"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

Closeup up of an archival photo of a woman's hands as she holds a pen in one hand, and letters bound with ribbon in the other

Beloved Sisters and Loving Friends

Farah Jasmine Griffin
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
Grand building with Washington Memorial in background on blue sky

Begin with the Past: Building the National Museum of African American History and Culture

Mabel Wilson
An image of black mena dn women waiting in line to be evaluated by a physician is ghosted over an X-ray of a pair of lungs; the words "infectious fear" appear at the top

Infectious Fear: politics, Disease, and the Health Effects of Segregation

Samuel K. Roberts
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