“SOVEREIGNTY & SURVIVANCE IN K-12 EDUCATION”

Don’t miss out on this event on September 23rd! The Dr. Conseula Francis Emerging Scholars Lecture Series presents Lelani Sabzalian, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Indigenous Studies in Education at the University of Oregon.

This event is also the 1st in the AAST & REI Fall 2021 Virtual Lecture Series Decolonizing the Curriculum: Teaching Race Across the Disiplines!

“SOVEREIGNTY & SURVIVANCE IN K-12 EDUCATION”

Drawing from her book Indigenous Children’s Survivance inPublic Schools, Dr. Sabzalian’s talk highlights the everydayways that Native youth, families, and educators creativelynavigate the colonial dynamics of public education. By sharingstories of Native sovereignty and survivance, she hopes that alleducators will see themselves as responsible for counteringcolonialism and teaching in ways that better supportIndigenous students and Indigenous struggles for self-determination and sovereignty.

JOIN US ON ZOOM. REGISTRATION REQUIRED.
For more information about this series and future AfricanAmerican Studies events, follow the program on Facebook: facebook.com/AASTatCofC
To register: https://qrco.de/bcKyEV

Decolonizing the Curriculum: Teaching Race Across the Disciplines

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

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!

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

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!

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!

Spring 2021 Conseula Francis Emerging Scholar Lecture

Mark your calendars now! The African American Studies Program presents the 2021Conseula Francis Emerging Scholar Lecture: a conversation with Dr. Danielle Fuentes Morgan about her book, Laughing to Keep from Dying: African American Satire in the Twenty-First Century (2020).
Wednesday, February 24th at 4:30pm
Register at: