professor Poe also developed the ‘first-year student study abroad program’ in Burgos, Spain, and accompanied students each summer. Students who completed their first year at LU earned nine to twelve credits studying Pan-Africana Studies, Beginning Spanish, and Spanish/Moorish Culture. Additionally, Professor Poe has organized and accompanied students on Pan-African tours to Egypt on the Older Testament Tour.
Throughout her decades of teaching career and service, Professor Poe developed a research interest centered around Pan-African-centered pedagogy, curriculum design, and student empowerment. She has taught every level of student, from kindergarteners through college seniors, and in-service teacher professional development. She has taught in public, private, parochial, home-school, independent African-centered, and university education spheres.
Professor Poe was an active member of the organization called for by LU's illustrious alumnus, Kwame Nkrumah, '39 — the All-African People's Revolutionary Party — and was instrumental in organizing the All-African Women's Revolutionary Union. Professor Poe has mentored, advocated for, and coached hundreds of LU students through to graduation while focusing on promoting Pan-African education.
