About Us

From The Chair

Welcome!

Welcome back to the 2008/2009 Academic Year! And, welcome to the Department of African American and African Studies. As the new Department Chair, it has been my pleasure to meet some of my esteemed colleagues, the staff and some students since I arrived on July 1.

This year, my plan is to continue to build the African American and African Studies Department (AAAS) at the Ohio State University into one of the strongest of its kind in the nation. Currently, the Department offers an undergraduate major and an MA degree program. This Fall Quarter, we will begin the process of establishing a Doctoral program in African American and African Studies. I will keep you posted on our progress toward this long-awaited goal. Since this project depends on processes and rules determined by the University and the State of Ohio, my goal is to work hard for the Department to get approval for a doctoral degree program by the end of the 2009/2010 academic year.

Our interdisciplinary program focuses on three areas: African Studies, African American Studies and Diaspora Studies. Each focus area is strongly supported by the expertise of our faculty, enabling effective teaching and innovative research about people of African descent globally. Significant to these efforts are the AAAS Community Extension Center, the Center for African Studies, our African Language Program and the journal, Research in African Literatures. Please visit our Web site to learn more about how each of these programs fits the overall project of AAAS.

This year, we will launch a one-year celebration of the Department's 40th year at the Ohio State University. We hope to round out our year of reflection and celebration with some memorable events in the Fall Quarter of 2009. Installed at the Ohio State University in October 1969, the Department of African American and African Studies has been at the center of many of the university's academic leadership efforts in U.S. higher education about people of African descent. We are asking AAAS alumni from all over the world to join us in this year of reflection and commemoration of the department's 40th year. Please, watch our Web site for announcements of events of interest. We are looking forward to seeing you in University Hall.

Throughout the year, we will hold several brown bag lunches during which our Department faculty and affiliates will share their works in progress. Watch for the announcements through email and other avenues.

Remember to visit our new Web site. It has a new look and some new features that I am sure you will enjoy. OSU's Department of African American and African Studies wishes you an exciting and productive academic year.