of African American Studies at VCU provides an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, and comparative study of the lived experiences of Blacks dispersed throughout the world from the continent of Africa. Background and overview:
The Department of African American Studies is administratively located within the College of Humanities and Sciences at the Monroe Park Campus of Virginia Commonwealth Univers
ity. To fulfill the degree requirements, students take courses in African, African American, and Caribbean history, political science, geography, art, literature, and the social sciences. A minor in African American Studies is also offered, and requires the completion of 18 credits. The core faculty come from a variety of disciplines, including: psychology, sociology, anthropology, history, political science, and religion. Degree study in African American Studies is intended to provide students with a solid knowledge-base in the history, culture, experiences of African people around the globe and their contributions to world civilizations. As a major in the liberal arts, African American Studies is also geared toward strengthening critical thinking skills; problem solving; written, oral, and interpersonal communication; and quantitative and analytical reasoning skills. Graduates go on to careers in community service, cultural affairs, human resources, social services, and a host of other civic and business positions. Others continue their education in graduate school, law school, business school, or teacher training.
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Philosophy and scholarly orientation:
African American Studies, as a field of study, draws upon the theories, skills, pedagogy and perspectives of a wide range of disciplines in the humanities, social/behavioral sciences, life/physical sciences, and literature and arts. Scholars and students in African American Studies examine the complexity and diversity of people in the African Diaspora, with a focus on the interplay between historical, political, economic, cultural, and social dynamics that shape the reality of African people. The Department plays an important campus-wide role in addressing issues of race, ethnicity, and culture when conflicts arise among students at VCU. Several of our faculty are nationally renowned scholars in the area of race and racism, gender, and religion, and are widely published on these topics. Another significant contribution of the Department is its commitment to community engagement. The Department has co-sponsored several educational and cultural events with various community organizations. The faculty are actively engaged in community outreach and collaborate regularly with individuals and organizations working to enhance the quality of life for Richmond’s residents. Structure:
The primary structure and organization of the Department consists of the chair, six tenured or tenure-track core faculty, about six affiliate faculty, and an administrative assistant. Five of the six tenured or tenure-track faculty are jointly appointed with other departments and share teaching responsibility across units. An advisory board provides guidance and leadership related to the Department’s growth and development. The Board is made up of members of the VCU community, scholars from other universities, and members of the Richmond community. Research:
Research and scholarship in a multidisciplinary field such as African American Studies reflects myriad philosophical and methodological approaches to generating and disseminating new knowledge. Our faculty are grounded in a variety of ideological and conceptual traditions, including Africentrism, Black feminism, egalitarianism, post-positivism, and Pan Africanism. A wide-range of methods are used to generate new knowledge and facilitate its dissemination, including: ethnography, narrative analysis, grounded theory, quantitative and qualitative methods, and Participatory Action Research (PAR). These theoretical frameworks and methods are used to make meaning and provide context to the experience of African people in the Diaspora. Highlights of the scholarly interest of faculty may provide a glimpse into the exciting nature of the research activity taking place in our department. Faculty research is focused on populations throughout the Diaspora, including South Africa, West African, the Caribbean, and the Americas. There is a heavy focus and concentration on health-related issues affecting African people, including HIV/AIDS, public policy and health care, African Americans with disabilities, mental health issues, and the psychological and physical effects of race-related stress. A number of faculty are engaged in social justice research and community activism. Other areas of inquiry include religion, ethics, systems, African American music, mechanisms of social control, slavery in the U.S. Research activities in the department have resulted in public and private grant funding, peer-reviewed publications, and book-length manuscripts published by major academic presses. Furthermore, students have been involved the majority of faculty efforts, thereby strengthening their preparation for graduate training in the humanities and social sciences. Much of the research being conducted in the department involves collaboration with a community partner. It is through these community-based PAR activities that the department’s commitment to community engagement is reaffirmed. Community engagement:
An important part of the mission of African American Studies is to serve as a resource to the Richmond community. In addition to participating in community speaking engagements, faculty members have initiated programs for the community. Faculty have helped correctional institutions develop black cultural and historical programs, provided local schools with instruction and guidance, served as consultants to public agencies, offered expert testimony to commissions, and donated countless hours to public teaching activities. Featured example (of Community engagement)
The Peep This Project uses documentary filmmaking to facilitate positive youth development in adolescence identified as being “at-risk.” The project was funded by the VCU Council for Community Engagement and is a partnership between the Department of African American Studies (AAS), the Media, Art, and Text Program (MATX), the Department of Photography and Film (P&F), and the Family Resource Center (FRC) in Richmond’s East End. The goals of this project and partnership are: a) to provide youth opportunities for mentoring, b) to expose youth to college as a life course option, c) to develop leadership skills in “at-risk” adolescent males through the use of art (film), and d) to provide role models via engagement with faculty, undergraduate students in AAS, graduate students in P & F, and the MATX Program. The project will seek to partner adolescent males, ages 13 to 17 years, and identified as being “at-risk” by the FRC, with undergraduate student mentors in AAS and graduate student mentors in MATX and P & F. These partnerships will constitute project teams. Each team will select a topic for a documentary film, plan, and execute its production. The final project will culminate in a community viewing of the film project. The films will focus on historical issues relevant to the Richmond area that are relevant to student SOL’s (e.g., civil rights, slavery, Virginia government and history). The first phase of the program will consist of 20 weekend classroom hours of instruction in the following content areas: a) research and preproduction, b) ethics, c) interviewing skills, d) field production techniques, and d) postproduction. Following the classroom component, participants will be placed with a production team and assigned a student mentor and graduate intern. There will be a maximum of 2 production teams. After production teams have been established, project topics will be identified by the members. Documentary topics must be age appropriate, safe to pursue, have some educational, social consciousness, or personal development value. Once production begins, filming will take place under the supervision of a graduate intern. Once filming is complete, postproduction will begin and each team will have a faculty consultant available to provide technical support and assistance with editing the final product. Each team will produce a 30 minute documentary film. The final phase of the Peep This program will culminate in an award ceremony and showing of the film projects. We will attempt to schedule the film showing at participants’ high schools. Awards will be given for the following categories: a) most creative film, b) most impactful film, c) best technical film, and d) best overall film. The number of award categories insures that each team is acknowledged for their efforts. It is anticipated that engagement through these partnerships will enhance the psychological, social, and academic outcomes for the “at-risk” adolescent males who participate in the project. Specifically, through the use of mentoring relationships, exposure to positive role models, the development of leadership skills, increased literacy through filmmaking, and the opportunity for positive social interactions in a college setting, we expect to see a reduction in the risk for delinquent behavior among participants in the program. Even beyond a reduction in delinquent behavior, it is anticipated that participants will have more favorable psychological, social, and academic outcomes.
