Category Archives: Students

Decolonizing the Curriculum: Teaching Race Across the Disciplines

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Don’t miss out on these events this semester! This year’s theme of Decolonizing the Curriculum: Teaching Race Across the Disciplines kicks off with Dr. Lailani Sabzalian (Oregon University) on September 23rd, soon followed by Dr. Jameliah Shorter-Bourhanou (Holy Cross College) on September 30th. Dr. Sabzalian will discuss race, indigenous populations, and educational pedagogy while Dr. Shorter-Bourhanou will discuss how to incorporate race content in philosophy.  In October, we will host Dr. Sofiya Noble (UCLA) whose talk will feature her award-winning book Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism. While Dr. Noble is housed in African American Studies/Women and Gender Studies, this phenomenal work intersects with STEM fields such as computer science and software engineering (one of CofC newest forthcoming majors). Her talk is scheduled for Oct. 27th. Each of these events will be held virtually.

Student Spotlight

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The African American Studies Program would like to congradulate and share with you the 2020-2021 recipient of the Bernard E. Powers Writing Award in African American Studies as well as the African American Studies Rising Scholar Award.

Zinnia Harris is a rising junior pursuing a degree in African American Studies. She is passionate about social justice and mutual aid. “I’m not sure what my future holds, but hopefully I can make a difference” – Zinnia Harris.

1967 Legacy Ambassador Award Recipents!

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African American Studies is so excited to congradulate TWO of our students this year as recipents of the 1967 Legacy Ambassador Award here at CofC!

Janae Dorsey

Zinnia Harris

The Legacy 1967 Program aims to improve the recruitment, retention, graduation and workplace success of Black students through scholarships, enhanced and extended education support, and professional preparation, as well as research the experiences of the Black trailblazers who contributed to the College.

Who Are Legacy Scholars? This scholarship is for first-year Black students who consider themselves trailblazers.  What does it mean to be a trailblazer?  A trailblazer is a pioneer. It’s someone who isn’t afraid to challenge the status quo. It’s an innovator.

Former College of Charleston trailblazers include people who are:

  • community activists.
  • grassroots organizers.
  • preachers and ministers.
  • champions of social justice.
  • teachers.
  • leaders in both their profession and community.

Student Spotlight

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The African American Studies Program would like to congradulate and share with you this year’s recipient of the Afrcian American Studies Rising Scholar Award Janae Dorsey.
Janae Dorsey is from a small town called Kingstree, South Carolina. She is a rising junior that is double majoring in Computer Science and African American Studies. She’s an active member of CofC’s Women in STEM, Women in Computing, and Student Ambassadors organizations. She’s passionate about helping people and dreams of combining her passion and her education to help create tech-based solutions that will specifically benefit minorities and underrepresented groups. Janae’s motto in life lies within this belief: Your mentality is one of the most important keys to your success. Two fun facts about her are 1) She has a twin brother and 2) She graduated from Kingstree Senior High School as valedictorian of the class of 2019.

Alumni News!

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AAST would like to share some exciting news from some of our almuni!

Adeyemi (Yemi) Oduwole ’19, finished his MPH program early and will graduate from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai this summer, and he will be entering a post-baccalaureate program at Temple University in the fall so he can apply for medical school!

Kamau Pope ’16, after successfully defending his masters thesis titled “Shaping a Queer South: The Evolution of Activism from 1960–2000,” graduated with a MA in History at the University of South Carolina this spring, and he will be pursuing a PhD in History at Duke University in the fall!

Book Talk with Roberto Strongman

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If you missed the BOOK TALK WITH ROBERTO STRONGMAN
hosted by The Carolina Lowcountry & Atlantic World Program at CofC, don’t worry you can watch it here https://bit.ly/3nvjJXG
 
Author of Queering Black Atlantic Religions: Transcorporeality in Candomblé, Santería, and Vodou
 
Roberto Strongman is Associate Professor of Comparative Caribbean Cultural Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
 
Discussion was lead by Dr. Lenny Lowe, Assistant Professor in Religious Studies at CofC.

FALL 2020 Book Club

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JOIN US FOR VIRTUAL BOOK CLUB
MEETINGS AND A VISIT FROM THE AUTHOR ON DECEMBER 2!
BOOK READINGS ARE IN LATE OCTOBER – DECEMBER
MEETINGS: TWICE IN NOVEMBER
OPEN TO ALL COFC STUDENTS, ALUMS, FACULTY, STAFF, & SUPPORTERS
RSVP TO RECEIVE INFORMATION ABOUT MEETINGS AND HOW TO GET YOUR COPY OF VANGUARD: HTTP://BIT.LY/VANGUARDCOFC

 

African American Read-In!

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Mark your calendars now for the African American Read-In: Celebrating the Work of Toni Morrison.
African American Studies and English are co-hosting an “African American Read-In” in celebration of Black History Month and Toni Morrison’s 89th birthday. The “Read-In” is an event focused on raising awareness and celebrating the African American literary tradition. Created by the National Council of Teachers of English in 1990, Read Ins are held every year in February across the world. Faculty, staff, students, and the public are invited to join AAST and ENGL to read aloud (often dramatically) from their favorite African American writers. The goal is to spend several hours reading,sharing, and celebrating writers of African descent! Our focus will be on celebrating the work Toni Morrison, who transitioned in August 2019.