AFAM Studies Faculty Featured in University-Wide Conversation on Racism & Antiracism
On June 24, 2020, Boston University Diversity & Inclusion hosted a conversation on race featuring BU faculty, staff, and alumni titled A Day of Collective Engagement: Racism and Antiracism, Our Realities and Our Roles. Many of the sessions, hosted on Zoom, are now available for view on Diversity & Inclusion’s website.
Below, we’ve compiled a list of the African American Studies Program faculty and affiliated faculty who participated in this important conversation, including timestamps where applicable.
A Conversation on the History of Racism
Opening Plenary:
Begins at minute 22:26
A discussion among four scholars whose expertise, disciplinary perspectives, and insights will help unpack the complex and pernicious history of racism and how and where it manifests in contemporary society.
Paula Austin
Assistant Professor of History and African American Studies
Louis Chude-Sokei
Professor of English, George and Joyce Wein Chair in African American Studies, Director of the African American Studies Program
Saida Grundy
Assistant Professor of Sociology and African American Studies
Research on Tap: Emerging Scholarship on Racism & Antiracism
Hear from BU faculty, across disciplines, whose research investigates racism, antiracism, racial inequity, and racial injustice.
Letters of King Afonso I of Kongo (1506-1542):
Begins at minute 31:40
John Thornton
PhD, Professor, African American Studies & History
Inclusive Pedagogy and Decolonizing the Curriculum
Inclusive Pedagogy refers to a network of pedagogical issues and strategies that center or learner outcomes and equal access. Advocates of Decolonizing the Curriculum recognize that university knowledge systems remain rooted in colonial and Western-centric worldviews and encourage faculty to alter and expand these ways of producing knowledge. Panelists will discuss how they have made inroads in their curriculum regarding Inclusive Pedagogy and Decolonizing the Curriculum.
Takeo Rivera
Assistant Professor in English and core member of Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies, College of Arts & Sciences
No video is available.
Inspiring Justice Leadership at BU: Teaching, Research and Practice
The Initiative on Cities, in collaboration with the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground, hosts a discussion on the ways BU can nurture and inspire a generation of leaders on racial, social, and criminal justice issues. Panelists will discuss areas where BU must improve, and how BU faculty, students, and staff can make a difference through the classroom, practicums, volunteering, activism, campaigning, convenings, and research.
Spencer Piston
Assistant Professor of Political Science
No video is available.
A Day of Collective Engagement: Racism and Antiracism, Our Realities and Our Roles