Black Studies Program

Black Studies is a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the society, culture and history of Africans and people of African descent. Drawing on the expertise of scholars of the African and African-American experience in the fields of sociology, literature, the visual and performing arts, history, political science, education, economics, anthropology, and crime and justice studies.

Participating Faculty

Anupama Arora, BA 1995 University of Delhi, MA 1997 Jawaharlal Nehru University, PhD 2004 Tufts University, English

Tammi Arford, BA 2006 University of Florida, MA 2008 Northeastern University, PhD 2013 Northeastern University, Crime and Justice Studies

Anna Dempsey, BS 1978 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA 1990, MPhil 1991, PhD 1998 Columbia University, Art History

Shari Evans, BA University of Pennsylvania, MA, PhD University of New Mexico, English

John Fobanjong, BS 1984 Berea College, MA 1985 California Lutheran University, PhD 1989 University of Arizona, Political Science

Anna Klobucka, BA, MA 1986 University of Warsaw, PhD 1993 Harvard University, Portuguese, Women’s and Gender Studies

Erin Krafft, BA 2007 University of California, Berkeley, MA 2009 University of East Anglia , PhD 2015 Brown University Crime and Justice Studies

Lisa Maya Knauer, BA 1977 Oberlin College, MA 1999, PhD 2005 New York University, Sociology and Anthropology

Eric Larson, BA 1999 University of Minnesota, MA 2002 University of Colorado, PhD 2011 Brown University, Crime and Justice Studies

Vanessa Lovelace, BA 2008 University of California, MA 2011, PhD 2017 University of Connecticut, Crime and Justice Studies

Devon Lynch, BA 1992, MS 1996 University of the West Indies, MA , PhD 2005 University of Colorado, Economics and Public Policy

Toniqua Mikell, BA 2012 Winthrop University, MA 2014, PhD 2019 University of South Carolina, Crime and Justice Studies

Morgan J. Peters, English

Isabel F Rodrigues, BA 1991, MS 1993 Boston University, MFA 2006 Goddard College Vermont, Sociology and Anthropology

Viviane Saleh-Hanna (Director), BA 1998 University of Ottawa, MS 2000 Simon Fraser University, PhD 2008 Indiana University, Crime and Justice Studies

Mark Santow, BA 1989 Vanderbilt University, MA 1992 University of Massachusetts Amherst, PhD 2000 University of Pennsylvania, History

Bridget Teboh, BA 1986 University of Yaounde, MA 1994 University of California, PhD 2002 University of California, History

Heather Turcotte, BA 1997 George Washington University, MA 2002 San Francisco State University, PhD 2008 University of California, Crime and Justice Studies

Timothy Walker, BA 1986 Hiram College, MA 1990, PhD 2001 Boston UniversityHistory

Tryon Woods, BA 1995 Wesleyan University, MS 2000 Arizona State University, PhD 2007 University of California, Crime and Justice Studies

Selected Faculty in the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, Engineering, and Visual and Performing Arts also participate in offering courses.

Goals:

To emphasize the African and African-American contribution to world development
To broaden and deepen students’ understanding of Africa, the African diaspora and the American identity
To provide students of African descent with an opportunity to pursue a program of study directly relevant to their own lives and expose as many students as possible to African and African-American studies.