Department of African American Studies - Syracuse University
Encyclopedia
The Department of African American Studies
(AAS) at Syracuse University is a leading Africana studies
department in the United States. It is a prominent independent department at Syracuse University that has had a long history of activism and scholarship in Black and Pan African Studies. The Department has supports an external community based unit that is a part of the department and has played a central role in shaping culture and arts in the Syracuse city community - Community Folk Art Center (CFAC). It has also supported the Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company (PRPAC) in the past. These are both independent units that were housed or founded by the department Mugo, Micere 'Message from the Chair’ - Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, 2007-2008 The department also houses the award winning library, Martin Luther King Jr Memorial Library. It currently oversees the internationally recognized university wide initiative ‘Africa Initiative’. Its other projects include the nationally recognized 'Paris Noir
' and the Ford Foundation
Environmental Justice and Gender Project. Mugo, Micere 'Message from the Chair’ - Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, 2007-2008 It has had a long history of activism within the university, surrounding community, and abroad through its strong international network. The AAS department has housed many renowned scholars in African, Afro-Caribbean
, African-American, Afro-Latin American
, Afro-European
studies.
, demanding that the university offer Black Studies classes that highlighted and included the intellectual, historical and cultural contributions of African Americans. Powell, Karla, “A Look Back through Our struggles”, Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, Special -Edition, 2004/2005 . The administration at Syracuse University subsequently began to make concessions by offering Black Studies classes as an elective. . African American Studies (AAS) began as a program in 1972 and then became a department as part of the College of Arts and Sciences
in 1979. It is has now grown into a national and international renowned program that explores linkages between Africa
and the African Diaspora
. It continues to pioneer revolutionary thinking in its projects, programs, and academics.
The Department of African American Studies
(AAS) at Syracuse University is a leading Africana studies
department in the United States. It is a prominent independent department at Syracuse University that has had a long history of activism and scholarship in Black and Pan African Studies. The Department has supports an external community based unit that is a part of the department and has played a central role in shaping culture and arts in the Syracuse city community - Community Folk Art Center (CFAC). It has also supported the Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company (PRPAC) in the past. These are both independent units that were housed or founded by the department Mugo, Micere 'Message from the Chair’ - Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, 2007-2008 The department also houses the award winning library, Martin Luther King Jr Memorial Library. It currently oversees the internationally recognized university wide initiative ‘Africa Initiative’. Its other projects include the nationally recognized 'Paris Noir
' and the Ford Foundation
Environmental Justice and Gender Project. Mugo, Micere 'Message from the Chair’ - Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, 2007-2008 It has had a long history of activism within the university, surrounding community, and abroad through its strong international network. The AAS department has housed many renowned scholars in African, Afro-Caribbean
, African-American, Afro-Latin American
, Afro-European
studies.
, demanding that the university offer Black Studies classes that highlighted and included the intellectual, historical and cultural contributions of African Americans. Powell, Karla, “A Look Back through Our struggles”, Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, Special -Edition, 2004/2005 . The administration at Syracuse University subsequently began to make concessions by offering Black Studies classes as an elective. http://aas.syr.edu/about/history.html. John Robert Greene, Syracuse University: Eggers Years 1998 p 98 Cited in: http://books.google.com/books?id=kd2MsADwS14C&pg=PA98&dq=syracuse+university+Black+Studies&hl=en&ei=mc6wTqWVMLH02wXv6I2tAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CD4Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=syracuse%20university%20Black%20Studies&f=false African American Studies (AAS) began as a program in 1972 and then became a department as part of the College of Arts and Sciences
in 1979. http://aas.syr.edu/about/history.html It is has now grown into a national and international renowned program that explores linkages between Africa
and the African Diaspora
. It continues to pioneer revolutionary thinking in its projects, programs, and academics.
The Department of African American Studies
(AAS) at Syracuse University is a leading Africana studies
department in the United States. It is a prominent independent department at Syracuse University that has had a long history of activism and scholarship in Black and Pan African Studies. The Department has supports an external community based unit that is a part of the department and has played a central role in shaping culture and arts in the Syracuse city community - Community Folk Art Center (CFAC). It has also supported the Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company (PRPAC) in the past. These are both independent units that were housed or founded by the department Mugo, Micere 'Message from the Chair’ - Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, 2007-2008 The department also houses the award winning library, Martin Luther King Jr Memorial Library. It currently oversees the internationally recognized university wide initiative ‘Africa Initiative’. Its other projects include the nationally recognized 'Paris Noir
' and the Ford Foundation
Environmental Justice and Gender Project. Mugo, Micere 'Message from the Chair’ - Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, 2007-2008 It has had a long history of activism within the university, surrounding community, and abroad through its strong international network. The AAS department has housed many renowned scholars in African, Afro-Caribbean
, African-American, Afro-Latin American
, Afro-European
studies.
, demanding that the university offer Black Studies classes that highlighted and included the intellectual, historical and cultural contributions of African Americans. Powell, Karla, “A Look Back through Our struggles”, Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, Special -Edition, 2004/2005 . The administration at Syracuse University subsequently began to make concessions by offering Black Studies classes as an elective. http://aas.syr.edu/about/history.html. John Robert Greene, Syracuse University: Eggers Years 1998 p 98 Cited in: http://books.google.com/books?id=kd2MsADwS14C&pg=PA98&dq=syracuse+university+Black+Studies&hl=en&ei=mc6wTqWVMLH02wXv6I2tAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CD4Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=syracuse%20university%20Black%20Studies&f=false African American Studies (AAS) began as a program in 1972 and then became a department as part of the College of Arts and Sciences
in 1979. http://aas.syr.edu/about/history.html It is has now grown into a national and international renowned program that explores linkages between Africa
and the African Diaspora
. It continues to pioneer revolutionary thinking in its projects, programs, and academics.
Evans, Stephanie Y. African Americans and community engagement in higher education: community. 2009 SUNY PRESS. Cited in http://books.google.com/books?id=6j8Na6iADvMC&pg=PA20&dq=syracuse+university+Black+Studies&hl=en&ei=mc6wTqWVMLH02wXv6I2tAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CGMQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=syracuse%20university%20Black%20Studies&f=false
. It was named after African-American concert singer, recording artist, athlete, actor, and activist Paul Robeson
. Watkins, Jason ‘Interview with prof. Bill Rowland and Kheli Willetts’ - Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, Special Edition, 2004/2005 It became a part of the university and AAS in 1989 and has worked at improving art education on the Syracuse university campus and in the Syracuse community. http://www.university-hill.com/visit-the-hill/cultural-activities.html
and Zimbabwe
.
Program began is a unique program in Black Studies in the United States in both its design and delivery. Carty, Linda - Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, Special Edition, 2004/2005 p4 It began in 2005 as a uniquely innovative program that has an emphasis in the area studies of Africa, the Caribbean and the United States. Whereas most programs concentrate on history and biographies, it focuses on the linkages between Africa and the African Diaspora from a multi-disciplinary approach involving cultural, social scientific, political, economic and environmental perspectives http://aas.syr.edu/about/index.html. It also provides for intellectual inquiry into philosophy of Pan Africanism and Pan Africanism as a historical, cultural, and contemporary movement. It is the only masters program in Pan African studies that focuses on field research and theory. Baker, David, ‘Crossing Borders’ - Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, Special Edition, 2004/2005 The Program has an experiential component through affiliations that the department has with institutions abroad that leads to all students studying in Africa, the Caribbean, Canada, or African American sites. http://aas.syr.edu/graduate/index.html
.http://africainitiative.syr.edu/ Its aim is to also address Africa’s silencing, marginalization and stereotyping. Makuja, Darius Rev., ‘The Africa Initiative Statement’ - Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, Special Edition, 2004/2005 . It also aims to revitalize interest in Africa as an area of study after the decline of the East African Studies Program at Syracuse University which initiated projects including the Eduardo Mondlane
Lecture Series. The East African program had also been instrumental in spearheading an east African library collection at Syracuse’s Bird Library that includes the Kenyan and Tanzanian national archives (one of the few collections of these archives in the United States).
Memorial Lecture Series’. The lecture series was named after the founder of Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO),Eduardo Mondlane
, who was also a former professor at Syracuse University. In recent years, it has become more important in keeping a focus on topical issue on Africa in academia. The lecture series was originally administered by the East African Studies Program at Syracuse University that is now dissolved http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/cabralnlac.html For several years, this interactive series has brought scholars, students, and the community together to discuss pertinent issues concerning Africa to the university. It is during one of these lecture series on on February 20, 1970, that Guinea-Bissaun nationalist Amílcar Cabral
delivered his famous speech "National Liberation and Culture" at Syracuse University http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/cabralnlac.html. Other notable speakers in the series have included UN Ambassador to Rwanda Stanilas Kamanzi(2003), Ethiopian Ambassador Kasshun Ayele, and writer Veronique Tadjo
, Dr. Efemini Andrew, and Jerome Verdier
, the chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Liberia.
collection. http://mlklibrary.syr.edu/mission.html. The materials also include special acquisitions for the Africa collection, Caribbean collection, Afro-European collection and Afro-Central American collection.
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...
(AAS) at Syracuse University is a leading Africana studies
Africana studies
In United States education, Africana studies, or Africology is the study of the histories, politics and cultures of peoples of African origin both in Africa and in the African diaspora....
department in the United States. It is a prominent independent department at Syracuse University that has had a long history of activism and scholarship in Black and Pan African Studies. The Department has supports an external community based unit that is a part of the department and has played a central role in shaping culture and arts in the Syracuse city community - Community Folk Art Center (CFAC). It has also supported the Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company (PRPAC) in the past. These are both independent units that were housed or founded by the department Mugo, Micere 'Message from the Chair’ - Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, 2007-2008 The department also houses the award winning library, Martin Luther King Jr Memorial Library. It currently oversees the internationally recognized university wide initiative ‘Africa Initiative’. Its other projects include the nationally recognized 'Paris Noir
Janis Mayes
Dr. Janis Alene Mayes is leading American author, literary critic,literary translator and professor in Africana literature. She has made literary contributions in French and English language literature in the African Diaspora. Her specialties are in french translation literary practices. She has...
' and the Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
Environmental Justice and Gender Project. Mugo, Micere 'Message from the Chair’ - Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, 2007-2008 It has had a long history of activism within the university, surrounding community, and abroad through its strong international network. The AAS department has housed many renowned scholars in African, Afro-Caribbean
Afro-Caribbean
The term Afro-Caribbean applies to Caribbean people of African descent. It may also refer to:*British African-Caribbean community*Afro-Caribbean music*Caribbean Australian*Caribbean Brazilian*West Indian American...
, African-American, Afro-Latin American
Afro-Latin American
An Afro-Latin American is a Latin American person of at least partial Black African ancestry; the term may also refer to historical or cultural elements in Latin America thought to emanate from this community...
, Afro-European
Afro-European
Black people in Europe are black people who are residents or citizens of European countries...
studies.
History
The AAS department was created in the spirit of revolutionary thinking. Syracuse students were amongst one of the first in the United States to rebel against institutionalized injustices in education in the 1960's. In response to the civil rights movement, in 1968 Black students at Syracuse University staged a protest outside of S. I. Newhouse School of Public CommunicationsS. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications is the communications school at Syracuse University. It has programs in print and broadcast journalism; advertising; public relations; and television and film....
, demanding that the university offer Black Studies classes that highlighted and included the intellectual, historical and cultural contributions of African Americans. Powell, Karla, “A Look Back through Our struggles”, Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, Special -Edition, 2004/2005 . The administration at Syracuse University subsequently began to make concessions by offering Black Studies classes as an elective. . African American Studies (AAS) began as a program in 1972 and then became a department as part of the College of Arts and Sciences
Syracuse University College of Arts and Sciences
The Syracuse College of Arts and Sciences was established in 1870 as the founding college at Syracuse University.It houses three academic divisions: Sciences and Mathematics, the Humanities, and the Social Sciences. The Social Science division is jointly administered with Maxwell School of...
in 1979. It is has now grown into a national and international renowned program that explores linkages between Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and the African Diaspora
African diaspora
The African diaspora was the movement of Africans and their descendants to places throughout the world—predominantly to the Americas also to Europe, the Middle East and other places around the globe...
. It continues to pioneer revolutionary thinking in its projects, programs, and academics.
Community Folk Art Center (CFAC)
CFAC is an extension of AAS founded in 1972 by Herbert T. Williams and Harry Morgan that aims at showcasing Black art and artists.The Department of 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...
(AAS) at Syracuse University is a leading Africana studies
Africana studies
In United States education, Africana studies, or Africology is the study of the histories, politics and cultures of peoples of African origin both in Africa and in the African diaspora....
department in the United States. It is a prominent independent department at Syracuse University that has had a long history of activism and scholarship in Black and Pan African Studies. The Department has supports an external community based unit that is a part of the department and has played a central role in shaping culture and arts in the Syracuse city community - Community Folk Art Center (CFAC). It has also supported the Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company (PRPAC) in the past. These are both independent units that were housed or founded by the department Mugo, Micere 'Message from the Chair’ - Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, 2007-2008 The department also houses the award winning library, Martin Luther King Jr Memorial Library. It currently oversees the internationally recognized university wide initiative ‘Africa Initiative’. Its other projects include the nationally recognized 'Paris Noir
Janis Mayes
Dr. Janis Alene Mayes is leading American author, literary critic,literary translator and professor in Africana literature. She has made literary contributions in French and English language literature in the African Diaspora. Her specialties are in french translation literary practices. She has...
' and the Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
Environmental Justice and Gender Project. Mugo, Micere 'Message from the Chair’ - Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, 2007-2008 It has had a long history of activism within the university, surrounding community, and abroad through its strong international network. The AAS department has housed many renowned scholars in African, Afro-Caribbean
Afro-Caribbean
The term Afro-Caribbean applies to Caribbean people of African descent. It may also refer to:*British African-Caribbean community*Afro-Caribbean music*Caribbean Australian*Caribbean Brazilian*West Indian American...
, African-American, Afro-Latin American
Afro-Latin American
An Afro-Latin American is a Latin American person of at least partial Black African ancestry; the term may also refer to historical or cultural elements in Latin America thought to emanate from this community...
, Afro-European
Afro-European
Black people in Europe are black people who are residents or citizens of European countries...
studies.
History
The AAS department was created in the spirit of revolutionary thinkingPan African Studies Newsletter, 'history' Department of African American studies, Syracuse University 2004 p1. Syracuse students were amongst one of the first in the United States to rebel against institutionalized injustices in education in the 1960's. In response to the civil rights movement, in 1968 Black students at Syracuse University staged a protest outside of S. I. Newhouse School of Public CommunicationsS. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications is the communications school at Syracuse University. It has programs in print and broadcast journalism; advertising; public relations; and television and film....
, demanding that the university offer Black Studies classes that highlighted and included the intellectual, historical and cultural contributions of African Americans. Powell, Karla, “A Look Back through Our struggles”, Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, Special -Edition, 2004/2005 . The administration at Syracuse University subsequently began to make concessions by offering Black Studies classes as an elective. http://aas.syr.edu/about/history.html. John Robert Greene, Syracuse University: Eggers Years 1998 p 98 Cited in: http://books.google.com/books?id=kd2MsADwS14C&pg=PA98&dq=syracuse+university+Black+Studies&hl=en&ei=mc6wTqWVMLH02wXv6I2tAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CD4Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=syracuse%20university%20Black%20Studies&f=false African American Studies (AAS) began as a program in 1972 and then became a department as part of the College of Arts and Sciences
Syracuse University College of Arts and Sciences
The Syracuse College of Arts and Sciences was established in 1870 as the founding college at Syracuse University.It houses three academic divisions: Sciences and Mathematics, the Humanities, and the Social Sciences. The Social Science division is jointly administered with Maxwell School of...
in 1979. http://aas.syr.edu/about/history.html It is has now grown into a national and international renowned program that explores linkages between Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and the African Diaspora
African diaspora
The African diaspora was the movement of Africans and their descendants to places throughout the world—predominantly to the Americas also to Europe, the Middle East and other places around the globe...
. It continues to pioneer revolutionary thinking in its projects, programs, and academics.
Community Folk Art Center (CFAC)
CFAC is an extension of AAS founded in 1972 by Herbert T. Williams and Harry Morgan that aims at showcasing Black art and artists.The Department of 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...
(AAS) at Syracuse University is a leading Africana studies
Africana studies
In United States education, Africana studies, or Africology is the study of the histories, politics and cultures of peoples of African origin both in Africa and in the African diaspora....
department in the United States. It is a prominent independent department at Syracuse University that has had a long history of activism and scholarship in Black and Pan African Studies. The Department has supports an external community based unit that is a part of the department and has played a central role in shaping culture and arts in the Syracuse city community - Community Folk Art Center (CFAC). It has also supported the Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company (PRPAC) in the past. These are both independent units that were housed or founded by the department Mugo, Micere 'Message from the Chair’ - Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, 2007-2008 The department also houses the award winning library, Martin Luther King Jr Memorial Library. It currently oversees the internationally recognized university wide initiative ‘Africa Initiative’. Its other projects include the nationally recognized 'Paris Noir
Janis Mayes
Dr. Janis Alene Mayes is leading American author, literary critic,literary translator and professor in Africana literature. She has made literary contributions in French and English language literature in the African Diaspora. Her specialties are in french translation literary practices. She has...
' and the Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
Environmental Justice and Gender Project. Mugo, Micere 'Message from the Chair’ - Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, 2007-2008 It has had a long history of activism within the university, surrounding community, and abroad through its strong international network. The AAS department has housed many renowned scholars in African, Afro-Caribbean
Afro-Caribbean
The term Afro-Caribbean applies to Caribbean people of African descent. It may also refer to:*British African-Caribbean community*Afro-Caribbean music*Caribbean Australian*Caribbean Brazilian*West Indian American...
, African-American, Afro-Latin American
Afro-Latin American
An Afro-Latin American is a Latin American person of at least partial Black African ancestry; the term may also refer to historical or cultural elements in Latin America thought to emanate from this community...
, Afro-European
Afro-European
Black people in Europe are black people who are residents or citizens of European countries...
studies.
History
The AAS department was created in the spirit of revolutionary thinkingPan African Studies Newsletter, 'history' Department of African American studies, Syracuse University 2004 p1. Syracuse students were amongst one of the first in the United States to rebel against institutionalized injustices in education in the 1960's. In response to the civil rights movement, in 1968 Black students at Syracuse University staged a protest outside of S. I. Newhouse School of Public CommunicationsS. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications is the communications school at Syracuse University. It has programs in print and broadcast journalism; advertising; public relations; and television and film....
, demanding that the university offer Black Studies classes that highlighted and included the intellectual, historical and cultural contributions of African Americans. Powell, Karla, “A Look Back through Our struggles”, Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, Special -Edition, 2004/2005 . The administration at Syracuse University subsequently began to make concessions by offering Black Studies classes as an elective. http://aas.syr.edu/about/history.html. John Robert Greene, Syracuse University: Eggers Years 1998 p 98 Cited in: http://books.google.com/books?id=kd2MsADwS14C&pg=PA98&dq=syracuse+university+Black+Studies&hl=en&ei=mc6wTqWVMLH02wXv6I2tAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CD4Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=syracuse%20university%20Black%20Studies&f=false African American Studies (AAS) began as a program in 1972 and then became a department as part of the College of Arts and Sciences
Syracuse University College of Arts and Sciences
The Syracuse College of Arts and Sciences was established in 1870 as the founding college at Syracuse University.It houses three academic divisions: Sciences and Mathematics, the Humanities, and the Social Sciences. The Social Science division is jointly administered with Maxwell School of...
in 1979. http://aas.syr.edu/about/history.html It is has now grown into a national and international renowned program that explores linkages between Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and the African Diaspora
African diaspora
The African diaspora was the movement of Africans and their descendants to places throughout the world—predominantly to the Americas also to Europe, the Middle East and other places around the globe...
. It continues to pioneer revolutionary thinking in its projects, programs, and academics.
Community Folk Art Center (CFAC)
CFAC is an extension of AAS founded in 1972 by Herbert T. Williams and Harry Morgan that aims at showcasing Black art and artists. Watkins, Jason ‘Interview with prof. Bill Rowland and Kheli Willetts’ - Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, Special Edition, 2004/2005 http://communityfolkartcenter.org/aboutus.htmIt hosts exhibitions, films, artist workshops, art classes, and dance performances for the community and students. Watkins, Jason ‘Interview with prof. Bill Rowland and Kheli Willetts’ - Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, Special Edition, 2004/2005 It is housed with the Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company, Inc. (PRPAC) and serves as an artistic hub in the Syracuse community. ‘ Mugo, Micere Message from the Chair’ - Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, 2007-2008 http://communityfolkartcenter.org/. Past exhibits at the Community Folk Art Gallery include works by Palmer HaydenPalmer Hayden
Palmer C. Hayden was an American painter who depicted African American life. He painted in both oils and watercolors, and was a prolific artist of his era.-Early life:...
Evans, Stephanie Y. African Americans and community engagement in higher education: community. 2009 SUNY PRESS. Cited in http://books.google.com/books?id=6j8Na6iADvMC&pg=PA20&dq=syracuse+university+Black+Studies&hl=en&ei=mc6wTqWVMLH02wXv6I2tAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CGMQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=syracuse%20university%20Black%20Studies&f=false
Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company (PRPAC)
A former unit of AAS, the Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company, Inc. (PRPAC) was founded by William H. Rowland and Roy Delemos in 1982 as a non-profit performing arts company. It was founded as a non-profit performing arts company in SyracuseSyracuse
Syracuse, as a place name, may refer to:In Italy:* Syracuse, Sicily* the Province of SyracuseIn the United States:* Syracuse, New York* Syracuse, Indiana* Syracuse, Kansas* Syracuse, Missouri* Syracuse, Nebraska* Syracuse, Ohio* Syracuse, Utah...
. It was named after African-American concert singer, recording artist, athlete, actor, and activist Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
. Watkins, Jason ‘Interview with prof. Bill Rowland and Kheli Willetts’ - Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, Special Edition, 2004/2005 It became a part of the university and AAS in 1989 and has worked at improving art education on the Syracuse university campus and in the Syracuse community. http://www.university-hill.com/visit-the-hill/cultural-activities.html
Undergraduate Studies
The department offers a major and minor in African American studies that is interdisciplinary and focuses on international studies ‘ Simson, Renate & Norton, Holly K. ‘Conversations with the Director of Undergraduate Studies’ - Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, 2007-2008 p 3. The undergraduate studies program focuses on community involvement and on building an international experience for students.http://aas.syr.edu/. It has pioneered groundbreaking study abroad programs like “Paris Noir", "Beyond the Beach:The Caribbean as a Place, Not just Playground", and a study abroad programs centered on Black AustriaAustria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
.
Pan African Studies
The Masters in Pan African StudiesAfricana studies
In United States education, Africana studies, or Africology is the study of the histories, politics and cultures of peoples of African origin both in Africa and in the African diaspora....
Program began is a unique program in Black Studies in the United States in both its design and delivery. Carty, Linda - Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, Special Edition, 2004/2005 p4 It began in 2005 as a uniquely innovative program that has an emphasis in the area studies of Africa, the Caribbean and the United States. Whereas most programs concentrate on history and biographies, it focuses on the linkages between Africa and the African Diaspora from a multi-disciplinary approach involving cultural, social scientific, political, economic and environmental perspectives http://aas.syr.edu/about/index.html. It also provides for intellectual inquiry into philosophy of Pan Africanism and Pan Africanism as a historical, cultural, and contemporary movement. It is the only masters program in Pan African studies that focuses on field research and theory. Baker, David, ‘Crossing Borders’ - Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, Special Edition, 2004/2005 The Program has an experiential component through affiliations that the department has with institutions abroad that leads to all students studying in Africa, the Caribbean, Canada, or African American sites. http://aas.syr.edu/graduate/index.html
Africa Initiative
The AAS department views Africa as an integral part of its scholarly vision and mission. The Africa Initiative (AI) is located in the department of African American studies and was launched in 2001 with a goal of focusing on Africa. AI aims at spearheading revitalized interest in Africa, which has declined in many United States institutions of higher learning since the end of the “Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
.http://africainitiative.syr.edu/ Its aim is to also address Africa’s silencing, marginalization and stereotyping. Makuja, Darius Rev., ‘The Africa Initiative Statement’ - Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, Special Edition, 2004/2005 . It also aims to revitalize interest in Africa as an area of study after the decline of the East African Studies Program at Syracuse University which initiated projects including the Eduardo Mondlane
Eduardo Mondlane
Eduardo Chivambo Mondlane served as President of the Mozambican Liberation Front from 1962, the year that FRELIMO was founded in Tanzania, until his assassination in 1969.-Early life:...
Lecture Series. The East African program had also been instrumental in spearheading an east African library collection at Syracuse’s Bird Library that includes the Kenyan and Tanzanian national archives (one of the few collections of these archives in the United States).
Eduardo Mondlane Brown Bag Lecture Series
AI administers the ‘Eduardo MondlaneEduardo Mondlane
Eduardo Chivambo Mondlane served as President of the Mozambican Liberation Front from 1962, the year that FRELIMO was founded in Tanzania, until his assassination in 1969.-Early life:...
Memorial Lecture Series’. The lecture series was named after the founder of Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO),Eduardo Mondlane
Eduardo Mondlane
Eduardo Chivambo Mondlane served as President of the Mozambican Liberation Front from 1962, the year that FRELIMO was founded in Tanzania, until his assassination in 1969.-Early life:...
, who was also a former professor at Syracuse University. In recent years, it has become more important in keeping a focus on topical issue on Africa in academia. The lecture series was originally administered by the East African Studies Program at Syracuse University that is now dissolved http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/cabralnlac.html For several years, this interactive series has brought scholars, students, and the community together to discuss pertinent issues concerning Africa to the university. It is during one of these lecture series on on February 20, 1970, that Guinea-Bissaun nationalist Amílcar Cabral
Amílcar Cabral
Amílcar Lopes da Costa Cabral was a Guinea-Bissauan and Cape Verdean agricultural engineer, writer, and a nationalist thinker and politician. Also known by his nom de guerre Abel Djassi, Cabral led the nationalist movement of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde Islands and the ensuing war of independence...
delivered his famous speech "National Liberation and Culture" at Syracuse University http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/cabralnlac.html. Other notable speakers in the series have included UN Ambassador to Rwanda Stanilas Kamanzi(2003), Ethiopian Ambassador Kasshun Ayele, and writer Veronique Tadjo
Véronique Tadjo
Véronique Tadjo is a writer, poet, novelist, and artist from Côte d'Ivoire.Born in Paris, Véronique Tadjo was the daughter of an Ivorian civil servant and a French painter and sculptor. Brought up in Abidjan, she travelled widely with her family. Tadjo completed her BA degree at the University of...
, Dr. Efemini Andrew, and Jerome Verdier
Jerome Verdier
Jerome J. Verdier Sr. is a leading human rights activist and environmental lawyer in Liberia. In 2006, Verdier was also selected to serve as chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee for Liberia....
, the chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Liberia.
Symposia and Conferences
AI periodically hosts major symposia and conferences. In the past, this included the WEB Du Bois and The Crisis Magazine Symposia and International Human Rights Celebration.Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
The MLK library was founded by the Syracuse student organization SAAS (Student African American Society) in 1968. It is currently one of the few university libraries in the country that has an entire library with a dedicated African American collection Baker, David ‘Multicultural Resources’ - Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, Special Edition, 2004/2005 Drake, Miriam A Encyclopedia of library and information science, second edition 2005 p45 http://books.google.com/books?id=b9tdjofCdK4C&pg=PA45&dq=syracuse+university+Black+Studies&hl=en&ei=mc6wTqWVMLH02wXv6I2tAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=syracuse%20university%20Black%20Studies&f=false It consists of video, art, non-print titles, books and journals. It has a special collection, the Harriet TubmanHarriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Harriet Ross; (1820 – 1913) was an African-American abolitionist, humanitarian, and Union spy during the American Civil War. After escaping from slavery, into which she was born, she made thirteen missions to rescue more than 70 slaves...
collection. http://mlklibrary.syr.edu/mission.html. The materials also include special acquisitions for the Africa collection, Caribbean collection, Afro-European collection and Afro-Central American collection.
Ford Foundation Grant
The Department received a Ford Foundation grant in order to support the development of gender and environmental justice in Africana studies nationally. Carty, Linda ‘AAS Gets Ford Foundation Grant’ - Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, 2007-2008 p 12 . This facilitated a Black feminist lecture series, research grants, Community Mapping and Photovoice Research project, and symposiums for Black women and other minorities.Notable Forums and Colloquia
- MLK Jr Lectures: The colloquium brings speakers to the campus and in the past has included speakers like –Mary Frances BerryMary Frances BerryMary Frances Berry is the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania and the former chairwoman of the United States Commission on Civil Rights. She is also the former board chair of Pacifica Radio...
, Jayne CortezJayne CortezJayne Cortez is an American poet, and performance artist.-Biography:She grew up in California. She is the author of ten books of poems and performer of her poetry with music on nine recordings. Her voice is celebrated for its political, surrealistic, dynamic innovations in lyricism, and visceral...
‘ Simson Renate & Norton, Holly K. ‘Conversations with the Director of Undergraduate Studies’ - Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, 2007-2008 p. 3 - Black feminist lecture series: Since 2007, a feminist lecture series has brought notable speakers to the campus including Patricia McFaddenPatricia McFaddenDr. Patricia McFadden is a radical African feminist, sociologist, writer, educator, and publisher from Swaziland. She is also an activist and scholar who worked in the anti-apartheid movement for more than 20 years. McFadden has worked in the African and global women’s movements as well. As a...
, Nellie Hester-Bailey, Carole Boyce Davies. Carty, Linda ‘AAS Gets Ford Foundation Grant’ - Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter, 2007-2008 p 12 - Other notable Guest Speakers include: Merle CollinsMerle Collins-Life:Her parents are Grenadian, they returned there shorty after her birth.She studied in St Georges.a degree in English and Spanish, in 1972.She taught History and Spanish in Grenada, and in St Lucia....
, Manning MarableManning MarableWilliam Manning Marable was an American professor of public affairs, history and African-American Studies at Columbia University. Marable founded and directed the Institute for Research in African-American Studies. Marable authored several texts and was active in progressive political causes...
, David Driscoll,Sonia SanchezSonia SanchezSonia Sanchez is an African American poet most often associated with the Black Arts Movement. She has authored over a dozen books of poetry, as well as plays and children's books...
Publications
AAS used to publish an annual newsletter, Pan African Studies newsletter from 2003 - 2008 that focused on Black Studies and the department that is no longer published.Notable Faculty
- Horace CampbellHorace CampbellHorace G. Campbell is a noted international peace and justice scholar and Professor of African American Studies and Political Science at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. Born in 1945 , he has been involved in Africa's Liberation Struggles and in the struggles for peace and justice...
- Political Scientist - Bill ColeBill ColeWilliam Shadrack Cole is an American jazz musician and educator. Cole, most unusually for his genre, specializes in non-Western wind instruments, including the Ghanaian atenteben, Chinese suona, Korean hojok and piri, South Indian nagaswaram, North Indian shehnai, Tibetan trumpet, and Australian...
- Author, Musicologist - Linda Carty (sociologist)Linda Carty (sociologist)Dr Linda Carty is a sociologist, activist, anti-racist feminist and educator of Caribbean heritage from Canada . She is also an author and essayist. She has also made contributions on environmental justice issues in Onondaga County in Ms Magazine and presented her work in several conferences. Her...
- Sociologist - Janis MayesJanis MayesDr. Janis Alene Mayes is leading American author, literary critic,literary translator and professor in Africana literature. She has made literary contributions in French and English language literature in the African Diaspora. Her specialties are in french translation literary practices. She has...
- Author, Literary critic - Micere Mugo - Activist, Poet, Playwright
- Milton SernettMilton SernettMilton C Sernett is a historian, author, and professor at Syracuse University. He has published many books, articles and book chapters on African American history. His published works in African-American history focus on abolitionism, religion, biographies and the Underground Railroad...
- Author, Historian - Renate SimsonRenate SimsonDr. Renate Marie Simson is an American author and professor of African American literature and writing. Her work has been influential in African American literature and identity studies. Her articles focus on works of the 19th century African American Writers...
- Author
Distinguished Visiting Professors/Faculty
- Angela DavisAngela DavisAngela Davis is an American political activist, scholar, and author. Davis was most politically active during the late 1960s through the 1970s and was associated with the Communist Party USA, the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Panther Party...
http://aas.syr.edu/about/history.html/ - American civil rights activist, author - Patricia McFaddenPatricia McFaddenDr. Patricia McFadden is a radical African feminist, sociologist, writer, educator, and publisher from Swaziland. She is also an activist and scholar who worked in the anti-apartheid movement for more than 20 years. McFadden has worked in the African and global women’s movements as well. As a...
http://aas.syr.edu/about/history.html - Swazi sociologist, feminist