Crystal Sanders named director of the Africana Research Center
6/25/18
Crystal Sanders, associate professor of history and African-American studies at Penn State, has been named director of the Africana Research Center effective July 1.
Department of African American Studies
Department of African American Studies
Richards Center to host Emerging Scholars Summer Mentor Program
6/21/18
The George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center at Penn State will hold its third Summer Mentoring Program for doctoral study in history June 24-29. This annual event encourages students from underrepresented groups to explore a career as an academic scholar.
Life-changing text alert puts Penn State student on path to success
6/11/18
Brian Davis found out that he was accepted to Penn State while practicing parallel parking in his hometown of Philadelphia. This spring he graduated with a bachelor's degree in African-American studies, with minors in international studies, sociology, and civic and community engagement. “Penn State has impacted my life in so many ways,” he said.
Sawyer Seminar Series brings David J. Leonard to campus March 26
3/23/18
David J. Leonard, professor of critical culture, gender and race studies at Washington State University, will deliver a lecture titled “Playing While White: Power, Privilege and the Politics of Protest,” at 6 p.m. March 26 in 101 Chambers Building on Penn State's University Park campus.
Tommie Smith, Wyomia Tyus, Harry Edwards visiting Penn State on April 3
3/22/18
Olympic gold medalists Tommie Smith and Wyomia Tyus and noted sociologist and civil rights activist Harry Edwards will participate in a panel discussion titled “Sports Protest and Politics: Reflections on the 1968 Olympics” at 6 p.m. on April 3, in the Greg Sutliff Auditorium, which is located in the Lewis Katz Building on the University Park campus at Penn State.
Keenaga-Yamahtta Taylor to visit Penn State as part of Sawyer Seminar Series
3/2/18
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, assistant professor of African-American studies at Princeton University, will deliver a free lecture in 10 Sparks Building at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 15.
Roger Reeves, Yogita Goyal to visit Penn State on Feb. 22
2/12/18
Award-winning poet Roger Reeves and African American scholar Yogita Goyal will visit Penn State this month to read from and discuss their work on Feb. 22.
Award-winning journalist to discuss intersection between sexual violence, sports
2/6/18
Award-winning freelance journalist Jessica Luther will deliver a lecture titled “Unsportsmanlike Conduct: The Intersections of Sports and Sexual Violence,” in 101 Chambers Building at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 14. The lecture is free and open to the public.
Free screening of 'Ghosts of Amistad' to take place Feb. 8
1/30/18
“Ghosts of Amistad: In the Footsteps of Rebels” —a documentary created by Tony Buba based on the book “The Amistad Rebellion: An Atlantic Odyssey of Slavery and Freedom” by Marcus Rediker — will be shown at 8 p.m. Feb. 8 at the State Theatre in State College. The screening and a Q&A session with Buba and Rediker are sponsored by the Penn State Department of African American Studies.
Emily Grosholz awarded Fernando Gil International Prize in Philosophy of Science
1/17/18
Emily Grosholz, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Philosophy, English, and African American Studies at Penn State, has been named the 2017 recipient of the Fernando Gil International Prize in Philosophy of Science.
Noted author, law professor James Forman Jr. to speak at Penn State on Jan. 31
1/16/18
James Forman Jr., professor of law at Yale Law School, will present a free lecture titled “Can the Criminal Justice System Ever Be Just?” at 6 p.m. Jan. 31 in 112 Kern Building at University Park.
Center for Language Science to host screening of 'Talking Black in America'
1/15/18
The Penn State Center for Language Science will host a screening of the critically acclaimed documentary “Talking Black in America: The Story of African American Language” at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 7 in 100 Thomas Building.
Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef to speak at Penn State
10/13/17
Satirist Bassem Youssef, dubbed the “Jon Stewart of Egypt,” will visit University Park in November to speak at two separate events hosted by the Center for Global Studies. Youssef will deliver a lecture titled “The Joke is Mightier Than The Sword” at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 3 at the Nittany Lion Inn. Then, on Saturday, Nov. 4, he, along with the film’s director Sara Taksler, a senior producer of "The Daily Show," will participate in a discussion following the film screening of "Tickling Giants."
Penn State receives $225,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
10/4/17
A team of Penn State faculty led by Cynthia Young, associate professor and head of the Penn State Department of African American Studies, has received a $225,000 charitable grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s Sawyer Seminars program to examine racial disposability and cultures of resistance.
Richards Center to host conference on violence in African-American history
9/21/17
The George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center, the Department of African American Studies, and University Libraries will host a conference, "Rethinking Violence in African-American History: History, Memory, Trauma," on Oct. 6 and 7. Free and open to the public, the conference will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday and 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library, Penn State, University Park.