Discover African American Studies
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Position Announcement: 2025-2026 Chancellor's Postdoctoral Research Associate of Social Science
The Department of African American Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, invites applications for a Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research Associate. This is a one-year appointment with a start date of August 16, 2025, and is renewable for an additional year, contingent on satisfactory performance review, funding, and unit needs Applicants must demonstrate promise for a tenure-track appointment at a research college or university, and their primary research focus must be in or related to African American Studies. We look to recruit a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of African American Studies, with a preference for a social scientist (i.e. political science, anthropology, sociology, psychology, or related field).
Application deadline: January 17, 2025.
Professor Mary Phillips' new publication: Black Panther Woman The Political and Spiritual Life of Ericka Huggins
The first biography of Ericka Huggins, a queer Black woman who brought spiritual self-care practices to the Black Panther Party. In this groundbreaking biography, professor Mary Frances Phillips immerses readers in the life and legacy of Ericka Huggins, a revered Black Panther Party member, as well as a mother, widow, educator, poet, and former political prisoner.
Professor Bobby Smith named as a Helen Corley Petit scholar
The College of LAS has honored 15 professors with named scholar and professorship positions in recognition of their contributions to research and education at the University of Illinois.
The University News Bureau recognizes Professor John Meyers for his new book "Same Old Song: The Enduring Past in Popular Music"
In his new book, “Same Old Song: The Enduring Past in Popular Music,” John Paul Meyers, an ethnomusicologist and a professor of African American studies, looks at what he calls “historical consciousness in popular music” — a sense in popular music culture that the past is worth remembering, celebrating and replaying.
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Freedom Forum: Where Do We Go From Here "Roundup"
The department of African American Studies and BNACC sponsored the Freedom Forum: Where Do We Go From Here? on Wednesday, 11/20/2024. The event was held at the Bruce D. Nesbitt African American Cultural Center.
Thank you to the panelists for participating and all of our supportive co-sponsors!
AFRO 101: Black America, 1619-Present
Sociohistorical survey of African American experiences from the West African background to North America, from the 17th century to the present.
AFRO 132: African American Music
Survey of African American music, from its origins to the present with a focus on understanding details of musical performance and the ways in which music interacts with its social and political context. Examines genres such as spirituals, the blues, jazz, R&B, soul, and hip-hop.
AFRO 228: Hip Hop Music: History and Culture
A study of hip-hop from its beginnings in the post-industrial South Bronx of the 1970s to the global present. By focusing on the work of specific artists and movements, we will compare and contrast the production and consumption of hip-hop with other forms of popular music (including jazz, rock, disco, and pop).
AFRO 276: African American History Since 1877
This course surveys the African American sociohistorical experience from 1877 to the present. This course examines the interaction between African American's community-building efforts and post-slavery systems of anti-black racial oppression.
AFRO 415: Africana Feminisms
Explores readings and research from the perspective of feminists throughout the African diaspora, with a focus on Black feminist thought emanating from the United States.
AFRO 495: Spec Topics African American Studies
Food, Clothing, and Buildings: Everyday Religion in the United States This course examines religion as a lived experience beyond places of worship. Turning our attention to material and sensory culture, this course takes up “lived religion” as a theoretical approach toward interpreting religious worlds.
AFRO 597: Problems in African-American Studies
This course examines the multiple streams, sites, and positionalities of contestation, rethinking, and renewed knowledge production that have contributed to the theory, methodology, praxis, politics, and poetics associated with the “decolonizing generations.”
AFRO 495: Senior Thesis Seminar
This course is designed for senior-level African American Studies Majors and Minors who have completed the required prerequisites. The course provides an opportunity for students to integrate substantive knowledge, theoretical perspectives, and research approaches learned in the various courses. During the semester, students will complete a final thesis project that thoroughly examines a significant topic in the study of African Americans.
Alumni Spotlight: Sindra Gerdes, Class of 2024
Why African American Studies (AFRO)? I chose AFRO because I grew up in a small sundown town just a short drive from the University Campus where my identity was called into question more times than a child should ever have to. My unique experiences as a biracial young woman in a small community that was rooted in bigotry and prejudice inspired me to further educate myself not only of the impact of African American history in the Americas but the broader impacts across the African Diaspora. AFRO Studies’ unique and vast discipline afforded me the ability to build an...