A daylong symposium on the state of Africana studies
will bring leaders in the field to Johns Hopkins on Friday,
March 5.
The symposium is the first of two events celebrating
the creation of the university's Center for Africana
Studies, established in fall 2003 in response to interest
from students and faculty and as part of the university's
efforts to "diversify the intellectual footprint on
campus," said Daniel Weiss, the James B. Knapp Dean of the
Krieger School of Arts and Sciences,
which houses the center.
Undergraduates may pursue a major or a minor from the
center, which has a threefold focus: African studies,
African-American studies and the study of the African
diaspora.
The second event will be a lecture by Nobel
Prize-winning author Toni Morrison on Wednesday, March
10.
This week's symposium will take place from 9:30 a.m.
to 4 p.m. in Room 160 of the Mattin Center on the Homewood
campus. Exploring the theme "Intellectual and Institutional
Directions in Africana Studies," the panelists will discuss
the shape and role of such programs in university settings.
Speakers are Kim Butler, professor in the Department of
Africana Studies, Rutgers University; Manthia Diawara,
professor in the Institute for African American Affairs,
New York University; Farah Griffin, professor in the
departments of English and Comparative Literature, Columbia
University; Eileen Julien, director of the David C.
Driskell Center for the Study of the African Diaspora,
University of Maryland, College Park; and Tufuku Zuberi,
director of Africana Studies, University of
Pennsylvania.
The day will begin with a welcome and introductions of
the speakers, followed by two roundtable workshops. At each
session, speakers will give a brief presentation on the
session topic, followed by general discussion among the
speakers and members of the audience.
The first session, "New and Promising Intellectual
Directions in Africana Studies," will run from 9:45 a.m. to
12:30 p.m. Following a lunch break, "Institutionalizing
Africana Studies in the University" will run from 2 to 4
p.m.
For more information about the symposium, contact
Andrea Jones at 410-516-8722.
Seating for Toni Morrison's lecture, which will be at
8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 10, in Homewood's Shriver Hall
Auditorium, was made available by reservation and was
filled shortly after the event was announced.
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