Spring 2023
Monday, February 6, 2023 | 12:30-2 PM
Walter Rodney Seminar Series: Chao Tayiana
Chao Tayiana is a Kenyan digital heritage specialist, founder of African Digital Heritage, and co-founder of the Open Restitution Africa project
Presented by African Studies Center
Location: Virtual. Register for Zoom link.
Tuesday, February 7, 2023 | 5:30-7:30 PM
The Uses and Abuses of Jim Crow
Speaker: Zine Magubane
Zine Magubane is a Professor of Sociology at Boston College with a courtesy appointment in the Department of African and African Diaspora Studies. Jim Crow racism is often used to illuminate and/or understand some aspect of our lives in the present. In this talk, Dr. Magubane will discuss one of the least understood, yet most impactful aspects of Jim Crow—its assault on the Populist Movement and working class people and organizations. If we are to truly understand the legacy of Jim Crow, we must fully account for and understand the class composition of the movements that defended racism as well as those that opposed it.
Location: Howard Thurman Center, FLR 205, 808 Commonwealth Ave, Brookline 02446
Register on Eventbrite.
Thursday, February 9, 2023 | 2:00 & 5:00 PM
American Studies for the Future Lecture Series: Ianna Hawkins Owen and Christina Sharpe
2:00 PM: Seminar with Ianna Hawkins Owen (BU English, African American Studies) and Christina Sharpe (York University), responding.
5:00 PM: Public talk with Christina Sharpe.
These events will be held remotely on Zoom.
Presented by the American & New England Studies Program
Co-sponsored by BU Center for the Humanities, Dean of Arts & Sciences, Associate Dean of Faculty/Humanities, Associate Dean for Diversity & Inclusion, African American Studies, Department of English, Department of History
Register for the Zoom links on AMNESP’s website.
Thursday, February 16, 2023 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM & Friday, February 17, 2023 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Annual Book Sale: $5 or less
New and Used Anthologies, Biographies, Fiction, History, Criticism, Scholarly Works, and more. The topics include African American Studies, American Studies, World History, and Sociology!
Location: African American & Black Diaspora Studies, 138 Mountfort St, Brookline 02446
Register on Eventbrite.
Tuesday, February 21, 2023 | 6:00 PM
Kemi Alabi Against Heaven
Speaker: Kemi Alabi
Kemi Alabi (they/them) is the author of Against Heaven, selected by Claudia Rankine as winner of the 2021 Academy of American Poets First Book Award.
Kemi believes in the world-shifting power of words and the radical imaginations of Black queer and trans people.
Masks Strongly Encouraged
To request accommodations, please contact ihowen@bu.edu by or before Feb. 1, 2023
Co-sponsored by the Learn More Series; Philosophy; Political Science; English; African Studies; Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies; and the Writing Program
Location: Howard Thurman Center, FLR 205, 808 Commonwealth Ave, Brookline 02446
Register: virtual registration, in-person registration
View poster here.
Friday, February 24, 2023 | 6 PM
Screening of “Autumn Beat” with Director Antonio Dikele Distefano
Pre-release screening and live Q&A for his new Amazon Prime film Autumn Beat, the first Italian film with young Afro-Italian protagonists: Tito has a stutter and Paco dreams of becoming a famous rapper in an evermore multi-ethnic Italy.
Co-sponsored by Romance Studies, Italian Studies, and Cinema & Media Studies
Location: CAS 313, 725 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215
Tuesday, February 28, 2023 | 5:30-7 PM
“Martin Luther King Jr’s Classics: A Model For A More Just Field?”
This talk examines Martin Luther King’s use of classical allusions in order to understand how he envisioned the Greco-Roman world as part of the larger march towards justice. It argues that while King was often critical of classical values, his sermons also offer several new ways that classics and classical philology can be used in the fight for a more just society. In addition to reflecting on King’s classicism, this talk reflects on how King’s use of the classics, driven by its moral aims and universalizing humanity, offers a potential guide for the future of the field of Greco-Roman studies.
Co-sponsored by Boston University Department of Classical Studies, Boston University Core Curriculum, and the African American & Black Diaspora Studies Program
Location: PHO 210, 8 St. Mary’s St, Boston, MA 02215
Thursday, March 30, 2023 | 5:00 PM
2023 Sedgwick Lecture: To Be Real: The Passion of the Self in Queer Writing by Dr. Heather Love
Presented by Gender & Sexuality Studies Group
Co-sponsored by The Boston University Center for the Humanities, The Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick Foundation and H. A. Sedgwick, The Departments of English, History, Religion, Romance Studies, Sociology, and World Languages & Literature, and the Programs in African American Studies and Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies, the Office of the Associate Dean for Diversity & Inclusion and the LGBTQIA+ Center for Faculty & Staff
Learn more on the event website.
Thursday, March 30, 2023 | 6:30-8 PM
Undergraduate Student Event
Join us on Thurs, Mar 30 from 6:30-8PM for a meet & greet with our new Undergraduate Academic Advisor Marcus Shaw and a screening of episode 1 of African Queens: Njinga. We will have OTTO pizza! All undergraduate students are welcome.
Location: African American & Black Diaspora Studies Program, 138 Mountfort St, Brookline MA
RSVP here.
Wednesday, April 5, 2023 | 6-7 PM
Rokhaya Diallo in Boston University
Filmmaker, writer, and activist Rokhaya Diallo is coming to Boston University for a panel on “Anti-Racist Research and Activism: A Global Perspective.” The first 100 people arriving will receive a free copy of BU student Amber Jogie’s “My Favorite Color: A book for black girls in white spaces” book. There will be a reception after the conversation.
Location: Howard Thurman Center, 808 Commonwealth Ave, Brookline MA
More info can be found here.
Monday, April 10, 2023 | 12:30-2 PM
Walter Rodney Seminar Series: Beyond Teleology: The Idea of Africa, the Value of Black Lives, and the Future of Black Radicalism
Cheikh Thiam is Professor of English and Black Studies at Amherst College
Presented by African Studies Center
Hybrid event: in-person at ASC, 232 Bay State Rd, Rm 505, Boston, MA 02215, and on Zoom. Register for Zoom link.
Tuesday, April 11, 2023
Boston University Giving Day
BU Giving Day is a one-day online fundraising event that brings together alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff, and friends from all over the world to give back, celebrate, and support the areas of BU that mean the most to them.
This year we set a target of $5K and 200 donors. Donations will help us launch a student departmental group, find student scholarships, and support student-led events.
Whether it is $1 or $100, donate today!
Friday, April 14, 2023
Finding Sally: Screening and discussion with director Tamara Mariam Dawit
Finding Sally tells the incredible story of a 23-year-old woman from an upper-class family who became a communist rebel with the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party. Idealistic and in love, Sally got caught up in her country’s revolutionary fervour and landed on the military government’s most wanted list. She went underground and her family never saw her again.
Four decades after Sally’s disappearance, Tamara Dawit pieces together the mysterious life of her aunt Sally. She revisits the Ethiopian Revolution and the terrible massacre that followed, which resulted in nearly every Ethiopian family losing a loved one. Her quest leads her to question notions of belonging, personal convictions and political ideals at a time when Ethiopia is going through important political changes once again.
Co-sponsors: Boston University African Studies Center Boston University African Studies Center Outreach Program Boston University African American & Black Diaspora Studies Program Boston University Libraries
Location: Boston University Pardee School, 121 Bay State Road (Riverside Room)
Register here.
Tuesday, April 18, 2023 | 6:30 PM
Screening of Ricardo Aleixo’s Audiovisual Work
Location: 610 Commonwealth Avenue, Room RKC 101
Co-sponsors: the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground, BU Arts Initiative; Voces Hispánicas/Hispanic Voices (an initiative of the Department of Romance Studies, underwritten by Santander Universities Global Division); Cinema and Media studies Program; Minor in Portuguese & Brazilian Cultural Studies; CAS Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Office; Seeing and Not Seeing Seminar; Boston University Center for the Humanities; Center for Latin American Studies; African American & Black Diaspora Studies Program.
Wednesday, April 19, 2023 | 6:30 PM
Live Performance by Brazilian Poet & Performer Ricardo Aleixo
Performance by Ricardo Aleixo with theatrical support by Natália Alves da Silva and an introduction by Guilherme Trielli Ribeiro. Free and open to the public.
Location: 610 Commonwealth Avenue, Room RKC 101
Co-sponsors: the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground, BU Arts Initiative; Voces Hispánicas/Hispanic Voices (an initiative of the Department of Romance Studies, underwritten by Santander Universities Global Division); Cinema and Media studies Program; Minor in Portuguese & Brazilian Cultural Studies; CAS Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Office; Seeing and Not Seeing Seminar; Boston University Center for the Humanities; Center for Latin American Studies; African American & Black Diaspora Studies Program.
View poster here.
Thursday, April 20, 2023 | 6:00 PM
Diaspora Chats: Bringing Together Africans and Black Americans
Join us on Thurs. April 20th, for a student-faculty discussion on identity within the Black Diaspora. The panel will offer and explore different viewpoints on what it means to be Black—both within the United States, in Africa and beyond. Through this event, we hope to challenge conventional ideas surrounding the definition of and ownership of Black culture and identity and foster common ground between members of the Black Diaspora. We welcome all respectful voices who wish to share and listen to different perspectives.
Location: Boston University Photonics Building (PHO) 8 Saint Mary’s Street RM 206
Register here.
Thursday, April 20, 2023 | 4:00 PM
American Studies for the Future Lecture Series: Anita Patterson
4:00 PM: Keynote with Anita Patterson (BU English)
This event will be held only in-person and will be followed by the end-of-the-year AMNESP reception.
Presented by the American & New England Studies Program
Co-sponsored by BU Center for the Humanities, Dean of Arts & Sciences, Associate Dean of Faculty/Humanities, Associate Dean for Diversity & Inclusion, African American Studies, Department of English, Department of History
More details will be provided soon on AMNESP’s website.
Friday, April 21, 2023 | 4:00 PM
Conversation with Students (In Portuguese): “The Role of Poetry and Art in Contemporary Brazilian Politics”
Location: 121 Bay State Road, Riverside Room
Co-sponsors: the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground, BU Arts Initiative; Voces Hispánicas/Hispanic Voices (an initiative of the Department of Romance Studies, underwritten by Santander Universities Global Division); Cinema and Media studies Program; Minor in Portuguese & Brazilian Cultural Studies; CAS Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Office; Seeing and Not Seeing Seminar; Boston University Center for the Humanities; Center for Latin American Studies; African American & Black Diaspora Studies Program.
Friday, April 28, 2023 | 4-7 PM
African American & Black Diaspora Studies Block Party
Location: 138 Mountfort St. Brookline MA 02446
Spring is here, which means it’s time to celebrate the end of another successful academic year! There will be music by DJ Troy Frost, soul food from Darryl’s Corner Bar and Kitchen, games, and more. All are welcome.
Register on Eventbrite.