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"We are embarking on an agenda to highlight and sustain the centrality of the arts in African American and African Diaspora Studies and its broader intellectual community. Look for programs with the Artist-in-Residence and our Black Arts Dialogues, and courses with our International Scholar-In-Residence and Postdoctoral Fellow emphasizing music, creative writing and visual arts. This is an exciting time of growth and opportunity for our department."

−Kellie Jones, Chair-African American & African Diaspora Studies

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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

Text on a multicolored background: Forging Diaspora: Afro-Cubans and African Americans in a World of Empire and Jim Crow

Forging Diaspora: Afro-Cubans and African Americans in a World of Empire and Jim Crow

Frank Guridy
A profile view of the author, wearing glasses and a clerical collar, next to the book title, "The Universe Bends Toward Justice: Racial Reflections on the Bible, the Church, and the Body Politic

The Universe Bends Toward Justice: Radical Reflections on the Bible, the Church and the Body Politic

Obery M. Hendricks
A boy nad girl stand idly by while a well-dressed woman walks up the steps into a mobile trailer; a banner hung from the side of the trailer reads: International Afro-American Museum, Entrance

Negro Building: Black Americans in the World of Fairs and Museums

Mabel O. Wilson
Book jacket featuring the words "Spirit in the Dark" in white against a grainy black background, with a ghostly form beneath

Spirit in the Dark: A Religious History of Racial Aesthetics

Josef Sorett
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