Discover African American Studies
Professor Irvin Hunt of African American Studies was a lead screenwriter for the film BLKNWS: Terms and Conditions, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival this February and was ranked by Metacritic as “best of festival.” Directed by Khalil Joseph, known for his work on the companion film to Beyonce’s Lemonade, BLKNWS is an Afro-futurist film that interweaves narratives set before and after the fall of the British monarchy.
Olsen (2025) wrote, "The film is a pulsing, essayistic docu-fiction piece that defies categorization. It unfolds partially on a futuristic, polygonal transatlantic vessel boarded by a journalist (Shaunette Renée Wilson) and an arts academic (Keneza Schaal, playing a fictionalized version of real curator Funmilayo Akechukwu). However, this narrative framing device — which often loops back on itself, as a dreamlike film within the film — is merely an anchor for a more elliptical, esoteric narrative about personal and political history" (Los Angeles Times).
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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AFRO 495 Senior Thesis Symposium
On May 6, 2025, Prof. Bobby J. Smith II of the department of African American Studies hosted the annual AFRO 495 Senior Thesis Symposium for the spring '25 semester. The symposium gave the students the opportunity to not only highlight their research but enhance their public speaking skills.
The event was hosted in The Gallery @ The Siebel Center for Design, where students presented refreshing new research topics to faculty and faculty affiliates, staff, peers, and family that aid in advancing the interdisciplinary studies.
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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 220: Intro to Research Methods Af Am Studies
Introduction to various methodologies to be employed in the interdisciplinary field of African American/Africana studies.
AFRO 227: Studies in Black Television
Explores topics in black television in order to a) analyze the economic and political factors that lead to successful series; b) historicize black television of the Diaspora, including the U.S., Caribbean, UK, Canada, and Nigeria; c) identify conventions and define a "black aesthetic;" d) determine how black series in one genre (such as sitcoms or dramas) aid in mapping other genres; and e) discuss how these series navigate stereotypes and cultural shifts.
AFRO 398: Spec Topics African American Studies- "Afrofuturism and Black Women’s Poetry"
What would a world look where Black people are free to be who they are, where their bodies raise no questions? In this seminar we turn to contemporary Afrofuturist poets for their insights into such a world and for the language we might use to build it. Afrofuturism, a term coined in the early 1990s, names a framework for understanding the history of race and capitalism, with a special focus on the legacies and possibilities of science and technology, in a world where Blackness precedes transatlantic slavery.
AFRO 400: African Diasporic Thought
Critical examination of the contributions of intellectuals of African descent in the Caribbean and its global circuits. Major streams of social/political thought, cultural analysis, and artistic expression from across the region and its diasporas are analyzed within post- and de-colonial theoretical frameworks.
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.
AFRO 498: Thinking Blackness in the Long Contemporary
Through study of 21st century Black cultural production, including fiction, film, poetry, and drama, as well as literary and cultural criticism, in this course we will consider how African American creatives and scholars have theorized Black existence.
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...