News
Dr. Akin Ogundiran has been named editor-in-chief of the highly ranked African Archaeological Review, the oldest continent-wide journal in African archaeology.
The People of the River: Identity and Environment in Black Amazonia, 1835-1945 (University of North Carolina Press, 2018). The book is a social and environmental history of Africa-descended people in Brazil’s Amazonian forest. It is a story of the difficult journey from slavery to peasantry, and how Black Amazonians used their environment to forge new […]
It is with heavy heart that we announce that our long-time colleague and mentor, Professor Ola Aborisade, joined the ancestors on October 23, 2018. He passed on in his Charlotte home, in the company of family members, including his wife of over fifty years, children, grandchildren, and many relatives. He was 86 years old. Professor […]
Welcome to the latest edition of AFRS Newsletter. We hope you enjoy reading it.
We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Julia Jordan-Zachery as the incoming chair of the Department of Africana Studies. She is a graduate of the University of Connecticut where she earned her Ph.D. in Political Science in 1997. Dr. Jordan-Zachery has been a tenured full professor in the Department of Public and Community Service Studies […]
Congratulations to Dr. Gregory Mixon (History and AFRS affiliate faculty) who has received a 2018-19 Fulbright U.S. Scholar grant to teach and conduct research in a Canadian institution. Named for Senator William Fulbright, the Fulbright Program aims to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other Countries. It […]
Carl DuPont is one of fifteen young scholars recognized in the 2018 Emerging Scholar list of the publication Diverse Issues in Higher Education. This annual recognition, now in its seventeenth year, is reserved for an exceptional group of minority scholars who represent the very best of the U.S. academy, have distinguished themselves in their various […]
Congratulations to Dr. Crystal Eddins, recipient of Brown University’s Ruth J. Simmons Postdoctoral Fellowship for 2018-19 academic year. She will be affiliated with the university’s Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice during the fellowship year, and work on her book manuscript tentatively titled African Diaspora Collective Action: Rituals, Runaways & the Haitian Revolution.
Dr. Akin Ogundiran was inducted as a Visiting Fellow of Magdalene College, University of Cambridge on May 17, 2018. This followed his election as a Yip fellow of the college last year, an honor that is bestowed annually on a distinguished American scholar. Established in 1428, Magdalene College is one of the oldest in the […]
THE INAUGURAL Africana Studies Founders Award Herman E. Thomas February 23, 2018 Cone University Center (Room 111) Herman E. Thomas is the son of the late Mr. Albert M. Thomas and the late Mrs. Grace Parrish Thomas, both of Bryson City, N. C. He was educated in the public schools of North Carolina, Tennessee, and […]
Call for Papers-3rd Tanure Ojaide International Conference (May 2-5, 2018) University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria Tanure Ojaide: Life, Literature, and the Environment Tanure Ojaide, one of Africa’s most prolific scholar-poets, turns 70 in April. For nearly five decades, his literature, especially poetry, has been an integral part of the making of […]
“UNC Charlotte at the Intersection of Black Studies in the Carolinas” Cone University Center February 22-23, 2018 Final Program
What the ‘s—hole’ debate gets wrong about Africa By Beth Elise Whitaker and Christopher Day Monkey Cage – Analysis, The Washington Post, January 18 at 7:00 AM Americans from across the political spectrum were quick to respond to President Trump’s alleged reference last week to Haiti and nations in Africa as “shithole countries.” Democrats called […]
HAITI: Caribbean Dignity Unbowed* by Professor Hilary Beckles 13 January 2018 The democratic, nation-building debt the American nation owes the Caribbean, and the Haitian nation in particular that resides at its core, is not expected to be repaid but must be respected. Any nation without a nominal notion of its own making can never comprehend […]
Graduates, Faculty, and Family Members [December 4, 2017] FALL 2017 GRADUATES: AFRS MAJORS First Name Last Name Justin Bridges-Thompson James Covington Astou Dieye Derrick Glover Briana Laws Erikka Martin Janay McAllister Brittany Moss Ashely Robinson Lela Rucker Gabrielle Small Nicole Smith-Galloway Sarah Teumer Shon Tillett John Walson Joshua Wright FALL 2017 GRADUATES: AFRS MINORS First […]
The African Studies Association—a scholarly organization composed of over 2,000 university academics based in the United States, Europe and Africa – is outraged at President Trump’s characterization of African states as “shithole countries.” He is widely reported to have made this comment in conversation with members of Congress. It is shocking that such crude racist […]
“UNC Charlotte at the Intersection of Black Studies in the Carolinas” February 22-23, 2018 Thirteen years ago, the Department of Africana Studies was reconfigured as an integrated academic unit with a focus on the global, comparative, and interdisciplinary approaches to the study of the historical and contemporary experiences of Africa-descended populations worldwide, with emphasis on […]
AFRS Newsletter 2017