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"Columbia University's African American and African Diaspora Studies Department is uniquely positioned to pursue a research program on the cutting edge of scholarly and policy debates."

−Farah Jasmine Griffin, Chair, African American and African Diaspora Studies Department 

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Read the Letter from the Chair

Our Programs

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Undergraduate Concentration
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BA in African American Studies
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MA in African American Studies

Upcoming Events

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VIDEOS

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Mabel Wilson on Architecture and Race

Professor Wilson speaks about how she views architecture through the prism of race and race relations in the United States.

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African American and African Diaspora Studies Department

This video explores the history of African American and African Diaspora Studies at Columbia and the significance of becoming a department.

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Frank Guridy on New York City and Black Culture

Professor Frank Guridy explains the significance of Columbia being on the border of Harlem and the location's influence on his work on black history.

Past Events

Discussion of Darnell L. Moore's New Book "No Ashes in the Fire"
Discussion of Darnell L. Moore's New Book "No Ashes in the Fire"
"Mountains That Take Wing" Documentary Screening Talk Back w/ Dr. Angela Y. Davis
"Mountains That Take Wing" Documentary Screening Talk Back w/ Dr. Angela Y. Davis
"Vexy Thing: Gender and Liberation" Book Panel Discussion
"Vexy Thing: Gender and Liberation" Book Panel Discussion
The Norton Anthology Of African American Literature: Twenty Years Later
The Norton Anthology Of African American Literature: Twenty Years Later
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Selected Publications

this book jacket features a bright yellow and pink background with the words "Birds of Fire: Jazz, Rock, Funk, and the Creation of Fusion" written in a white band

Birds of Fire: Jazz, Rock, Funk, and the Creation of Fusion

Kevin Fellezs
Two women, smiling, stand with three children holding balloons in a park

Invisible Families: Gay Identities, Relationships, and Motherhood Among Black Women

Mignon R. Moore
The words "The Practice of Diaspora: Literature, Translation, and the Rise of Black Internationalism" overlay an image of silhouetted figures in a cityscape

The Practice of Diaspora: Literature, Translation, and the Rise of Black Internationalism

Brent Hayes Edwards
A series of old, corbeled archways rendered in one-point perspective, with the words "Lose Your Mother: A Journey Along the Atlantic Slave Route"

Lose Your Mother: A Journey Along the Atlantic Slave Route

Saidiya V. Hartman
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