Discover African American Studies

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Read article: Dr. Helen Neville announced as a Big Ten Academic Alliance Fellow
Dr. Helen Neville announced as a Big Ten Academic Alliance Fellow
Professor Helen Neville of Educational Psychology and African American studies has been selected to participate in the 2025-2026 Department Executive Officers Seminar.  She will also be...
Read article: Dr. Alexia Williams receives the Louisville Institute First Book Grant!
Dr. Alexia Williams receives the Louisville Institute First Book Grant!
Congratulations to Professor Alexia Williams of the Department of Religion and African American Studies on being afforded the opportunity of being awarded a Louisville Institute First Book Grant for her...
Read article: Meet AFRO's Newest Postdoc for 2025-2026
Meet AFRO's Newest Postdoc for 2025-2026
The Department of African American Studies is pleased to announce that we have another Postdoctoral Research Associate, Dr. Kevin Rigby Jr, joining the team for the new 2025-2026 academic year!  We wanted to learn a bit about Dr. Rigby to gain some insight on what drew him to the U of I...
Read article: Food Insecurity in Central IL
Food Insecurity in Central IL
Professor Bobby J. Smith II was featured on the Peoria (25News Now) newscast on July 30, 2025.  The topic of food insecurity is an ongoing issue, relevant to much of society—but exceptionally pervasive in disenfranchised communities.  Peoria (25News Now) sheds light on the decrease of...
Read article: AFRO's 2025-2026 OpEd Project Public Voices Fellowships
AFRO's 2025-2026 OpEd Project Public Voices Fellowships
Two of the Department of African American Studies' very own, Professors Mary Phillips and Bobby J Smith II, have been selected as part of the cohort for The OpEd Project Public Voices Fellowship 2025-26!  The program is in its seventh year.  "The ...
Read article: Professor Leonard McKinnis named General Editor for an NYU Press series
Professor Leonard McKinnis named General Editor for an NYU Press series
AFRO is very pleased to share that Professor Leonard McKinnis of the department of African American Studies and the department of Religion has been named General Editor of the Religion, Race, and Ethnicity Series with NYU Press. He is the second editor of this Series, following Peter Paris who...

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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.

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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.

Male student studying in a library

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.

The Cosby Show Emblem

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.

John Jennings book cover for Ytasha Womack’s book Afrofuturism

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.

Aimé Césaire

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.

Writing seminar

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 Art- 4 Black Women

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.

Dr. Mary Phillips

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.

Dr. Bobby Smith II

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.

Dr. John Meyers

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 Fall Social '25

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AFRO had the pleasure of hosting its annual Fall Social event for the 2025-2026 academic year where the department welcomed its new and returning class of undergraduate major & minor students.

More about the event here

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AFRO 495 Senior Thesis Symposium

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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. 

Read here for more details

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Sindra Gerdes' alumni photo

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...

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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 LemonadeBLKNWS 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).

Read full story here

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