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A formal proposal to divide the Department of African and African American Studies into two units (the African Studies Program and the Department of African American Studies) is currently being submitted to the Senate and we anticipate action in early 2012.
If approved by the Senate, the mission of the Department of African American Studies will be to cultivate a critical understanding of the forms of knowledge and culture that African-descended peoples in the Americas have produced, as well as of the sociopolitical, cultural, and economic conditions under which they have done this work.
The Department envisions a vibrant community of inquirers and interlocutors organized around the study of African American life at Penn State, and is keen to play its part in creating and maintaining that community.
For more information about the proposed Department of African American Studies, call (814) 863-4243.
If approved by the Senate, the African Studies Program will be home to a diverse and active faculty who teach, conduct research, and publish in the areas of African history, politics, culture, economics, geography, linguistics, and health. Our exciting African Studies curriculum will cover an undergraduate BA (major and minor) and a new dual-title doctoral degree (to start in Fall 2012). The interdisciplinary strength of our distinguished core faculty will make it possible for us to offer a suite of thought-provoking undergraduate courses on a regular basis, together with new graduate seminars (when that program becomes operative).
For more information about the proposed African Studies Program, call (814) 863-4243.
Current African and African American Studies Curriculum Information:
African and African American Studies BA
African and African American Studies BS
Current list of African and African American Studies Faculty
Spring 2012 Events
Feb 3, 2012 - 3:30 p.m. - Public Lecture, "The Nexus: Women, Religion, Race, and Civil Rights."
Bettye Collier-Thomas, Professor of History, Temple University
151 Willard Building, ITEC room
Feb 24-25, 2012 - 12:15 p.m. - 37th Annual Conference of the New York African Studies Association (NYASA)
"Africans in the Americas and African Americans in Africa: the Shifting Boundaries of Citizenship in the 21st Century"
Organized by Darryl Thomas, Associate Professor of African American Studies, Penn State
Mar 14, 2012 - 3:30 p.m. - Public Lecture, "From the Ground Up: Recentering Local Civil Rights Narratives."
Charles McKinney, Associate Professor of History, Associate Director of African American Studies, Rhodes College
251 Willard Building, ITEC room
Mar 28, 2012 - 3:30 p.m. - An Evening with the Affrilachian Poets:
Bianca Spriggs (director, "Waterbody"; author, Kaffir Lily and How Swallowtails Become Dragons)
Mitchell Douglas (author, Cooling Board and \blak\ \al-fə bet\)
Ricardo Nazario y Colon (author, Of Jibaros and Hillbilies and The Recital)
Frank X. Walker (editor, America! What's My Name?; author, When Winter Come, Black Box and Affrilachia)
113 Carnegie Auditorium, ITEC room
Apr 4, 2012 - 3:30 p.m. - Public Lecture, "Future Bound: How Will Historians Remember Today's Hip-Hop Generation?"
Jeff Ogbar, Professor of History and Associate Dean for the Humanities, University of Connecticut
251 Willard Building, ITEC room
