African-American Studies on the way - Task Force hopes to have minor in African-American Studies by spring

Momentum is underway to create a Center for African and African-American Studies at Johns Hopkins University, that will offer students a greater variety of courses in the area and provide an opportunity for those interested in an intensive study to do a major or minor.

Daniel Weiss, Dean of the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, designated a task force in March and laid on its shoulders the responsibility of drafting a detailed proposal for the Center, including a mission statement, course listing and plans for funding. For the chair, Weiss appropriately selected Professor of History Sara Berry, who specializes in African economic history. Seven other professors across the disciplines are on board, as well as five students representing the student organization JHUnity.

The push for the Center began when JHUnity submitted a report to Dean Weiss on the need to do justice to this rich discipline, which currently exists as a subcategory in CAC, or Program for Comparative American Cultures.

"The task force represents the effort to create a more institutional structure for African American Studies," said Berry. "CAC had not developed a large student interest in the area, and was overly concerned with the broad issues of comparative cultures."

The sheer range covered by African and African-American Studies makes it easy to understand how it could've been under represented as part of CAC. After all, it encompasses African history, African-Caribbean history, African-American history, African-American literature (before and after the Harlem Renaissance), African-American public health issues, African-American Sociological Studies and more, which all deserve the proper attention.

The Center plans to get the faculty to represent these fields through coordination and strategic hiring; this means pulling together the faculty who currently offer courses in this area, encouraging them to work together and develop new courses, as well as hiring professors who specialize in significant aspects of this discipline.

"The field of African and African is full of interesting issues," said Dean Weiss. "We currently have two dozen faculty in this area," he noted. "Having a Center to represent this faculty and bring new energy in this field strikes me as a very good idea." Needless to say, the coordination will produce a lot of exciting crossover and fusion, which is the idea, task member say.

"We envision the Center as being very interdisciplinary," comments Frances Ferguson, task member and Chair of the English Department.

In addition to lending the menu of courses at Johns Hopkins greater variety and spice, there might be some interesting long-term benefits, according to sophomore and task member Morgan MacDonald.

"By making the curriculum more diverse, the Center will attract some students to Hopkins who wouldn't normally consider the University because of its under representation of African and African-American studies," said MacDonald. "It will make the student body more diverse."

There are other benefits to the Center, on the cultural role it might play in the Hopkins community. Berry points out Baltimore's rich African-American heritage that the Center might help tap into, especially through students and faculty interested in research. Also, Baltimore houses a growing community of African immigrants, who've left their homes because of political unrest or economic motives, which provides more opportunities for study, research and volunteer activities involving this new community of dislocated African peoples hoping to integrate into the West.

For those eager to participate in the Center, they'll have to wait until the spring semester, which is when the task force hopes to launch a minor in African and African-American Studies. As far as scheduling goes, the task force plans to meet regularly and submit a proposal to Dean Weiss by the end of this fall semester, who is incredibly optimistic about the future of the Center.

"We're poised to have an impact on this field nationally and internationally," said Weiss.

In the meantime, you can show your support by participate in events that mark the Center's growing momentum. The task force, CAC, WGS (Women and Gender Studies) and IGS (Institute of Global Studies) are hosting a joint reception for faculty and students on Friday, Sept. 13 at 4 p.m., to bring together people interested in these programs and unveil the Greenhouse renovations, where these programs will be housed. There will be food, drinks and music, for those who need added incentive.

Also, the following people are coming to speak at Hopkins sometime in the fall; Stanley Nelson, whose wonderful documentaries include Marcus Garvey: Look for Me in the Whirlwind and Two Dollars and a Dream: The Story of Madame C.J. Walker and A'lelia Walker; Bryant Simon, a professor at University of Georgia, who has written widely on race, class and politics in America, who is currently writing a history of Atlantic City; and Farah Jasmine Griffin, Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, who has published many books on African-American Literature, especially on African-American travel literature. Check the CAC Web site for specific dates.